The Spanish Colony, La Isabela

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La Isabela is known to be the first European colony in the new world. It is named after Queen Isabela. The expedition was lead Christopher Columbus and accompanied by about 1500 men along with supplies such as livestock, seeds for planting crops, and tool and supplies necessary to establish a colony. The expedition was lead in 1493, after Christopher Columbus first voyage from 1491-1492. When he first landed on the east bank of the Bajabonico River he encountered the Tiano Indians. He took some gold from the Tiano to convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela to fund a second, larger expedition.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela were convinced after seeing the gold. The main purpose of the expedition was to provide a foot hold in America for Spain, but also to discover sources precious. In 1493, Christopher Columbus built the first intentional European colonial town in the New World. It was intended as a base from which to establish Spanish presence.

The town was surrounded by a wall, with a fortified storehouse at one end and Columbus's citadel at the other. It had a plaza on the water, with several stone buildings and 200 palm thatch huts provided housing for most of the town's inhabitants. A silver-ore processing station was identified to the north of the alhondiga, evidenced by 58 graphite-tempered assaying crucibles and one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of mercury, brought to Hispaniola for the purpose of extracting gold from powdered ore by amalgamation.

Shortly after the colony was built, symptoms of dissatisfaction broke out. Many of the Spaniards experienced diseases from dramatic weather changes, and other started to complain about the hard labor given to them. The colonist taught that the soil would be filled with go...

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...satisfied colonists, a captive Indian chief (who died on the voyage), and thirty native prisoners, and set sail for Spain on 10 March, 1496, leaving his brother Bartholomew in charge at Isabela. Columbus reached Cadiz 11 June, 1496. Columbus himself was recalled to Spain in 1496, to account for the financial disasters and cruelty to the native, and the town was abandoned in 1498.

Works Cited

Black, Annetta, Bebeto, Eric Grundhauser, and Dylan. "La Isabela." Atlas Obscura. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

"Christopher Columbus - 2nd Voyage." Christopher Columbus - 2nd Voyage. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Hirst, Kris K. "La Isabela (Dominican Republic)." About.com Archaeology. About.com, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

"La Isabela." FLMNH. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

"The Second Voyage - Colony Founded in Hispaniola." Explorion.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

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