Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, with three ships, La Niña, La Pinta and Santa Maria, searching for a westerly route to the Far East. Seventy days later, on October 12th, 1492 he lands on an island in the Bahamas that he named San Salvador.
The indigenous Taíno people of the island called it Guanahani. The island became known later as Watling Island but it was officially named San Salvador in 1925. While many scholars now believe this Island is the most likely location, modern historians are still divided on the exact island.
