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couraged them, certain that they were close to Asia.
Finally, on October 11th they sighted land. The next
morning they landed on a lush island, and Columbus
thought he had succeeded in his mission. He was not
aware of his true location. On the island he encoun-
tered the native inhabitants, the Arawak. From them he
learned that the island was named
“Guanahani.” Columbus christened
it “San Salvador” and claimed it
immediately for Spain. A few days later, he landed on
an island near present-day Cuba, which he thought was
part of China.
The Arawak were helpful to Columbus and his
crew at first, but their feelings quickly changed when
Columbus captured some of their members to take back
to the Queen.
When he returned to Spain on March 15, 1493,
Isabella and Ferdinand received him with great cele-
bration and honor. He was granted the title of “Admi-
ral of All the Ocean Seas,” was given funding for more
voyages, and ordered to colonize
the new region for Spain. Colum-
bus made a number of voyages to
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the Americas, and expanded Spain’s empire, yet he
never learned the region’s true identity. At his death, he
still believed he had found a route to Asia.
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