Third+Voyage

=__ Third Voyage 1498-1500 __=

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Columbus' third voyage consisted of six ships which departed from Seville, Spain in May 1498. The complaints of the earlier colonists had taken there toll so Columbus was forced to include convicts among the assembladge. The fleet was divided into two groups of three. One group was destined to head straight for Hispaniola and the other under Columbus' command was to continue the search for China. The explorationt party under Columbus' command first landed at Trinidad off the coast of Venezuela, then sailed towards the mainland. When Columbus first sighted the Onrico river mouth he was convinced that he was on the shores of a major continent, not another island. ======

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He then returned to the settlement on Hispaniola where conditions were frequently chaotic. The colonists complaints were so frequent that a royal governer was dispatched to the colony in 1500. Columbus was arrested and sent back to Spain in chains. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's sympathy was waning but they did spare Columbus from imprisonment although Columbus' height of influence had clearly past. ======