Columbus's Second Voyage — Colonisation Begins
Columbus's second voyage (1493–1496) was a far larger enterprise than the first—seventeen ships and some 1,200 men—aimed at establishing a permanent Spanish colony on Hispaniola. Columbus founded the settlement of La Navidad (which he found destroyed on arrival) and then Isabela, the first European town in the Americas. The voyage also confirmed the existence of numerous Caribbean islands and inaugurated the systematic exploitation of indigenous Taíno labour that would within decades result in the virtual extinction of the Hispaniola Taíno. The encomienda system began informally during this voyage.
- Year: 1493 CE
- Category: Political
