Columbus Sights the South American Mainland
Steering far south on his third crossing, Columbus made landfall at Trinidad on 31 July 1498 and then sighted the Venezuelan mainland at the Gulf of Paria. The volume of fresh water pouring from the Orinoco told him he was facing something far larger than an island, and he concluded he had found a 'Terra Firma'. He returned to Hispaniola to a colony in revolt and was sent back to Spain in chains.
- Year: 1498 CE
