Christopher Columbus’ voyage had disheartening moments too. One of them was the wreck of the ship Santa Maria. The other ships of the Columbus expedition were the smaller, caravel-type ships Santa Clara, remembered as La Nina and La Pinta.
Columbus named the island of Haiti as Espanola or The Spanish Island, in honour of the Spanish Crown.
It was at north Haiti that the Santa Maria sank. The currents carried the ship to a sandbank. Columbus tried to float the ship off the bank, but the tide was lower and the ship was firmly grounded.
The Santa Maria tilted to one side as the water level fell. Then, the ship’s seams began to open. With a horrific crack, the planking split open and the seawater rushed into the ship from below the waterline. Columbus’ flagship Santa Maria couldn’t be re-floated and saved. It was a terrible disaster.
Columbus ordered his men to strip the timbers from the ship. These timbers were later used to build a fort, which Columbus called ‘La Navidad’ because the wreck occurred on Christmas Day, north from the modern town of Limonade.
