Podcast – Division of the fleet, First Spanish Settlement, Mermaids and Return to Spain

From the Book
Colonial American History Stories – 1215 – 1664
Transcript:

Greetings, today I will talk about the final weeks of Columbus’ voyage, in which he saw mermaids and established the first Spanish colony in the New World.
After leaving Cuba the captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, took off on his own.

Pinzón apparently had undertaken a voyage with Jean Cousin. Cousin, a native of Normandy, had sailed to the west coast of Africa in 1488. During the voyage a fierce storm blew up which drove Cousin’s ship off course. When the storm cleared the explorers stood off the coast of an unknown land. They sighted a large river entering the sea before making the return trip to France. Many historians think the river they saw was the Orinoco River, which enters the ocean on the northeastern coast of Venezuela. .

Pinzon had been insubordinate during the voyage and at the voyage’s conclusion Cousin dismissed him for mutinous conduct. He retired from the seafaring life. Many historians think he spent time studying the Viking explorations that took place in the 10th and 11th Century. When he heard of Columbus’ quest to reach Asia by sailing west, he made Columbus and joined him in his efforts. Many think it was Pinzon’s influence that finally convinced the monarchs to finance the exedition. When the king and queen expressed reluctance to finance all of it, Pinzon provided much of the remaining funding and two of the ships, the Pinta and the Nina. He also helped convince many of the crew to enlist on the voyage.

The two men got along fine during the voyage. Historical lore intimates that it was Pinzon’s advice that led Columbus to change course, allowing them to find land. However the relationship became contentious when they found land. When they left Cuba, Columbus charted a course, which Pinzon ignored, sailing off on his own.

Columbus had decided to sail south, which led him to completely missing Florida. He was searching for the legendary Chinese city of Zaiton. The city was allegedly filled with gold and spices. Columbus believed this city was south of his location.

This episode is based upon my book, Colonial American History Stories – 1215 – 1664. The articles in the book relate much more detail about the events. The book is the first in a 7-volume series. This book includes contains almost 300 history stories presented in a time line that begins in 1215 with the signing of the Magna Carta to the printing of the first Bible in Colonial America in 1664. A visit to my web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com, will provide sample chapters excerpted from each of my 130 titles as well as links to purchase the books at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, and many other online book retailers. While you are on the web site, please subscribe by registering your email address in the subscribe button. When I post something, usually about 3 – 5 times weekly, you will recieve an email. The posts include podcast episodes, You Tube videos as well as other content, including the publication of a new book. You can also purchase books direct from me. Residents of southeastern Indiana can find my books in Batesville at the Walnut Street Variety Shoppe on George. Street. This podcast will also appear in video format on You Tube on the Mossy Feet Books channel. Subscribe to the channel for more great content.
I hope you enjoyed this podcast and thank you for listening.