Document 2: A Shipmate's Diary
August 3, 1492: I have lived in Palos all my life. A week ago I signed on to be a crew member on Admiral Columbus’s voyage. Now I’m on his ship Santa Maria, ready to sail. Many of my friends tell me that I am crazy. They say that no one knows what one will find on the great Western Ocean. But I need the money to support my family. God preserve me so that I will come back to them.
September 6, 1492: Today we left the Canary Islands and after a month’s stay, headed due west. God keep us all.
September 19, 1492: No sight of Cipango, the eastern island that we hoped to reach. Just after our daily hot meal of fish, vegetables and wine, we saw another hopeful sign-pelicans. Admiral Columbus told us that we were near the Indies because these birds stay within 150 miles of land.
September 23, 1492: The wind has died down. Many in the crew believe this is a bad sign and that we are on a voyage from which we will never return. There is talk of mutiny against the foreigner Columbus.
October 11, 1492: The men are about to take control of the ship. We believe that we will soon run out of food and starve to death on this unknown ocean; however, the Admiral reassured us. He told us again that he knows that land is near and that within a week we will reach the Indies. Enough crew members were convinced by the Admiral to stick with him. Their patience, however, is running unless we sight land soon, there really will be a mutiny.
October 12, 1492: Glory to God. One of the crew has sighted land. This time it is for real. Our Admiral has told us that this place, San Salvador, which we named for our Savior, is one of the outer islands that surround Cipango [Japan] and Cathay [China]. [Actually, Columbus landed in the Bahamas, on the island that today is still called San Salvador.]
October 13, 1492: Our Admiral has claimed this land for Spain and our Monarchy. We met the people who live on the island. He believes that we are very near India. Unfortunately there seems to be little gold on the island but our Admiral believes that close by we will find the riches of the great Khan, the Emperor of China.
