Columbus Departs on Second Voyage with 17 Ships

Columbus departs Cadiz with 17 ships and approximately 1,200 men — soldiers, clergy, farmers, and colonists — marking the transition from exploration to colonization. The fleet discovers the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, and returns to Hispaniola only to find La Navidad destroyed: the garrison had been killed by Taíno led by Cacique Caonabó, after abusing and enslaving the local population. Columbus establishes a new settlement, La Isabela, farther east.