Part of a mural painted by Faustilus Frederick,
decorating the front of the Catholic Church in Salybia,
Dominica Carib Territory. Photo © 1998, Maximilian Forte.

1. The Arawaks according to the "Catholic Encyclopaedia" 

2. “The Admiral and the Chief,” by Samuel M. Wilson, Natural History, pp. 14-19, 3/91: Excerpt, on the relationship between Guacanagari and Columbus—“ At first, the chief and his people participated in the subjugation of the island, accompanying the Spaniards as interpreters and allies.  But as Ta!no society crumbled under the impact of Old World diseases and the demands of the Spaniards, and as Columbus was increasingly entangled in factional disputes among the conquerors.”

3. “Beachhead in the Bahamas: Columbus Encounters a New World,” by William F. Keegan in Archaeology (January/February 1992, pp. 44-50): Excerpt—“In the early morning of October 12, 1492, Columbus stepped ashore in the New World.  His landfall was an island known to its inhabitants as Guanahani.  As a sign of thanksgiving, Columbus renamed the island San Salvador, ‘Holy Savior.’  For more than a century scholars and amateur historians have debated which island should claim these names.  To date, ten of the 25 islands in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos have been identified as the first landfall.  Only three of these have been subjected to close scientific scrutiny, and only two have won many supporters. Watling Island (present-day San Salvador) and Samana Cay are the leading candidates, with Grand Turk a distant third…”

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE AGE OF DISCOVERY, Compiled by T.C. Tirado, Ph.D., Millersville University:a comprehensive bibliography of the main European powers and their histories of expansion in the Americas, as well as a section on Christopher Columbus.

5. “Christopher Columbus: A Bibliographic Voyage,” by Jack Shreve in "Choice" (January 1991, Vol. 29, pp. 703-711): Excerpt—“ For those with a passion for rating the relative greatness of historical figures, the question of where to place Christopher Columbus is not easy.  Whether seen as arch-villain of the modern era for bringing genocide and pollution to an unsullied earthly paradise or as someone worthy of sainthood, Columbus is indisputably a presence in history. …”

6. The Christopher Columbus Navigation Page

7. “A Clash of Cultures: Millions of native people were ill-equipped for the onslaught of the mighty Spanish,” by Brian Fagan in "Archaeology" (Jan-Feb 1990)

8. “Columbus and the City of Gold,” by William F. Keegan, in Journal of the Bahamas Historical Society Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 34-39, 1984: Excerpt—“ Despite the passage of almost 500 years, the particulars of Christopher Columbus' voyage of discovery remain unresolved. Since speculation on the voyage began, almost every island in the archipelago has been identified as one of the four visited…”

9. The Columbus Landfall Homepage—Just where did Columbus first see the New World? by Keith A. Pickering, 1997, from the Internet Archive: an extensive review of established theories surrounding questions and debates as to where Columbus first set foot on land.

10. Columbus’ Landfall: The Historical Record—This page, by Keith Pickering, features maps and journal entries from Columbus chosen with concern for debates and questions as to his first point of landfall in 1492.

11. Columbus Landfall, The Historical Record: a collection of a series of primary documents, extracts from journals of the time, concerning debates over the first landfall made by Christopher Columbus. Examples: The log 1: The Diario of Las Casas; The log 2: The light of October 11; The log 3: Physical description of Island I; The log 4: Population of Island I…

12. Columbus Links: a directory page opening on to a wealth of resources on Christopher Columbus.

13. Condemning the Discovery

14. Christopher Columbus page, by Antonio Rafael de la Cova

15. Christopher Columbus: includes links for Timeline, Biography, Columbus’s Ships, Columbus the Navigator, Where did he first land?, A Letter from Columbus, An Excerpt from his journal, A Letter to the King and Queen, Myths and other interesting facts, Other links, QuickTime Movie showing his voyage route

16. Columbus Day, by Ann Salzman: wide range of historical information and links

17. Cristobal Colon: basic site focusing on Columbus’ ships

18. Columbus' letter to the King and Queen of Spain, 1494, regarding Hispaniola: Excerpt—“In obedience to your Highnesses' commands, and with submission to superior judgment, I will say whatever occurs to me in reference to the colonization and commerce of the Island of Espanola, and of the other islands, both those already discovered and those that may be discovered hereafter. In the first place, as regards the Island of Espanola: Inasmuch as the number of colonists who desire to go thither amounts to two thousand, owing to the land being safer and better for farming and trading, and because it will serve as a place to which they can return and from which they can carry on trade with the neighboring islands….”

19. “Dress, Diet and Discovery: Columbus Changed Them All,” by Mimi Kelly in Five Hundred Magazine, Volume 1/No. 1; May/June 1989

20. The Eureka Project, Search for Columbus MainPage An excellent introductory website for use by school teachers and their pupils: includes streaming videos by the project director, information on the archaeological re-discovery of Columbus, Taïnos in the Dominican Republic, and much more. 

21. The European Voyages of Exploration—Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Empire, University of Calgary, Applied History Research Group, from the Internet Archive: an excellent scholarly page with details on the early voyages of Columbus, included extracts from his journals on his encounters with the native inhabitants of the Caribbean and their appearance.

22. The European Voyages of Exploration—The Caribbean: First Contact, University of Calgary, Applied History Research Group, from the Internet Archive: Excerpt—“ This Spanish pattern of conquest and settlement became the standard for Spanish exploration in the New World. Upon discovering a new territory, the Spanish expeditions were usually, but not always, greeted by friendly inhabitants. During this initial stage the Europeans would survey the area and the people to determine their potential for exploitation. Within a short period of time the inhabitants would grow to resent the Spanish who helped themselves to 'the natives' food, women and gold.' Such abuses were common in Spanish cross-cultural contact and provoked violent reactions by various indigenous populations. On the island of Hispaniola a group of tribal leaders, joined forces to expel the Spaniards from the island. The Spaniards, who had the benefit of muskets, arquebuses, armor, and savage dogs ruthlessly put these uprisings down and took captive the tribal leaders to ensure native cooperation. Once native resistance was crushed the Spanish forced the villages to grow cash crops, pay tribute, and mine for their precious gold. The Spanish regime was brutal and violent. Rapes and massacres were casual and frequent in occurrence, rationalized by a racist world view that justified the exploitation of non-Christians or non-whites….”

23. “Examining the reputation of Christopher Columbus,” by Jack Weatherford, from the Internet Archive: excerpt—“Because Columbus captured more Indian slaves than he could transport to Spain in his small ships, he put them to work in mines and plantations which he, his family and followers created throughout the Caribbean. His marauding band hunted Indians for sport and profit - beating, raping, torturing, killing, and then using the Indian bodies as food for their hunting dogs. Within four years of Columbus' arrival on Hispaniola, his men had killed or exported one-third of the original Indian population of 300,000. Within another 50 years, the Taino people had been made extinct [editor's note: the old assumption that the Taino became extinct is now open to serious question] - the first casualties of the holocaust of American Indians. The plantation owners then turned to the American mainland and to Africa for new slaves to follow the tragic path of the Taino.”

24. King Ferdinand's letter to the Taino/Arawak Indians 

25. The Columbus Letter of 1494: the Jay Kislak Foundation presents this letter by Columbus describing his 1492 discoveries of places and people, as his ship approached Spain on his return voyage in early 1493. This famous letter was quickly published and printed in Spanish at Barcelona (of which only one copy survives). 

26. The Crimes of Christopher Columbus by Dinesh D'Souza First Things 57 (November 1995): 26-33.  

27. Information Resources on Christopher Columbus by Mindspring.com  

28. Christopher Columbus: "Christopher Columbus is a symbol, not of a man, but of imperialism. ... Imperialism and colonialism are not something that happened decades ago or generations ago, but they are still happening now with the exploitation of people. ... The kind of thing that took place long ago in which people were dispossessed from their land and forced out of subsistence economies and into market economies -- those processes are still happening today." John Mohawk, Seneca, 1992 

29. El Dorado: multiple pages of information on El Dorado Myth, Christopher Columbus, along with full texts of Columbus’s documents 

30. Full Text Documents on/by Christopher Columbus: This page contains links to pages with information about Columbus. This page is part of the Discoverers Web 

31. Computerized Information Retrieval System on Columbus and the Age of Discovery— Tom Tirado has collected a large number of articles on Columbus and several connected subjects. 

32. 1492: An ongoing voyage - Library of Congress Exhibit 

33. Outline of Objects and Topics in 1492: AN ONGOING VOYAGE Exhibit

34. Privileges and Prerogatives Granted by Their Catholic Majesties to Christopher Columbus (1492) 

35. Discoverers Web: An extraordinary collection of information by Andre Engels, with a vast series of links of numerous explorers. 

36. THE LIFE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: FROM HIS OWN LETTERS AND JOURNALS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS OF HIS TIME. By Hale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909— Full text of the book is available here, with illustrations. Download for free 

37. "The Lucayans:  The People Whom Columbus Discovered in the Bahamas" by George A. Aarons, in "Five Hundred" Magazine  (April 1990, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 6-7)—Extract: “When Columbus, the great admiral and navigator, arrived at San Salvador in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, he found there a group of people known to us as the Lucayans.  It was at this juncture that the 15th century inhabitants of the Bahamas entered written history.  But their history, as can today be pieced together through archaeological, anthropological, ethnographical and historical research, actually predates this momentous event by many centuries….”

38. THE TRUE STORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, CALLED THE GREAT ADMIRAL. By Elbridge S. Brooks. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1892.— Full text available here, with illustrations. If the link does not work for any reason try this: Alternate link Download for free. 

39. Kwabs.com on Caribbean History, with a focus on Columbus: Included on this page are the following sections-"Columbus arrived", "Columbus picture", "Columbus the man", "Deconstructing Columbus", "Coat of Arms".

40. Map of the Voyages of Christopher Columbus

41. "Hello Columbus", by Matt Crenson, AP Science Editor: [the article itself is located half way down the page] "…A professor of underwater science at Indiana University, Beeker first saw the well at La Aleta last year, while searching for shipwrecks from Columbus' second voyage to the New World. Now, in the dense tropical forests of the easternmost Dominican Republic, he and his colleagues are uncovering lost remnants of the first contact between the Old World and the New. 'There's no doubt that this is a very special place for archaeologists in terms of what we stand to learn,' says Geoff Conrad, director of Indiana University's Mathers Museum.…The Indian side of the story has been lost to history. But archaeologists have found cave paintings near La Aleta that may give a partial account from the Indian point of view. The walls of Jose Maria Cave, a few miles from the well, depict Indians growing, harvesting and making bread from a local plant known as guayiga. The paintings also show the Indians offering the bread to the Spanish as a tribute. Because the conquistadors were more interested in gold than farming, they needed the bread to feed the inhabitants of Santo Domingo and other nearby colonies…"

42. Medieval Sourcebook: Christopher Columbus: Extracts from Journal— “This document is the from the journal of Columbus in his voyage of 1492. The meaning of this voyage is highly contested. On the one hand, it is witness to the tremendous vitality and verve of late medieval and early modern Europe - which was on the verge of acquiring a world hegemony. On the other hand, the direct result of this and later voyages was the virtual extermination, by ill-treatment and disease, of the vast majority of the Native inhabitants, and the enormous growth of the transatlantic slave trade. It might not be fair to lay the blame at Columbus' feet, but since all sides treat him as a symbol, such questions cannot be avoided….” Full text free to download.

43. The Population of Guanahani, on the Columbus Landfall Page: Excerpt—“James E. Kelley, Jr. (1992) has made a convincing and still unrefuted argument about the population of San Salvador: working from Columbus's own report of the number and sizes of native canoes that visited his fleet on October 13, 1492, Kelley determined that the minimum population of San Salvador must lie between 634 and 1115. More recently, Alejandro Perez (1995) has made another convincing argument about the population of San Salvador: working from Columbus's report (unnoticed by many) that the entire population could be subjugated by 50 men, Perez argues that this description suggests a population for San Salvador in the hundreds, but not in the thousands. Perez reasonably suggests a maximum population range of 500 to 1000 on that basis….”

44. “Sources for the Life and Times of Christopher Columbus,” by Carla Rahn Phillips, in Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies Bulletin (Winter 1992, Vol. XVII, No. 1, pp. 8-18)

45. “When Worlds Collide,” by Kenneth Auchincloss, in Newsweek (Special Issue, Fall/Winter 1991, pp. 8-13): Excerpt—“No, Columbus didn't discover America.  Let's lay to rest that old notion right at the start.  First of all, the verb's all wrong for our multicultural, interdependent, ultrasensitive modern world….”

46. “1491”, by Charles Mann, The Atlantic Monthly, March 2002

47. 1492. By Mary Johnston. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, Published October, 1922— Full text available here, with illustrations. Download for free.

48. “1492 and Multiculturalism,” by Robert Royal in "The Intercollegiate Review" (Spring 1992, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 3-10): Excerpt—“One hundred years ago, in 1892, Columbus was celebrated as a modern man liberating himself from the theological inhibitions of Catholicism and the feudal restraints of Spain to help create Protestant and democratic America.  This interpretation had gained prominence earlier in the century primarily through Washington Irving's popular but skewed biography, which aimed at making Columbus into the embodiment of nineteenth-century American optimism and progress.  This year, however, Columbus is being revised by many writers whose vested interest lies far from seeing him as a white progressive—that issue is long dead.  Now he is the prototype of early white European capitalist oppression whose victims--blacks, Native Americans, women (communitarians and environmentalists all, of course)--are a veritable multicultural litany…”

49. “1492: A 'New World' View,” by Sylvia Wynter, in The New World (Spring/Summer 1991, No. 2, pp. 4-5): Excerpt—“ Spain, and Europe in general, are preparing to celebrate this event and have chosen to call it ‘The First Encounters.’ But the view from the Americas and the Caribbean, unlike that of Europe, must confront the fact that a non-European and indigenous collective historical memory also exists.  This memory, in marked contrast to the triumphalist schoolbook stereotype that ‘in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue’ and ‘discovered America,’ is scarred.  As Wendy Rose (1990) reminds us, for some people this epochal event is a ‘time of mourning’…”