October 12: 9 territories to which Christopher Columbus gave him the name and which still bear the name of

On Friday August 3, 1492, supported by the Catholic Kings of Spain, navigator Christopher Columbus departed the port of Palos de Moguer, in the southern Iberian Peninsula, to the west.

He sailed with his crew in the Santa María, La Pinta and La Niña caravels for the Atlantic Ocean for about 70 days, until on the night of 11 to 12 October he came across an island in which, according to them, was part "the Indies."

"They arrived at an island (…) called in the language of the Guanahani Indians," says the book "The four voyages of admiral and his will", of Christopher Columbus, which includes the notes of the newspaper of l & # 39; explorer.

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This island was later christened by Christopher Columbus as San Salvador and inhabited by Taíno aborigines.

It is known that this land was part of the West Indies archipelago and that it is probably an island of the Bahamas.

There is currently an island in the Bahamas called San Salvador (Watling), but historians question it a lot about whether it is the same one Columbus walked on.

This island was only the first of a series of names given by admiral to lands, rivers, capes, peninsulas and ports of the new territory.

And many of them are documented in their travel diaries.

What are the ones he has named and still call it?

Hard work

Taking a map and charting the Columbus route is not an easy task.

And more complex, try to match the hundreds of territories and landforms that the admiral has named and keep their name.

Several historians consulted by BBC Mundo agree that there is a job that no one has yet accomplished.

"Finding the names that he put is not very complicated, but it's harder to know if they're still used," said US-Portuguese historian Manuel Rosa at BBC Mundo.

But in this article, we assume the challenge.

Below, you will find the alphabetical list of places in America named for over 500 years.

1. Antigua and Barbuda

1. Antigua and Barbuda

This small nation is made up of Antigua and Barbuda, which are the two largest and most important islands and a number of small islands, including the uninhabited island of Redonda.

Christopher Columbus visited Antigua in 1493, during his second trip to the "New World".

He named it in honor of the Church of Santa Maria de la Antigua, in Seville, Spain, according to the "Concise Dictionary of World Place Names", by Oxford.

Then, in 1632, Antigua was colonized by the English and it was the same for Barbuda in 1678. The latter became dependent on Antigua in the eighteenth century.

Over the next two centuries, the islands were under different British colonial confessions until the year 1981, when Antigua and Barbuda declared its independence.

2. Costa Rica

Christopher Columbus gave his name to the current republic in 1502, during his fourth trip.

"Perhaps because of the belief (false) that I would find gold there, because the natives wear ornaments of this precious metal." What I did not know, it was that gold was imported, "says the Oxford Dictionary.

However, the coast was rich in wood, fruit and water.

The name Costa Rica was officially accepted in 1539 and the following year, although there was no Spanish settlements until in 1561, it began to be part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

In 1568 he was included in the new kingdom of Guatemala, until he declared his independence in 1821 and joined the Mexican empire.

Two years later, he was one of the founding members of the United Provinces of Central America.

Costa Rica is an independent republic since 1848. It is interesting to note that its currency is called a settler.

3. Cuba

The name of Cuba is a very particular case among the denominations of Christopher Columbus.

And it is perhaps one of the names he quotes most often in his travel diaries. He appears about 19 times during the first trip, according to the book "The Four Admiral's Travels and His Will".

"What happened with the name Cuba is something funny because it names it (on the island), Juana and the natives called it" Colba "and the next time that" 39, he would name the island, he would call Cuba, "says historian Rosa, author of several books on the life of Christopher Columbus.

On Tuesday, October 23, 1942, Columbus wrote: "I would like to leave today for the island of Cuba, which, in my opinion, should be Cipango, according to the signs given by these people of their greatness and wealth ".

Cipango is the old name by which Europeans and Chinese called Japan. It is therefore likely that Columbus thought that Cuba was Japan, as he himself puts it in the newspaper.

On December 5 of this year alone, Columbus mentions Cuba as Juana and does so many times in the newspaper as synonymous with it.

Another striking fact is that "the only place that called Cuba at that time was Portugal," adds Rosa, pointing to the alleged link between the Admiral and the Kingdom of Portugal.

Cipango is the old name by which Europeans and Chinese called Japan. It is therefore likely that Columbus thought that Cuba was Japan, as he himself puts it in the newspaper.

On December 5 of this year alone, Columbus mentions Cuba as Juana and does so many times in the newspaper as synonymous with it.

Another striking fact is that "the only place that called Cuba at that time was Portugal," adds Rosa, pointing to the alleged link between the Admiral and the Kingdom of Portugal.

4. Dominican

Christopher Columbus visited this country of the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, November 3, 1493.

The Admiral appointed him in honor of the day of God, in Latin Dies Dominica or Sunday.

Caribbean dwellers called it Waitukubuli, which meant "big as its body," referring to the mountain range that crosses the island from north to south, says the Oxford Dictionary.

It fell to the British in 1783 and was part of several colonial federations during the next two centuries.

He became an associate state of the United Kingdom with a self-governing government in 1967 before becoming an independent republic on November 3, 1978, date of the 485th anniversary of Columbus' arrival.

5. Jamaica

Columbus visited Jamaica in 1494.

Although the explorer did not give him this name, he has always been referring to it, he also mentioned Jamaica six times on his fourth trip.

The original name of the Arawak aborigines is Xaymaca or Yamaya, which means "land of wood and water".

Later, in his will, Christopher Columbus called Santiago Island: "I have discovered many islands (…), among which that of Jamaica, which we call ourselves from Santiago". But clearly this name has not survived.

The island was under Spanish possession until 1655, when it was conquered by the British.

Jamaica has been an independent state since 1962.

6. The Spanish

It is the island that includes the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

And it was the first Spanish colony in the "New World".

The natives called Bohío Island, Baneque or Bareque, before the arrival of Columbus in 1492 and named it the Spanish island.

On Tuesday, December 11, 1492, he wrote: "I wanted to see the center of these two islands to see the Spanish island, which is the most beautiful thing in the world: the island of Bohío was larger than that of Juana, Cuba … ".

During the Spanish presence, it was sometimes called Santo Domingo.

7. Saint Lucia

It is thought that this island was visited for the first time by Christopher Columbus in 1502, probably December 13, day of St. Lucia, a martyr virgin Sicilian.

He changed hands between the French and the English several times during the seventeenth century but was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814 and became one of the Windward Islands in 1871.

He obtained his independence in 1979.

The original native name was Iouanalao, which means "the place where the iguana was found," according to the Oxford Dictionary.

8. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

He met San Vicente Colón Island on 22 January 1498, San Vicente de Zaragoza Day, a martyr who died after being tortured in 304.

The name of the Grenadines refers to the Spanish city of Granada.

The islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines passed into the hands of the British in 1763, although aboriginal aborigines were only controlled in 1796.

The original Aborigines Caribs name for St. Vincent was Youlou or Hairoun, which means "the house of the blessed".

St. Vincent and the Grenadines gained independence in 1979.

9. Trinidad (and Tobago)

Its territory comprises two main islands, Trinidad, the largest and most populous, and Tobago, as well as several smaller islands.

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was originally called Leré by the indigenous Caribbean, which means "the land of hummingbirds".

Christopher Columbus arrived on the island in 1498 and gave him the name of Trinidad through the three peaks that surround the south bay where he landed. For him, they represented the Holy Trinity, says the Oxford dictionary.

In the journals of his four voyages, Christopher Columbus constantly describes the beauty he discovered while navigating in these waters and traversing these lands.

"The waters are always very clear and the bottom is visible … They are very green and fertile islands with very soft airs, and there can be many things that I do not know …".

"I believe that there is an earthly paradise where no one can surrender except by divine will, and I believe that this country that your commanders have now discovered is very vast and that there are many of them." Others in Austria where there has never been any news, "he wrote. admiral