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Vuelo de La Navidad
A Timeline by tubendo


"Vuelo de La Navidad?" - Christopher Columbus (1494)

"The great wild lands of Columbia were found by the great explorer Cristopher Columbus, but it was Governor Diego de Arana who founded the true beginnings of European settlement in Columbia. Diego and his sailing brothers continued to live in La Navidad until the native Taíno attacked his village after they had provoked them earlier. The Taíno attempted to masscre the entire population of the village but were only able to kill less than ten until Diego and an armed force was able to scare off the natives temporalily. Seeing this as their chance, all decided that it would be best to settle somewhere with more friendler natives. The settlers abandoned the short lived town of La Navidad and using the wreckage from the Santa Maria and what else they could produce from the island, sailed northward to a group of islands they called then Arana Islands and called the largest, Great Arana both these names coming from their governor. Presuming to never see Spain again, Diego declared himself Prince of Isla Arana (later contracted to Islarana by the settlers). In that year of 1493 he was able to build up a great fortified settlement on Great Arana and granted his sailors out land. He used the wreckage of the Santa Maria to fish while he and his close advisory group plotted how to return to or make contact with the Crown. This time did not come until Columbus' return in 1494." - An excerpt from the book, "Foundations of Columbia" by Alfonso de Santiago (1856)

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