Columbus's Third Voyage (1498–1500): Reaching South America

Columbus’s third voyage (1498–1500) brought the first recorded Europeans to the mainland of South America. Christopher Columbus sighted Trinidad on 31 July 1498 and explored the Gulf of Paria, off present-day Venezuela, where the outflow of the Orinoco River told him he had found a vast land. The voyage ended in disgrace: amid revolt on Hispaniola, a royal investigator arrested Columbus and sent him back to Spain in chains in 1500.

Background

Columbus returned from his second voyage in June 1496 facing criticism of his rule over Hispaniola. The colony had produced little gold, many settlers had died or returned home, and complaints about the Columbus brothers had reached the court.

Ferdinand and Isabella nevertheless confirmed his privileges and approved a new voyage, although money and volunteers were harder to find. Some of the settlers were convicts offered pardons in return for service. Columbus wanted to test the idea that rich lands lay further south, nearer the equator, and to resupply Hispaniola.

The voyage south

Columbus sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda on 30 May 1498 with six ships. In the Canary Islands he sent three ships directly to Hispaniola with supplies and took the other three south to the Cape Verde Islands before turning west.

Near the equator the fleet was becalmed in intense heat, and stores were spoiled. On 31 July 1498 a sailor sighted three hills, and Columbus named the island La Trinidad. He sailed into the Gulf of Paria between Trinidad and the mainland.

In early August his men went ashore on the Paria Peninsula, the first recorded European landing on the South American mainland. They met local people who wore pearls, which later drew Spanish expeditions to the “Pearl Coast”. Columbus noted the enormous volume of fresh water in the gulf, which came from the Orinoco delta, and reasoned that only a very large landmass could produce such a river. He described it as an “other world”, but he still placed it near Asia and suggested that the Earthly Paradise lay inland.

Suffering from an eye infection and anxious about the colony, he did not explore further. Passing Margarita Island, he headed for Hispaniola and reached the new town of Santo Domingo on 31 August 1498.

Revolt on Hispaniola

Columbus found Hispaniola in turmoil. Francisco Roldán, the chief magistrate (alcalde mayor) appointed by Columbus himself, had rebelled against Bartholomew Columbus in 1497 and controlled much of the west of the island with a band of settlers who lived off Taíno communities.

Lacking the strength to defeat him, Columbus negotiated. In 1499 he restored Roldán to office and granted the rebels land together with the labour of Taíno communities, an early form of the system that became the encomienda. Fresh disputes followed, and Columbus had several Spaniards hanged.

Meanwhile the crown was licensing other expeditions. In 1499 Alonso de Ojeda, with Juan de la Cosa and Amerigo Vespucci, followed Columbus’s route to the coast of Venezuela.

Arrest and return in chains

Worried by reports from Hispaniola, Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Francisco de Bobadilla as royal investigator and governor with wide powers. He arrived at Santo Domingo on 23 August 1500, saw the bodies of hanged Spaniards and took control. He arrested Columbus and his brothers Bartholomew and Diego and sent them to Spain in chains in October 1500.

According to his son Ferdinand, Columbus refused the ship captain’s offer to remove the chains during the voyage, insisting that only the monarchs could order it, and kept them for the rest of his life.

The monarchs ordered his release and received him at Granada in December 1500. They restored part of his wealth and titles but not his authority. In 1501 they named Nicolás de Ovando governor of the Indies, and he sailed in 1502 with a large fleet. Columbus was allowed only a smaller fourth voyage, on which he was forbidden to land on Hispaniola except on the way home.

Key people

• Christopher Columbus (c. 1451–1506): admiral and viceroy, who lost his governorship as a result of this voyage.
• Bartholomew Columbus (c. 1461–1515): his brother and deputy, who founded Santo Domingo and governed in his absence.
• Francisco Roldán (died 1502): leader of the settler revolt on Hispaniola.
• Francisco de Bobadilla (died 1502): royal investigator who arrested Columbus; he drowned when the fleet carrying him home was wrecked by a hurricane.

Timeline

• 1498, 30 May: Columbus sails from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with six ships.
• 1498, 31 July: Trinidad is sighted.
• 1498, early August: First landing on the Paria Peninsula of South America.
• 1498, 31 August: Columbus reaches Santo Domingo.
• 1499: Columbus comes to terms with Roldán’s rebels.
• 1500, 23 August: Francisco de Bobadilla arrives in Santo Domingo.
• 1500, October: Columbus is sent to Spain in chains.
• 1500, December: The monarchs receive Columbus at Granada.

Why it matters

The third voyage brought Europeans to the South American mainland and helped convince geographers that a great unknown landmass lay across the Atlantic. It also ended Columbus’s role as ruler of the colony, as the Spanish crown replaced the explorer’s personal authority with royal officials and tighter control over the Indies.