Description

On October 12 1492 one of the most important first contacts of the modern era was made when three ships of Spanish origin approached the island archipelago now known as the Bahamas cautiously dropping anchor as the captain of the fleet gazed across to what he assumed was the coast of India According to the popular version of the story amazed at the sight of ships and men of such unfamiliar appearance the native people of the island plunged into the clear waters of the western Atlantic expertly swimming or aboard dugout canoes and came out to greet the strangers