How to Draw a Map. Malcolm Swanston

       Map 19. Columbus always believed he had found a way to the East Indies and that China lay just beyond.

      Meanwhile, Cristóbal continued his explorations with the Santa Maria and Nina, eventually arriving at the island of Hispaniola (which today comprises the two states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic), which he called Española, on 5 December. However, the flagship Santa Maria ran aground on a reef near Cap-Haïtien on Christmas Eve, sinking the next day. Cristóbal got his crew ashore without loss, and used the remains of his ship to build a fort on the nearby shore, which he named La Navidad (Christmas). It immediately became clear that the small caravel, Nina, would be unable to hold all the combined crews of the two ships. This forced a difficult decision to leave behind around 40 men to await Cristóbal’s return from Spain. These men stood on the beach on 2 January 1493 and watched as the Nina