My Trip To America Essay

11th May, 1502.
Today, the 11th day in the month of May, 1502 and after months of redemption and financing from the Royal Highnesses, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, I depart from Cadiz, Española to venture on my fourth voyage. At fifty-one years of age and not in the best of health due to gout, I know it is not a wise decision but my intention is to find the Strait of Malacca to China, India and Japan and to successfully sail around the world. By accomplishing this, I will certainly regain my reputation especially from the aftermath of the last journey. Therefore, I must bear in mind the instructions given to me that I should not venture to Hispaniola where I am not favoured. Additionally, I am forbidden to return with slaves or conduct

The port where we docked the ships is called Puerto Castilla. Here we stayed almost two months, exploring not only the Honduras coasts, but also those of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
On August 14th, 1502, near the island called Guanaja located off Honduras, my brother Bartolome discovered some natives numbering to around twenty-five people. They were in a long boat that they called a canoe. It was very large, reminding me of a galley. These natives were merchants and with them they had in their possession items of trading consisting of cups, copper, hatchets, cotton textiles that were dyed magnificently. There were also swords made of wood and goods such as bread, cacao and beer made of fermented corn.
With the aid of the Taino interpreter that is with us, we learnt that these natives called themselves Mayans. I noticed that they are more developed that those natives I crossed paths with in the West Indies during my previous voyages. Unlike the latter, they wore clothing and painted their bodies. Through the interpreter, I learnt tales of lands, many days march to the west. This great land contains an abundance of spices, pearls and