La Isabela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Founded by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage in 1493, La Isabela was the first formal European settlement in the New World. This was after discovering that the fort of La Navidad, which he had constructed during his first trip, had been totally destroyed by the native Taino aborigines. The settlement was established to search for precious metals[1].
Later discoveries proved that the Vikings had established a settlement in the province of Newfoundland, Canada, under the leadership of Leif Erikson in the 11th century. However, this settlement was abandoned shortly aterwards due most likely to fighting with the Beothuk tribe, Canada would not be settled again until John Cabot's landing in 1497, which was subsequently destroyed.
[edit] References
- ^ A. M. Thibodeau, D. J. Killick, J. Ruiz, J. T. Chesley, K. Deagan, J. M. Cruxent, and W. Lyman (February 2007). "The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World". PNAS 104 (9): 3663-3666.
