<P> Columbus proceeded to observe the people and their cultural lifestyle . He also explored the northeast coast of Cuba, landing on 28 October 1492, and the north - western coast of Hispaniola, present day Haiti, by 5 December 1492 . Here, the Santa Maria ran aground on Christmas Day, December 25, 1492, and had to be abandoned . Columbus was received by the native cacique Guacanagari, who gave him permission to leave some of his men behind . Columbus founded the settlement, La Navidad, leaving behind 39 men . </P> <P> On 15 January 1493, he set sail for home aboard the Niña . </P> <P> While returning to Spain, the Niña and Pinta encountered the roughest storm of their journey, and, on the night of 13 February, lost contact with each other . All hands on the Niña vowed, if they were spared, to make a pilgrimage to the nearest church of Our Lady wherever they first made land . On the morning of February 15, land was spotted . Columbus believed they were approaching the Azore Islands, but other members of the crew felt that they were considerably north of the islands . Columbus turned out to be right . On the night of February 17, the Niña laid anchor at Santa Maria Island, but the cable broke on sharp rocks, forcing Columbus to stay offshore until the morning, when a safer location was found to drop anchor nearby . A few sailors took a boat to the island, where they were told by several islanders of a still safer place to land, so the Niña moved once again . At this spot, Columbus took on board several islanders who had gathered onshore with food, and told them that his crew wished to come ashore to fulfill their vow . The islanders told him that a small shrine dedicated to Our Lady was nearby . Columbus sent half of the crew members to the island to fulfill their vow, but he and the rest of the crew stayed on the Niña, planning to send the other half to the island upon the return of the first crew members . While the first crew members were saying their prayers at the shrine, they were taken prisoner by the islanders, under orders from the island's captain, João de Castanheira, ostensibly out of fear that the men were pirates . The boat that the crew members had taken to the island was then commandeered by Castanheira, which he took with several armed men to the Niña, in an attempt to arrest Columbus . During a verbal battle across the bows of both craft, during which Columbus did not grant permission for him to come aboard, Castanheira announced that he did not believe or care who Columbus said that he was, especially if he was indeed from Spain . Castanheira returned to the island . However, after another two days, Castanheira released the prisoners, having been unable to get confessions from them, and having been unable to capture his real target, Columbus . There are later claims that Columbus was also captured, but this is not backed up by Columbus's log book . </P> <P> Leaving the island of Santa Maria in the Azores on 23 February, Columbus headed for Castilian Spain, but another storm forced him into Portugal's Lisbon . He anchored next to the King's harbor patrol ship on March 4, 1493, where he was told a fleet of 100 caravels had been lost in the storm . Astoundingly, both the Niña and the Pinta had been spared . Not finding King John II in Lisbon, Columbus wrote a letter to him and waited for the king's reply . The king requested that Columbus go to Vale do Paraíso north of Lisbon to meet him . </P>

On his four voyages to the americas columbus