Fourth voyage of Columbus

The fourth voyage of Columbus was a Spanish maritime expedition in 1502–1504 to the western Caribbean Sea led by Christopher Columbus. The voyage, Columbus's last, failed to find a western maritime route to the Far East, returned relatively little profit, and resulted in the loss of many crew men, all the fleet's ships, and a year-long marooning in Jamaica. It is deemed the first non-Amerindian discovery of mainland Middle America, and one of the first non-Amerindian, non-Norse discoveries of continental North America.

Fourth voyage of Columbus
Landing of Columbus / 1847 oil on canvas by J Vanderlyn / via Commons
CountrySpain
LeaderChristopher Columbus
StartCádiz
6–11 May 1502 (1502-05)
EndSanlúcar de Barrameda
7 November 1504 (1504-11-07)
GoalTo discover a western maritime passage to the Far East
Ships
  • Capitana
  • Santiago
  • Gallego
  • Vizcaíno
Crew138–152 men / excl impressed Amerindians
Fatalities33–34 men / excl Amerindian deaths
Achievements
  • First non-Amerindian discovery of mainland Middle America
  • First crossing of Caribbean Sea
  • First non-Amerindian survey of eastern Bay of Honduras
  • First survey of Caribbean waters off lower Central America
  • First non-Amerindian contact with Maya civilisation / possibly
Route

Caribbean route / 2011 map by K Pickering / via Commons
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