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What did Columbus accomplish on his second voyage to the New World?

On his second voyage to the New World, having already visited Hispaniola and the south of Cuba on his first, Columbus sought to continue his exploration in the Caribbean. He brought with him a number of slaves, farmers, soldiers, and priests who would help colonize the lands he claimed for Spain. On this journey, he visited the Canary Islands, the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and Puerto Rico. He is also credited with having sighted the Virgin Islands and naming a number of islands, including Guadelupe, Saint Croix, and Antigua. He captured a number of natives during this time and brought with himself and his crew a number of diseases which the native populations had no immunity to. His people also built several forts to maintain the Spanish presence in the New World. Upon returning to Europe, he brought with him exotic animals, spices, gold, and the belief that he had discovered a Biblical paradise.


Columbus' greatest accomplishments perhaps total to being the first European to navigate the Caribbean so successfully and bestowing a number of new names upon the islands. Charting these waters and bringing knowledge to the Old World was no easy pursuit, but his legacy of exploitation and genocide is significantly overshadowed by these feats.

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