January 29, 2025

Christopher Columbus had some trouble with financing and that fact alone determined who controlled the western hemisphere and how the first European settlement in the Americas would be established. That story unfolds in our first port of call Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Some people believe that Christopher Columbus, known as Cristobal Colon in Spanish, was born in Spain. Cristoforo Colombo, his real name was born in the providence of Genoa, Italy. Christopher Columbus is an Anglicization of his real name. The Genoese, like the Venetians had a proud nautical history and this is what speared young Cristoforo to dream of being an explorer.

After many years of study, he held a firm belief that there was a possible western sea route to the West Indies that would remove the need to sail round Africa or take the old silk road through Asia. He fervently approached numerous monarchies throughout Europe for support, but his untested theory could not muster any financing. In his early 30’s he moved to Portugal, the powerful monarchy of its day, and made numerous attempts to convince John II of Portugal to back his venture. Each of his attempts was rejected.

In 1491, he moved to Spain in a dire attempt to convince King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to back him. Their resounding response: “No”. Spain was busy fighting the Reconquista a series of military campaigns to reclaim territories from the Muslim Moors who had conquered them. It became the longest-known war in recorded history. Not only did the Reconquista cost up to seven million lives but it also drastically transformed the makeup of the Iberian Peninsula. In the wake of the conflict all Jews were expelled from the area.

However, in 1492, when the war ended Spain was strapped for cash and Queen Isabella decided to revisit with the young explorer with one motive in mind, find gold. Knowing that the exploration lacked critical support Queen Isabella came up with a genius marketing plan bestowing on Colombus the title “The Admiral of all the Seas”. She even offered him 10% of all the profits found, a very generous offer for any seagoing explorer.

With three ships and a motley crew of 99, Columbus set sail. Seventy-one days later he reached the islands of Juana (Cuba) and Hispaniola which included Dominican Republic and today’s Republic of Haiti.

Although Christopher Columbus took his famous first steps in the New World in 1492, Santo Domingo was not founded until six years later. In 1498, Ciudad Domingo became the world’s oldest European permanent settlement in the Americas. Santo Domingo became the first site where the first university, (98 years before Harvard) cathedral, monastery, castle, and fortress were constructed in the first world. Even the first road to be paved was in Santo Domingo. Aptly named “Calle de Damas” it became the thoroughfare where the aristocratic woman of the day would walk the boulevard making fashion statements, previously not possible on muddy roads.

The settlement of the Americas was not an easy one. With Colombus’s success and the gold bounty he brought back to Spain, in 1494, Pope Alexander the 6th decreed that everything in the Western Hemisphere belonged to Spain. This infuriated the Portuguese, perhaps embarrassed that they had missed their opportunity to support Colombus and get all that gold and it began a long battle over the territory. It is the reason why many parts of South America speak both Spanish and Portuguese.

Even little Haiti, one third the size of the Dominican Republic occupied the Dominican Republic. The Haitian Occupation of Santo Domingo from 1822 to 1844 is a significant yet often overlooked chapter in Caribbean history. This period saw Haiti, under President Jean-Pierre Boyer, take control of the eastern part of the island of Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic finally gained its independence in 1844.

Today, the Dominican Republic constitution stipulates that all historical and artistic sites in the country form part of the cultural heritage of the country and are to be forever protected by the government thus preserving this unique time in history.

Thirdmill Update. We planned to meet some Thirdmill students today, but because of their work schedules, the meeting was canceled. Many, if not most, Thirdmill students are bi-vocational. The idea that they could attend a typical seminary or Bible school is out of the question. Thirdmill enables these students to study at their convenience and own pace while continuing to provide for their families. 

Thanks for traveling with us.