No gamble in history has been more momentous than the landfall of Columbus's ship the Santa Maria in the Americas in 1492 - an event that paved the way for the conquest of a 'New World'. The accounts collected here provide a vivid narrative of his voyages throughout the Caribbean and finally to the mainland of Central America, although he still believed he had reached Asia. Columbus himself is revealed as a fascinating and contradictory figure, fluctuating from awed enthusiasm to paranoia and eccentric geographical speculation. Prey to petty quarrels with his officers, his pious desire to bring Christian civilization to 'savages' matched by his rapacity for gold, Columbus was nonetheless an explorer and seaman of staggering vision and achievement.
JM Cohen (1903 - 1989) was the translator of many volumes for the Penguin Classics, including versions of Rabelais, Cervantes and Montaigne.
IntroductionFIRST VOYAGE: 1492–3General and Natural History of the Indies by Captain Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, Bk. II, Chaps. 2–4Digest of Columbus's Log-Book on his First Voyage Made by Bartolome de las CasasThe Life of the Admiral by his Son, Hernando Colon, Chaps. 27–42Letter of Columbus to Various Persons Describing the Results of His First Voyage and Written on the Return JourneySECOND VOYAGE: 1493–6The Life of the Admiral by his Son, Hernando Colon, Chap. 43The Letter Written by Dr Chanca to the City of SevilleThe Life of the Admiral by his Son, Hernando Colon, Chaps. 51–64THIRD VOYAGE: 1498–1500The Life of the Admiral by his Son, Hernando Colon, Chap. 65Narrative of the Third Voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Indies, in which He Discovered the Mainland, Dispatched to the Sovereigns from the Island of HispaniolaThe Life of the Admiral by his Son, Hernando Colon, Chaps. 73–80 and 82–6Letter Sent by the Admiral of the Indies to the Governess of Don Juan of Castile in the year 1500, in which He Was Brought from the Indies a PrisonerThe Life of the Admiral by his Son, Hernando Colon, Chaps. 86 (cont.)–87FOURTH VOYAGE: 1502–4Letter Written by Christopher Columbus, Viceroy and Admiral of the Indies, to the Most Christian and Mighty King and Queen of Spain, Our SovereignsAccount by Diego Mendez of Certain Incidents on Christopher Columbus's Last VoyageThe Life of the Admiral by his Son, Hernando Colon, Chap. 108LIST OF MAPSThe Four VoyagesThe First VoyageThe Second Voyage (First Map)The Second Voyage (Second Map)The Third VoyageThe Fourth Voyage