Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 and died in 1506. Christopher Columbus was born in the Italian seaport of Genoa in 1451, to a family of wool weavers. He became an experienced sailor and moved to Lisbon in Portugal. He tried for many years to persuade kings and queens to give him money for food and ships so he could find a new route to China. Columbus persuaded King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to give him the money.

Columbus had three ships the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. On 12th October 1492 the Pinta first spotted what Columbus called San Salvador. It is now known as the Bahamas. Next Columbus arrived in Cuba. Finally he went to a place he calls Hispaniola. This land is today shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Jamaica was claimed for Spain after Christopher Columbus first landed there in 1494. Columbus found the land that was later known as America. Columbus claimed Hispaniola for Spain.

Columbus landing point was Discovery Bay, where he took formal possession of the island. St. Ann's Bay was the "Saint Gloria" of Columbus who first sighted Jamaica at this point. One mile west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first settlement on the island Sevilla. Sevilla was later abandoned in 1554.

The capital was moved to Spanish Town, now located in the parish of St. Catherine, as early as 1534 being then St. Jago de la Vega or Santiago de la Vega. Spanish Town has the oldest Cathedral in the British colonies. The Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann.