SANTA
MARIA - SPANISH - 1492
The Santa María was the largest of the three ships
used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage across the
Atlantic Ocean in 1492. Her master and owner was Juan de la
Cosa. The Santa was a small carrack, or "Nao" about
70 feet long, and was used as the flagship for the expedition.
She carried 40 men. The other ships of the Columbus expedition
were the caravel-type ships Santa Clara, remembered as the
Niña and Pinta. The Santa María was originally
named La Gallega ("The Gallician"), probably because
she was built in Galicia. It seems the ship was known to her
sailors as Marigalante, literally "Dirty Mary".
The Santa María had a deck and three masts. She was
the slowest of Columbus' vessels but performed well in the
Atlantic crossing. She ran aground off the present-day site
of Môle Saint-Nicolas, Haiti on December 25, 1492, and
was lost.[2] Timbers from the ship were later used to build
Môle Saint-Nicolas, which was originally called La Navidad
(Christmas) because the wreck occurred on Christmas Day. |
