History, Natural History & the Arts
In 1492, Christopher Columbus’ voyage across the Atlantic linked Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. As Columbus’ sponsor, Spain became the first European Power to use the peoples, resources, and lands of the Americas and the Caribbean as the basis for its Atlantic Empire.
How did this empire function and what wealth was Spain able to extract from these peoples and lands? [Read more…] about Pearls and the Nature of the Spanish Empire
This week on “The Historians” podcast, Andrew Rowen, author of Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 Retold.
The book dramatizes the history of Christopher Columbus’s epic voyage and first encounters with Native Americans from a bicultural perspective.
Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about 1492: Columbus Encounters The Taino People
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue as part of the great European quest to find new routes and shortcuts to the spice islands and territories of Asia.
Spain and Portugal led this quest during the 15th and 16th centuries and their race to access the Asian spice trade caused Columbus to sail unwittingly into the Caribbean and North America.