Christopher Columbus was convinced that here was a shortcut to Asia sailing going west.

        the Catholic monarchs, Isabel and Fernando were both interested in saving souls and getting gold (not necessarily both in the same order)

        On August, 3, 1492, Columbus sailed from Palos de la Frontera. The Santa Maria, his flagship, had 52 men, the Nina and Pinta each had 18 men.
They stopped at the Canary Islands and on 6 September 1492 to pick up plenty of food before sailing westward.

        The weather was OK, no major storms, but by 10 October, after 34 days, the sailors freaked out and were ready to mutiny, being afraid to fall off the edge of the earth.
Columbus convinced the mutineers to wait 3 more days. The next day they saw tree branches in the water and knew land was close.

        Dawn of 12 October 1492, Columbus made landfall in the Bahamas. Than explored the coasts and named a large number of islands, including Cuba and La Espanola.
He found lush vegetation and strange plants, but not the Orient, or "pagodas" with golden roofs he had expected.

        On Christmas Eve 1492 the Santa Maria ran into a coral reef off Haiti. Columbus salvaged what he could of the ship and supplies and established a colony he called "La Navidad," around two houses given to them by the "cacique" or chief.

        In early 1493 Columbus returned to Spain with the Nina and Pinta. It was a rough trip, most of the crew were sick and 4 of the 6 Indians he brought with him, died.
Columbus arrived in Palos de la Frontera on 15 March. Columbus received a hero's welcome.

        At that time Mercantilism was the pediment philosophy. Spain wanted to exploit the "New World".
Columbus left Spain in September 1493 with 17 ships and 1,200 men, eager to find wealth. Of the twelve hundred crew on the second voyage, three hundred died of disease in 1494. When he reached Haiti (11 months after leaving) he found La Navidad burned and all his men dead.
A hurricane in 1495 destroyed all the ships in the harbor which were loaded with merchandise. Columbus patched together two ships from the wreckage to return to Spain in 1946.

        This time he did not receive a hero's welcome. His men were bitter that they did not find the wealth they were seeking.
Columbus' report to Ferdinand and Isabel in Seville only confirmed the rumors they had already heard that the trip was a disaster

        However within a half a century of the first voyage of Columbus, Spain had conquered the Aztec, Maya and Inca civilizations and established an enormous colonial empire.