People today flock to the Bahamas, an island group in the West Indies, for fun and relaxation on its sunny beaches.
Columbus was happy just to find dry land there. His crew came ashore on a Bahamian island known to its natives as Guanahani. Columbus renamed it San Salvador and claimed it for Spain.
The first of Columbus’s crew to spot the New World was a Latino: Rodrigo de Triana, the Spanish lookout on the Pinta.
A 1493 illustration depicted Columbus setting off for the New World. The picture accompanied a letter Columbus sent to Sanchez, one of his many correspondents.
