When Christopher Columbus arrived in Jamaica on May 5, 1494, he anchored off the coast of the parish of St. Ann. He named the spot where he landed, Santa Gloria.
There is some uncertainty about whether Santa Gloria is now St. Ann’s Bay or Discovery Bay. There is no doubt though that St. Ann is where Columbus first landed.
On his second visit in 1503, Columbus was shipwrecked and remained in St. Ann’s Bay for a year. During that time, the first Spanish settlement, Sevilla la Nueva was created. Sevilla is now known by its Anglicized name, Seville.
This monument of the navigator, called La Santa Maria, can be found near Seville. It’s in a beautiful little spot, but definitely out of the way. If I hadn’t been with one of my cousins, I would’ve driven right past it, like I’ve been doing for months now.
I was struck by how small in stature Columbus appears here but I think I remember (hope I’m not making this up!), that people were smaller then so this might be accurate.
Or maybe it’s that the base is so bulky that it looks disproportionate to the monument. I’ll definitely have to do more digging.
Also, I have no idea when it was built or by whom and so far, haven’t been able to find any information about it, which is a bit surprising. There’s an inscription on the base of the monument but the gate to the little garden where it’s located was locked and I couldn’t get close enough to read it. Again, more digging is needed.
This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.
This week, I’m also linking this post to Rwethereyetmom’s Friday Daydreaming series. Hope you’ll check out their photos too!
It’s always interesting to read about how present monuments that are built for past incidents. Makes me wonder how it would have been like during Christopher Columbus’s time.
This is such interesting information about Columbus. The statue does look small but looks good amidst the tropical flowers 🙂
I am ‘taken’ with Christopher Columbus and have taken photos of every monument to him that I happen upon. I see I had better be heading to Jamaica to add another to the collection.
Hmm…so Columbus also found his way there? He’s the ultimate traveler!
There is a similar statue in Puerto Rico- I think he is even making the same face! haha
The dark rock on the base looks the same as that used for the Spanish style church you wrote about recently. Is it local?
The base is so bulky compared to the statue. It’s an odd looking thing.
Very interesting – Christopher Columbus is the first explorer we learn about it grade school yet the details of where he landed are always sketchy.
Thanks for lining up!! XOXO
Sometimes it’s funny what we drive by and never notice until somebody points it out 🙂 I like the last picture with the blue sky in the background a lot!
I’ve heard the same thing about people being smaller back then. Interesting history about Columbus. Honestly, I didn’t know about his time in Jamaica. Thanks!
I love to stop and check out monuments and statues. I’m not sure why, but they always catch my eye.
I seem to have heard that people used to be smaller too. I don’t think you were making it up. 🙂
With all the land Mr. Columbus discovered, can you imagine how rich he would be today? That was quite the career back then; discover new land and claim it.
I don’t think you are making that up about stature, or if you are making it up, you did a very good job.:)
Hahahaha, thanks, Jessica!
Goodness, he’d be probably as rich as the Royals. Wonder what he would’ve done if he’d actually found his way east?
Oh good, I’m glad you’ve heard it too, Tonya!
Part of it is curiosity, I think. If you knew the person, you want to see how they’re represented and if you didn’t, you’re probably curious to learn what he did to earn the honor.
You’re welcome, Cathy. Yes, he ended up spending some time here. I’ve often wondered what he did — I mean, besides repairing his ship. Wonder if he had any children?
You’re welcome, Becca!
You’re right, it would be interesting to be able to go back, even for a day, to see what that time was like.
I suspect, though, that we wouldn’t like it too much.
It does, Mary. The little park is full of flowers and the monument, despite its size, is hard to miss once you turn off the main road.
Have you noticed that they all look almost the same? Most depict him with a roll of paper in his hand. I wonder if it’s a map.
Hope to see you in Jamaica then, Jackie!
Yes, he did, Aleah. You’re right. He was definitely an adventurer.
Yes, I saw that one. Hahaha!!!
It is. As a matter of fact, the church is just around the corner. The location is Seville (or Sevilla la Nueva), the first Spanish settlement in Jamaica.
He was the first one we learned about too, but we learned that he ‘discovered’ Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean. He was supposed to be going east, he landed here by accident!
Thanks, Sabrina. Glad you like it.
We miss quite a bit when we drive. To stop sometimes blocks traffic, though by driving we cover a lot more ground.
I just discovered a herd of buffalo statues in downtown Calgary near an area I frequent. Interesting how the brain misses certain things. I also saw a much grander Christopher Columbus statue close to the Barcelona waterfront. He’s certainly an explorer we studied too though I think he’s been given undo credit for discovering the New World – at least from the books I’ve read that suggested the Chinese were around long before Mr. Columbus.
We learned that as well, Leigh. We know differently now. And the Chinese are slowly taking over the world without firing one shot. They are everywhere!
Could be the bulky base. A roundabout in my hometown has a man high up on a pedestal like this. He’s life-size but looks much smaller thanks to the bulky base.
Hmmm, that’s interesting. I wonder why they did that.
Some lovely photos! I definitely learned a few new things from your article. I never knew he was stranded and shipwrecked for a year!
Glad you learned some new things, Samuel!
And yes, he was.
I read somewhere that with each generation, we’ve grown a bit taller… Interesting that Columbus was in many parts.
Makes you wonder what he would have done, where else he would have gone if he really knew where he was going!