OTL, the fleet of 2 ships (Pinta and Nina) having departed land of Indies on 8th of January, 1493, met a storm and was separated on 13th of February, 1493.
Each ship then proceeded on the assumption that the other had sank with all hands.
OTL, Pinta passed Azores without seeing them and reached Bayona on 2nd of March. Sent a letter from Bayona reporting the trip - the first written report of the trip anywhere in Europe - and reached Palos on 15th of March.
OTL, Nina did survive. Made a landfall at Azores island of Santa Maria on 15th of February. Tarried - was actually delayed - till 23rd of February. Arrived in Lisbon on 4th of March. Delayed there again, and submitted a second written report - unlike Azores. Reached Palos on 15th of March - a few hours before Pinta.
So, what are the effects of the PoD if Nina did sink on Valentine´s day?
The crew of Nina was about 20 men, including Cristobal Colon. That of Pinta was about 26 men.
The captain of Pinta was a Martin Pinzon.
OTL, Martin Pinzon fell ill near the end of his trip with fevers. In Palos, on 15th of March, he was carried off his ship in a stretcher and died about two weeks later.
Other prominent crew members of Pinta included Martin´s younger brother and second-in-command Francisco (lived till 1502) and shipowner Cristobal Quintero.
There are Capitulations of Santa Fe. Colon has indeed discovered something as he promised.
But Colon is not back in Europe to trumpet his success and claim his reward.
Who are around?
Diego Colon is certainly around as a page at court.
He is also 13, with no past service of his own and none to offer in imminent future.
Diego´s mother Filipa Moniz from Madeira is dead since 1484 or so.
Diego´s actual guardian is a mistress Beatriz de Arana. Why did Cristobal not marry her?
Diego´s paternal uncle Bartolome Colon was elsewhere in Europe, and OTL came to Spain after hearing of his brother´s success. If there was only a low key failure, would he even have come?
And then there are the financial backers of Colon. Led by Luis de Santangel.
Pinzons and Cristobal Quintero were lower status people than Cristobal Colon. It was Cristobal Colon and not Pinzons who raised the investment for the expedition. It was Cristobal Colon who Capitulations of Santa Fe were with, and he has actually kept his end.
But Cristobal is dead and of no future use.
Francisco Pinzon can offer to guide a return trip to the new lands, and to retrieve the 39 men left behind at La Navidad. Diego Colon cannot.
So precisely who discovered the new lands again? Late Cristobal Colon, father of an otherwise useless teenage page, or late Martin Pinzon, the elder brother of the prime surviving guide to New World?
And what has been discovered? Colon insisted it was Indies, peopled by Indians as per his original plan. Would Francisco Pinzon have the same reason for the same insistence, or would he acknowledge it as new lands and new people?
Each ship then proceeded on the assumption that the other had sank with all hands.
OTL, Pinta passed Azores without seeing them and reached Bayona on 2nd of March. Sent a letter from Bayona reporting the trip - the first written report of the trip anywhere in Europe - and reached Palos on 15th of March.
OTL, Nina did survive. Made a landfall at Azores island of Santa Maria on 15th of February. Tarried - was actually delayed - till 23rd of February. Arrived in Lisbon on 4th of March. Delayed there again, and submitted a second written report - unlike Azores. Reached Palos on 15th of March - a few hours before Pinta.
So, what are the effects of the PoD if Nina did sink on Valentine´s day?
The crew of Nina was about 20 men, including Cristobal Colon. That of Pinta was about 26 men.
The captain of Pinta was a Martin Pinzon.
OTL, Martin Pinzon fell ill near the end of his trip with fevers. In Palos, on 15th of March, he was carried off his ship in a stretcher and died about two weeks later.
Other prominent crew members of Pinta included Martin´s younger brother and second-in-command Francisco (lived till 1502) and shipowner Cristobal Quintero.
There are Capitulations of Santa Fe. Colon has indeed discovered something as he promised.
But Colon is not back in Europe to trumpet his success and claim his reward.
Who are around?
Diego Colon is certainly around as a page at court.
He is also 13, with no past service of his own and none to offer in imminent future.
Diego´s mother Filipa Moniz from Madeira is dead since 1484 or so.
Diego´s actual guardian is a mistress Beatriz de Arana. Why did Cristobal not marry her?
Diego´s paternal uncle Bartolome Colon was elsewhere in Europe, and OTL came to Spain after hearing of his brother´s success. If there was only a low key failure, would he even have come?
And then there are the financial backers of Colon. Led by Luis de Santangel.
Pinzons and Cristobal Quintero were lower status people than Cristobal Colon. It was Cristobal Colon and not Pinzons who raised the investment for the expedition. It was Cristobal Colon who Capitulations of Santa Fe were with, and he has actually kept his end.
But Cristobal is dead and of no future use.
Francisco Pinzon can offer to guide a return trip to the new lands, and to retrieve the 39 men left behind at La Navidad. Diego Colon cannot.
So precisely who discovered the new lands again? Late Cristobal Colon, father of an otherwise useless teenage page, or late Martin Pinzon, the elder brother of the prime surviving guide to New World?
And what has been discovered? Colon insisted it was Indies, peopled by Indians as per his original plan. Would Francisco Pinzon have the same reason for the same insistence, or would he acknowledge it as new lands and new people?