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Palos de la Frontera
Huelva (prov.) Plaza Comandante Ramon Franco |
Martin Alonso Pinzónfrom Palos de la Frontera, shipowner and captain of the Pinta |
Antonio Pinto Soldán
1929 (1945) |
Martin Alonso Pinzón (1441-1493) commanded the Pinta, and his brother Vicente Yañez the Niña. On 21 November 1492, he deserted Columbus off Cuba, hoping to be the first to discover the imaginary island of Osabeque. He discovered Hispaniola, and the river where he landed (now the Porto Caballo) was long called after him the River of Martin Alonso. He rejoined Columbus on the coast of Haiti on 6 January 1493. It was during this absence that the flagship was driven ashore, and Columbus compelled to take to the Niña. In excuse for his conduct, Pinzón afterwards alleged stress of weather. Off the coast of the Azores he again deserted, and set sail with all speed for Spain, hoping to be the first to communicate the news of the discovery. Driven by a hurricane into the port of Bayonne in Galicia, he sent a letter to the king asking for an audience. The monarch refusing to receive anyone but the admiral, Pinzón sailed for Palos, which he reached on the same day as Columbus (15 March 1493). Setting out immediately for Madrid to make a fresh attempt to see the king, he was met by a messenger who forbade him to appear at court. Anger and jealousy, added to the privations of the voyage, undermined his health, and led to his death a few months later in the convent of La Ráda.
A copy of this statue was donated in 1977 to Baiona, the town were Martin Alonso Pinzón with the Pinto landed on 1 March 1493.
Item Code: esan026; Photograph: 9 March 2002 / Updated: 25 November 2006
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt
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