Chapter Summaries

Columbus recorded the islanders’ goods, customs, and the fleet’s position while deciding to sail south in search of a gold-rich island he believed might be Japan. Navigator Pedro then reported that sailors had brought a woman aboard, and Columbus summoned Guard Captain Arana.

• Columbus wrote that the islanders were peaceful, lacked iron weapons, and could be easily conquered.
• Islanders traded cotton and gold for a few coins and colored glass beads, and Columbus learned of lands to the south and raiders to the northwest.
• Columbus decided to avoid the northwestern raiders and sail south to search for the island, which he suspected was Japan.
• Navigator Pedro reported the fleet was around 24 degrees north latitude, and Columbus recorded his estimates in the navigation log.
• Columbus heard a woman crying, learned Boatswain Chachu and Guard Captain Arana had brought her aboard, and ordered Pedro to fetch Arana.

Columbus responded to disorder aboard his fleet by ordering Arana to dispose of the women the sailors had brought aboard, while suspecting De La Cosa of encouraging the incident. The fleet then explored more Bahamian islands, seized goods and Taino captives, and sailed south toward Cuba, which Columbus mistakenly identified as Japan.

• Columbus confronted Arana about women brought aboard and learned that Chachu and other sailors had taken the lead, possibly encouraged by Bato and De La Cosa.
• Columbus avoided confronting the sailors directly, ordered Arana to deal with the women, and listened as they were thrown into the sea.
• On October 14, Columbus's fleet left San Salvador, explored Santa Maria Island, seized gold and six Taino men, and continued searching for wealthy islands.
• The fleet discovered Fernandina Island and questioned captured Taino, who gave uncertain information about gold and distant lands.
• On October 19, the fleet reached Isabela Island and learned of Cuba, which Columbus decided was Cipangu Japan.
• On October 24, Columbus's fleet sailed south from Isabela toward Cuba.

Columbus's Castilian fleet reached Cuba and sailed into a lake bay, where it encountered a large Taino village. The villagers fled and then formed an armed defense, leaving Columbus and his crew facing an unexpected show of resistance.

• Columbus led the fleet along Cuba's coast and found a broad river flowing into a lake bay rich in fish, shellfish, and likely pearls.
• Columbus ordered the crew to approach the native village, trade gifts for supplies, and conquer the inhabitants if they appeared weak.
• The Canoes fled after their occupants recognized the white-skinned Castilians as the demons described in their prophecy and sounded a warning horn.
• Columbus followed the fleeing Canoes to a village of more than a thousand people and sent an armed skiff to make contact.
• Several hundred Taino men gathered behind a fence with spears, while two armored Samurai led them; they threw stones and javelins at the skiff.
• Columbus ordered the matchlock guns and cannons prepared after the villagers showed hostility.

Columbus’s fleet encountered a wary Taino village in Cuba, and he initially ordered his sailors to seek trade rather than attack. After the Pinta and Nina fired cannons and muskets, the village panicked, leaving Columbus eager to exploit the apparent collapse and seize its wealth.

• Columbus spotted Taino defenders armed with stone and metal spears, while Pedro and Caro identified bronze weapons and armor among their leaders.
• Columbus rebuked sailors who wanted to attack and ordered gifts sent to the shore, hoping to trade for gold and cotton cloth.
• The Pinta fired a cannon at the village, and the Nina followed with another shot despite Columbus’s orders.
• The ships continued firing cannons and matchlock muskets, terrifying the Taino and killing two militia defenders when a cannonball struck the palisade.
• The Taino militia broke into flight, while their armored leaders tried to rally them, and Columbus prepared to seize the village’s wealth if its defenses collapsed.

Castilian sailors attacked the Taino village, but its warriors rallied around the Main God altar and formed a spear line that the invaders hesitated to charge. Columbus sent Arana ashore with orders to avoid hand-to-hand combat, and the sailors began firing matchlocks at the defenders.

• Castilian cannon fire routed the Taino militia from the outer palisade, and the sailors prepared to land and loot the village.
• Columbus noticed the Taino warriors rallying under the Circle and Bird banner and delayed landing because the ship cannons could no longer reach them accurately.
• Columbus ordered Arana to lead the flagship sailors ashore and use matchlocks from a distance instead of charging the spear formation.
• The Taino Bronze Armor warriors rallied about a hundred militia around the altar and longhouse, restoring their defensive line.
• Francisco Pinzon refused to lead a direct assault and ordered the Castilian sailors to fire matchlocks at the Taino spearmen.

The Castile sailors clashed with Taino defenders at the Fishing Bay village, where Yu Mao and Koki used shields and disciplined ranks to withstand the musket fire. As nightfall approached, the sailors’ resolve faltered, and Chachu led men toward the fishponds instead of continuing the fight.

• Francisco Pinzon ordered the sailors to fire their matchlock muskets, but most shots missed the Taino defenders.
• Yu Mao charged the sailors, killed Garcia and two others, and rallied the Taino militia before gunfire forced him to retreat behind the longhouse.
• Koki organized wooden shields and the Taino militia, while he and Yu Mao planned to wait for nightfall and attack the sailors.
• Koki and Yu Mao prayed with their warriors, and the sound of their prayers unsettled the Castile sailors until their gunfire stopped.
• Chachu led sailors from the Santa Maria away from the standoff and toward the fishponds to gather fish and return to the ship.

After the Castile sailors attacked the Fishing Bay Tribe, Koki’s forces drove them back and captured Gonzalo. Yu Mao used the victory to convert the tribe to Huitzilopochtli, leaving its chiefs’ authority in doubt and Gonzalo terrified of what he had witnessed.

• The Castile sailors set the village’s outer sheds on fire, but Koki and the Taino militia pursued them as they fled toward their ships.
• Koki captured the wounded Gonzalo, treated his leg, and carried him back to the village while the militia extinguished the fires.
• Koki reflected on the Kingdom’s limited forces in Cuba and concluded that the demons’ arrival would push the Taino tribes to accept the Main God’s faith.
• Yu Mao proclaimed that Huitzilopochtli had protected the tribe, and the Taino militia gathered at the altar to pray to the Sun Main God.
• The Kingdom warriors and Main God warriors carved the emblem on the Fishing Bay Tribe’s people, while Gonzalo silently repeated that the terrifying devil had come.

After a failed raid on a native village, Columbus exploited the sailors’ exhaustion and the boatswains’ loss of support to seize control of the Santa Maria. He had Bato condemned to exile and thrown into the sea, then appointed Arana as boatswain and promised the crew riches if they obeyed him.

• After the fleet’s raid failed and six sailors died, Columbus berated Bato and Chachu while Rodrigo and Gutierrez left the bow.
• Columbus threatened Chachu with his rapier, accused him of endangering the sailors, and treated his silence as an admission of guilt.
• Columbus confronted Bato, who apologized and promised to obey, but Columbus refused to let him remain aboard.
• Columbus ordered Arana and Chachu to throw Bato into the sea, sentencing him to exile.
• Columbus appointed Arana as boatswain and promised the crew gold and riches if they followed his orders.

Boatswain Bartolome was abandoned on shore after Columbus exiled him, while Columbus consolidated control of the fleet and planned to plunder a small native village for supplies and crew morale. Columbus then wrote a false diary entry blaming Bartolome for the failed attack and claiming he would seek wealth farther east.

• Castile's fleet sailed away, leaving Boatswain Bartolome to swim ashore, where two native figures approached and struck him with their spears.
• Arana reported that Bartolome's former sailors and Chachu had pledged obedience to Columbus, while De La Cosa remained cautious.
• Columbus ordered Arana to watch De La Cosa, recruit his sailors, and have Pedro keep an eye on Chachu.
• After learning that the fleet had only about a week's supplies, Columbus ordered the ships to sail east and planned to slaughter and rob a small native village.
• Columbus told Arana to arrange gold-testing and bird-beak ceremonies to secure the sailors' loyalty after the raid.
• Columbus wrote a diary entry falsely accusing Bartolome of attacking the natives and claiming that he would seek gold farther east.

Castilian sailors plundered a Taino village while Chachu considered leaving Columbus's flagship after Francisco Pinzon urged him to join the Nina or Pinta. Chachu found a strange scroll sewn into a fallen headman's armor and believed it was a native witchcraft book.

• The sailors looted the village and killed its inhabitants while Gutierrez watched from the flagship.
• Roldan insulted the natives, then nervously tried to placate Chachu when Chachu confronted him.
• Francisco Pinzon questioned Chachu about Bato's death and urged him to leave Columbus with his men for the Nina or Pinta.
• Chachu searched a fallen warrior's armor and discovered a scroll sewn over the corpse's chest.
• Chachu threw the scroll down in terror and identified it as a witch's magic seal and a native witchcraft book.

Columbus mistook the bloodstained Sutra of Ali for proof that his fleet had reached Cathay, and the sailors grew eager to seize the East’s riches after destroying a Taino village. As the fleet sailed east in pursuit of wealth, Arana woke Columbus to report another river mouth and a sizable native village to the south.

• Columbus held up the Sutra of Ali and declared that it proved he had reached Cathay, while the sailors discussed the riches they expected to find.
• The Castile sailors burned the Taino villagers’ bodies and prepared to seek gold, silk, and porcelain in the East.
• Columbus ordered the fleet to sail east and privately complained that the Pinzon brothers might take a share of the spoils.
• Columbus fell asleep dreaming of fame and Queen Isabella, but Arana woke him to point out a river mouth and a large native village to the south.

Yao Yu and the Spider Cave Tribe prepared to fight Columbus’s fleet after recognizing the Castilians as enemies from the Main God’s prophecy. When their cannon answered the ships’ warning fire, the shaken Castilians watched as Taino warriors boarded skiffs to attack.

• Yao Yu confirmed that the arriving Castilian ships matched the Main God’s prophecy and ordered Warrior Leader Osprey to mobilize the Kingdom Warriors and Taino Militia.
• Osprey sounded the alarm and sent messengers to summon reinforcements, while hundreds of armed Taino gathered by the shore.
• Columbus ordered his ships to fire cannons at the village, briefly scattering the Taino spear formation.
• The Taino rallied and brought a copper cannon to the shore, firing back at the Castilian fleet.
• Yao Yu declared that the Main God protected his followers and urged the Taino to board skiffs and attack the ships.

The Taino Militia attacked Columbus’s Castile fleet in Gibara Bay with swarms of canoes and oil torches, forcing the ships to flee. As the ships headed for open water, Osprey’s Kingdom Warriors pursued them with flaming gunpowder arrows, and one rocket set the flagship’s sail on fire.

• Osprey led the Spider Cave Tribe’s Taino Militia as canoe crews harassed the Castile ships with stones and javelins.
• Columbus ordered cannon and musket volleys, but the shots scattered the canoes without stopping their attacks.
• Osprey sent Leather Armor Militia in oil-torch-bearing canoes, and the torches ignited ropes and clothing aboard the Castile ships.
• De La Cosa and Gutierrez ordered the fleet to turn and flee toward the open sea as fires spread across the decks.
• Osprey armed Kingdom Warriors with bows and gunpowder arrows and sent them after the fleeing ships.
• A gunpowder arrow struck the flagship’s stern sail and set it ablaze as Columbus panicked.

After the fleet escaped a fiery pursuit by Taino Militia, Columbus and his surviving sailors regrouped in the open sea with badly damaged ships and dwindling supplies. The Pinzon brothers confronted Columbus and offered supplies for the flagship in exchange for help replenishing their crews.

• Taino Militia pursued the three Castile ships with fire, forcing Columbus's fleet to jettison cargo and flee through the night.
• The natives stopped chasing after dark, salvaged the wreckage, and captured five white sailors as sacrifices.
• The three ships reunited at sea the next morning, revealing extensive damage and leaving the fleet with only sixty-three survivors.
• Martin Alonso and Vicente Yanez Pinzon boarded Columbus's ship and criticized his leadership before proposing to provide the Santa Maria with supplies.
• The Pinzon brothers demanded that Columbus help replace their lost sailors, especially those aboard the Pinta.

The Pinzon brothers challenged Columbus’s authority aboard the battered Santa Maria, and Chachu and several crew members defected to them. Royal steward Gutierrez moved to the Nina with the royal clerk, leaving Columbus with a diminished crew and nominal command of the fleet.

• Big Pinzon confronted Columbus over his demand for the Pinzon ships’ sails and supplies, and the captains’ men drew swords on the Santa Maria.
• Columbus appealed to the undecided sailors, but Big Pinzon offered Chachu a boatswain’s position and a larger share of future spoils.
• Chachu joined the Pinzon brothers, citing Columbus’s killing of Boatswain Bato, and persuaded eight sailors and shipwrights to leave for the Pinta.
• Small Pinzon invited Gutierrez and clerk Rodrigo to move to the Nina, arguing that it was better suited to serve as the flagship.
• Gutierrez accepted the move and left the Santa Maria with the royal representatives, while Small Pinzon left Columbus with twenty-two men and promised him the extra sail and supplies.

After losing control of the fleet, Columbus followed the Pinzon Brothers’ ships south and joined forces with De La Cosa to prioritize returning to Castile alive. As they discussed a future attempt to claim Cuba, a red warning signal announced another native tribe ahead.

• Columbus cursed the Pinzon Brothers as their caravels took the lead, then ordered the Santa Maria to follow south for supplies.
• Columbus and De La Cosa met and agreed to cooperate, with De La Cosa urging them to let the Pinzon Brothers lead and focus on returning safely to Castile.
• Columbus argued that his royal agreement gave him claim to Cuba and imagined conquering it with the kingdom’s navy on a later voyage.
• The Nina raised a red warning flag, and the two captains learned that another native tribe had been sighted to the south.

Castilian sailors explored Little Water Bay and encountered the iron-armed Pomelo Water Tribe, whose warriors treated them as demons and resisted their gifts. After the tribe wounded and captured sailor Gil and rejected the glass beads, Francisco Pinzon ordered the boats back to the ships and decided to continue east.

• Francisco Pinzon and De La Cosa sent armed boats into Little Water Bay to investigate the native villages.
• The Pomelo Water Tribe raised the alarm, assembled its warriors, and confronted the Castilians with iron-tipped spears.
• Francisco ordered Gil to swim ashore with glass beads, but the natives shot him in the knee and seized him.
• A tribal leader kicked the glass beads into the lake instead of allowing his men to take them.
• Francisco turned the boats around and ordered the sailors to return to their ships and continue east.

Big Pinzon’s Castilian fleet entered a Cuban lagoon to fish and seek supplies, unaware that Puapu’s armed fleet was closing in. The chapter ended as Puapu ordered his warriors to block the sea mouth and seize the ships and their crews.

• Big Pinzon rejected De La Cosa’s suggestion to return north and continued searching Cuba’s coast for supplies and wealth.
• Big Pinzon led the caravels into a broad lagoon after spotting fishing boats and ordered the sailors to catch fish while they waited for the Santa Maria.
• Puapu led three longships and dozens of canoes toward the lagoon, recognizing the Castilian ships as white-skinned enemies.
• Big Pinzon spotted Puapu’s fleet approaching from the east and ordered his ships to raise sail and flee through the sea mouth.
• Puapu ordered his warriors to block the sea mouth, seize the ships, capture prisoners, and sacrifice the enemy leader.

Puapu and the Kingdom Warriors trapped and boarded two Castilian caravels at the mouth of Big Water Bay. Puapu killed Captain Big Pinzon as a sacrifice to Huitzilopochtli, while fighting continued aboard the Nina.

• Captain Big Pinzon ordered the Castilian sailors to fire their cannons and muskets as three longships charged the caravels.
• Puapu led the Kingdom Warriors in ramming and boarding the Pinta, despite a musket volley killing three Taino oarsmen.
• The Kingdom Warriors overwhelmed the Castilian sailors, and Puapu picked up a matchlock musket to inspect the weapon that had wounded his crew.
• Puapu challenged Captain Big Pinzon to a duel and wounded him with his Copper Axe.
• Captain Big Pinzon pleaded that he was an envoy of Castile, but Puapu beheaded him and offered him as a sacrifice to Huitzilopochtli.

Columbus fled north aboard the Santa Maria while Cipangu warriors captured the Pinta and Nina and killed their commanders. As Red Crow guardsmen Chabo and Mikui pursued him by dugout, they prepared to shoot Columbus with their bows.

• Columbus ordered the Santa Maria to abandon the Pinta and flee north, while De La Cosa agreed to help conceal the royal stewards’ deaths.
• Native warriors overran the Pinta and Nina, raising the severed heads of the Pinzon brothers as Columbus watched from afar.
• Chabo and Mikui pursued the Santa Maria in a dugout and debated how to attack the fleeing ship.
• The two Red Crow guardsmen raised their bows and aimed at Columbus beside the Santa Maria’s rudder.