Goodbye, Columbus

During his second voyage to the New World, rumors of a "land of blessed gold" lured Christopher Columbus to what would later be called Jamaica. Although the promise of riches turned out to be unfounded, the explorer could lay claim to discovering a tropical treasure for Spain's rulers.

Although St. Anne's Bay was to be his first glimpse of the island, Columbus first set foot on the swath of sand then known as Xaymaca, today referred to as Discovery Bay. His arrival, on May 5, 1494, marked the beginning of the end for the native Arawak people, who would be killed off by strange new diseases and the cruelties of slavery brought by those who followed in the explorer's path.

Columbus fared little better here, as a shipwreck necessitated his return to the island on his fourth voyage in 1503. Enduring an unsuccessful mutiny attempt by some of his crew, Columbus was rescued a year later, never returning to the "land of blessed gold."