LATEST: Gothic–Herulian Invasion of Greece Memor and Odaenathus Destruction of the Temple of Artemis • Europe Today

North America 1492: First contacts

View full map and options for mobile…

Political map of North America & the Caribbean on 26 Dec 1492 (The Age of Columbus: First contacts), showing the following events: Columbus’ first explorations and return; La Navidad.

Middle

Mississippian

G r e a t P l a i n s

p e o p l e s

C e n t r a l A l g o n q u i a n p e o p l e s

T a í n o

c h i e f d o m s

G r e a t B a s i n

p e o p l e s

Northwest

Plateau

Peoples

Pacific Northwest Coast
Peoples

C a l i f o r n i a p e o p l e s

N o r t h e r n
A t h a b a s k a n
p e o p l e s

Iroquois

Confederacy

Eastern Algonquian
peoples

Southwest
peoples

C h i b c h a n
p e o p l e s

Pueblo
villages

South

Appalachian

Mississippian

H i s p a n i o l a

Plaque-
mine
culture

Southern
Plains
villagers

La Navidad(Sp. ft.)

12 Oct 1492–15 Mar 1493Columbus explores
Cuba and Hispaniola,
then returns

26 Dec 1492–25 Nov 1493Spanish fort briefly
established on Hispaniola

26 December 1492

7 Sep 1427

2 Jan 1441

10 Apr 1486

12 Oct 1492

26 Dec 1492

6 Jan 1494

4 Aug 1496

24 Jun 1497

23 Aug 1500

7 Jan 1503

8 Aug 1508

(more) (less…

15 Aug 1511

29 Sep 1513

4 Mar 1517

22 Apr 1519

8 Nov 1519

22 May 1520

13 Aug 1521

25 Jul 1523

12 Oct 1832

28 Dec 1835

21 Apr 1836

5 Dec 1837

26 Oct 1838

26 Jan 1840

8 Aug 1840

15 Sep 1842

2 Oct 1843

29 Dec 1845

13 May 1846

15 Jun 1846

18 Aug 1846

19 Nov 1846

9 Mar 1847

14 Sep 1847

2 Feb 1848

11 Feb 1849

9 Sep 1850

14 Oct 1852

30 Dec 1853

6 Dec 1855

2 Apr 1857

29 Sep 1858

18 Oct 1859

20 Dec 1860

8 Feb 1861

12 Apr 1861

21 Jul 1861

17 Dec 1861

7 Apr 1862

1 May 1862

17 Sep 1862

22 Mar 1863

4 Jul 1863

20 Nov 1863

12 Jun 1864

21 Dec 1864

9 Apr 1865

22 Jan 1866

21 Dec 1866

1 Jul 1867

15 Jul 1870

25 Jun 1876

16 Jul 1882

12 Apr 1885

29 Dec 1890

14 May 1895

11 Aug 1898

23 May 1900

4 May 1904

14 Apr 1907

16 Dec 1907

25 May 1911

29 Jan 1914

20 Aug 1914

11 Apr 1916

6 Apr 1917

28 Jun 1919

12 Nov 1921

29 Oct 1929

15 Aug 1934

8 Mar 1941

7 Dec 1941

14 Feb 1944

14 Aug 1945

4 Apr 1949

1 Jan 1959

24 Oct 1962

26 May 1966

9 Aug 1974

27 Oct 1979

26 Oct 1983

22 Dec 1989

15 Oct 1994

11 Sep 2001

26 Nov 2014

15 Jan 2020

The Age of Columbus

1200–1492 Late Pre-Columbian Era 1492–1513 The Age of Columbus 1513–1604 The Conquistadors 1604–1821 NO MAPS FOR THIS PERIOD YET 1821–1842 Successors of New Spain 1842–1860 Manifest Destiny 1860–1865 American Civil War 1865–1898 Closing the Frontier 1898–1941 American Empire 1941–pres American Superpower

North America

The Arctic North America South America

Northern Africa Sub-Saharan Africa

Northern Eurasia Europe Eastern Mediterranean

Asia Pacific Southern Asia East Asia

Australasia

Game of Thrones

First contacts

12 Oct 1492 Arrival of Columbus 26 Dec 1492 First contacts 6 Jan 1494 Columbus’ second voyage 4 Aug 1496 Colony of Santo Domingo 24 Jun 1497 John Cabot’s expeditions 23 Aug 1500 Fall of Columbus 7 Jan 1503 First Spanish attempts on the Mainland 8 Aug 1508 Colonization of Puerto Rico 15 Aug 1511 Spanish expansion in the Caribbean

Finding the first people he encountered peaceful and friendly, Christopher Columbus sailed southwest to discover and explore the northern coasts of Cuba (which he named ‘Juana’) and Hispaniola. In December 1492 his largest ship, the Santa María, ran aground off present day Haiti in Hispaniola, compelling Columbus to establish the 36-man fort of La Navidad there with the help of Guacanagaríx, chief of Marién. He then returned across the Atlantic with his two remaining ships, reaching Spain in March 1493.

About this map

Download map
(download without labels)

Main Events

12 Oct 1492–15 Mar 1493 Columbus’ first explorations and return ▲

After meeting with the people of San Salvador—who he found peaceful and friendly—Christopher Columbus sailed southwest to discover and explore the northern coasts of Cuba (which he named ‘Juana’) and Hispaniola. In December 1492 the Santa María ran aground off present day Haiti in Hispaniola, compelling Columbus to establish a fort there from the wreckage. He then returned across the Atlantic with the Niña and the Pinta, eventually—after running into trouble with the Portuguese in the Azores—reaching Spain in March 1493. in wikipedia

26 Dec 1492–25 Nov 1493 La Navidad ▲

On Christmas Eve 1492, Columbus’ largest ship, the Santa María, was wrecked off the coast of Hispaniola. With the aid of Guacanagaríx, Taíno chief of Marién, Columbus made use of the wreckage to establish the fort of La Navidad—the first Spanish outpost in the New World—and garrisoned it with 36 men. Columbus returned to Spain in January 1493 to prepare for a second voyage; when he arrived back in La Navidad in November, he found it had been burned to the ground and his men killed, apparently in a retaliatory raid by Caonabo of Maguana. in wikipedia

Follow us