Times of the Islands Fall 2017

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the expedition’s cost. Having driven the Moors out of
Spain earlier in 1492 and consolidated their kingdoms,
the monarchs had their own incentive to gain an advan-
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HUGH G. O’NEILL
ATTORNEYSN
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P.O. Box 267
Hibernian House
1136 Leeward Highway
Providenciales
Turks and Caicos Islands
B.W.I.
Tel 649-946-4514
Fax 649-946-4955
Email hugh.oneill@hgoneillco.tc
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tage over their more advanced Portuguese neighbors and
other rivals. (Ironically, the Portuguese king turned down
Columbus when he approached him earlier.) Columbus
quickly brought in other investors and secured and outfitted
three ships: The small, nimble caravels La Niña and
La Pinta and the older, larger, slower “carrack” or “nao”
flagship Santa Maria.
On August 3, 1492 the ships departed from the
Spanish port city of Palos to the Canary Islands. After a
stop in Gomera Island to repair the Pinta’s rudder and
take on provisions, Columbus set sail on September 6.
His course took him within sight of the western-most
Canary Island of El Hierro, at which point he caught the
prevailing westerly winds and steered due west into the
vast blue unknown using compass dead reckoning.
After 36 days of sailing, Rodrigo de Triana, a sailor
aboard La Pinta, shouted out in the early morning hours,
“¡Tierra! ¡Tierra!,” (Land! Land!). La Pinta set off a canon
charge, a pre-arranged signal when land was sighted. To
hold their positions until daylight and avoid hitting rocks
or reef, the ships steered their bows into the wind and
replaced the main sails with smaller fore and aft “treo”
sails. The rising sun behind them a few hours later confirmed
a long island lying on a north–south axis with
high bluffs clearly visible with many other small islands
around. But where?
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PHONE: 649-946-4411
FAX: 649-946-4945
Chief proponent
Scholars most often cite San Salvador (until 1926 known
as Watling Island) in the eastern middle section of the
Bahamas as the most likely location for the Columbus
landfall. National Geographic magazine, also a player,
has long promoted nearby Samana Cay, which lies 72
miles (120 km) south–southeast. However, many uncertainties
remain and evidence for the first landings in
those islands is far from conclusive.
Enter historian Josiah Marvel, longtime visitor to
Provo and part-time resident of Salt Cay. He has become
the most ardent and leading advocate for Grand Turk as
the most likely landing. (See Times of the Islands, Fall
1992.) A septuagenarian originally from New York, Mr.
Marvel suffers no fools. With his professorial bearing,
he looks and acts like a man on a mission to correct a
momentous historical mistake.
Mr. Marvel has poured the better part of his adult
life into making the case for Grand Turk as the true first
38 www.timespub.tc