Christopher Columbus's First Voyage

August 3, 1942
I, Christopher Columbus, have finally left the port of Palos in southern Spain with three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. My crewmembers are primarily native Spanish men from the neighboring towns of Lepe and Moguer. I hope to have a tremendous experience and accomplish a great deal. Queen Isabela and King Ferdinand have responded to my letter and have allowed me to go on my first voyage in attempt to expand the wealth of Spain. I have had experience before in my life on board of sea vessels and feel that I am ready for anything that shall come our way by means of water. I hope that I will find new countries on which I can build glorious churches in the Queen’s honor.

September 25, 1492
There have been signs of land in the past few weeks, but I am having a difficult time managing my crew. I fear that my crew does not like me and that I could possibly have a mutiny on my hands in a few weeks. Also, I feel that the captain of the Pinta, Martin Alonso Pinzon, cannot be trusted, although he is a skilled mariner. He is greedy and wants the honors and rewards for himself. I hope that he does not betray me for the glories of this enterprise. I am positive that without his support and without my command, I will not be able to reach the Indies and not get back to Spain. The seas are fairly calm and the masts are not blowing in the wind so time seems to go by very slowly here on the ship, but hopefully land is not far off in the distance.

December 26, 1942
I write today out of stress and frustration because two days ago, the Santa Maria run aground on a reef and on Christmas sunk into the depths of the deep blue sea. I have built a fort with the remaining pieces of wood. I have named the fort, La Navidad, meaning Christmas. I currently only have one ship, the Nina. This is because, as I suspected, the back stabbing Martin Alonso betrayed me and took the Pinta with him on a search for gold on and island called, Babeque. I am in an extreme fit of rage. Now with just one ship, not all of my crewmembers can fit on it. I do not want to have too many angry crewmembers on such a small ship, so I fear that I will have to leave about forty or fifty men on the shores of La Navidad, until I return on a future journey.

January 16, 1942
Ten days ago, when traveling along the shores of Hispaniola, I came upon the Pinta. However, my anger at Alonso Pinzon was eased because it was satisfying to see the ship and return to Spain with one more ship and not have to explain to the Queen why I only have one of the three beautiful flagships. Also, the return trip to Spain will be that much more easily accomplished. Me and Alonso and our crew have been staying at Samana Bay for ten days, but plan on departing some time soon today. I hope that the conditions and the weather will hold out for the good. I do not think that Alonso will betray me yet again and this time, I will keep a close watch on the Pinta. I have told Alonso the recent news of how the Santa Maria had foundered on the reef off the shores of Hispaniola. My crew has gotten to become more organized and I feel confident in my command.

January 18, 1942
After departing from Samana Bay on January 16, both Alonso Pinzon and me were sailing smoothly until a fierce storm separated our ships on February 14. The clouds were like giant sheets of darkness hovering over the sea and the waves were the size of giant buildings that spilled out their belongings onto the surface of the deck. I was almost certain that the mainmast was going to topple over and kill us all. Fortunately all that happened to me was that I was sent through the air from the port side of the ship to the starboard side. After many hours of terror that the ship was not going to make it, the wind and waves began to die down. In the morning there was no sight of the Pinta. Lucky enough to survive such a horrific storm, I fear that Pinzon has been killed and the Pinta sent into the darkness of the ocean. On February 15, I sighted the island of Santa Maria in the Azores.

The Second Voyage

October 17, 1493
The ship of Columbus had left the Canary Islands about four days ago and we plan to arrive in Hispaniola within upcoming months. I have been keeping a log and account of our sea travels with Christopher Columbus. The ship has a distinct smell of horse manure because the Europeans have decided to send livestock to America for the first time. This is Christopher Columbus’s second journey and I am proud to be a part of it. My name is Abejundio Domino. I am a Spanish native and hope one day to be a great navigator like Christopher Columbus. There are sixteen other ships making the journey from Hierro in the Canary Islands. The ships, which Columbus travels with, are truly fascinating and it is wonderful to be a part of his crew. However the work on the ship is hard and can be dangerous with the untamed waves. Yesterday around noon, I was standing amidships sketching a chart of what the surrounding waters looked like, when before I knew it, my feet were lifted off of the deck and flung back into the stern. I knew that the following months aboard this ship were not going to come with ease.

November 28, 1493
A seagull making noises from the masthead woke me early this morning and to my surprise, land was not far off in the distance. It was finally time to step on the sandy ground of Navadid to once again reunite myself with my older brother, Huego, who was left there from Columbus’s first voyage in January. However, as I set foot on the beach, the smell of sulfur stung my nose and some was present in the atmosphere. Columbus, in a fit of rage, stormed out through the tropical forests complaining that his fort had been burned down and his men killed in battle. I immediately rushed to see if I could find my brother’s body still breathing. Many of the dead bodies that I found had pockets full of gold and what looked like a bloody death because of greedy desires. The chief of a neighboring tribe had explained to us that the men left in charge of the fort had raided the tribe and as retaliation, the tribe burned down Columbus’s fort and killed its inhabitants. It was not long before we set sail again and headed out to explore the eastward coast of Hispaniola.