New Research Supports a Modification of Samuel Eliot Morison’s Theory Concerning Columbus’s Inter-Island Route Through the Bahamas (original) (raw)
Abstract: Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas may qualify as history’s most significant exploration. Despite this imposing status, debate persists regarding the first four islands visited during the month of October 1492. A myriad of studies have provided a multitude of possibilities, seemingly ad nauseam. That said, there is a need to revisit this debate. For seven decades many historians have concluded that Samuel Eliot Morison has provided the most cogent theory regarding the identity of these islands. Those same decades have led to complacency regarding the many inconsistencies between Morison’s theory, information provided by Columbus’s log, and the actual geography of the Bahamas. New resources are applied in an attempt to resolve these inconsistencies. They provide alternative interpretations to several passages within the Las Casas transcription of Columbus’s log. Although continuing to support a number of Morison’s conjectures, these alternative interpretations reject Morison’s choice of Rum Cay as Columbus’s second island, instead supporting Samana Cay for that position. This proposed change to Morison’s theory, of itself, is not as important, however, as it is to continuously challenge historical theories that appear incomplete or incorrect.
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