The Moon of Guanahaní

It is extremely interesting to discover how the light of the Moon affected Don Christopher Columbus on his voyages. The first intervention of our satellite in the Admiral’s plans must have been on October 5, 1492, a day of full moon, when a lunar eclipse took place that was perfectly visible in the region of the Atlantic that Columbus was sailing in those days. Those sailors knew well that—according to the Book of Revelation—the day of the end of the world would be preceded by a change in the color of the Moon: it will turn red. During a lunar eclipse the Moon turns red. Columbus, like every educated man of his time, knew that the Earth was round. But the sailors who went with him were convinced that they were traveling toward the precipice at the end of the world; many of them were ignorant prisoners who had agreed to make the voyage in exchange for their freedom. It is no wonder that the reddened Moon, that sign of the end of time, frightened them even more. Consequently, the following day, Saturday, October 6, 1492, the Basque sailors of the carrack Santa María mutinied, arguing that Columbus was leading them to certain death. The Spaniards’ fear of that eclipse very nearly put an end to Columbus’s voyage.

That was one of the two mutinies that Columbus suffered in the last days of sailing, shortly before reaching America; despite finding grasses and birds (a sign of nearby land), he could not convince his wary men to go on any longer. He promised them that, if they did not sight land in the following two days, they would return to Spain. For Columbus this would mean throwing overboard the efforts and sleepless nights of many years. On the afternoon of Thursday, October 11, 1492, Columbus ordered the watch on the horizon to be reinforced, desperate to sight land. He himself scanned the horizon in person, and such was his anguish that around ten at night he thought he saw some bonfires lit on land, which now seems impossible, since he was still more than 50 kilometers from the coast. If they did not sight land that night or the following day, he would have to turn back and abandon everything. It is at this moment that the light of the Moon once again plays a leading role, this time as the protagonist of the first sighting of the coasts of America. Rodrigo de Triana, aboard the caravel Pinta, was able to sight the coast thanks to the Moon, which was still fairly full, lighting it for him from astern (objects are seen better when the light comes from behind the observer). At the moment of the sighting, that is, at 2:00 AM on Friday, October 12, 1492, the Moon was directly over the East (46 degrees high) and the ship was sailing on a course of West by South. The Moon was then shining at 60% of its phase, and waning. It had risen above the horizon on October 11 at 10:23 PM, when Columbus was anxiously searching for some sign of land on the horizon; and it set on October 12 at 11:53 AM, when the Admiral was going ashore to take possession of the territory in the name of the Catholic Monarchs. (To know these facts about the Moon, it is enough to have the exact date and the coordinates of the observer. The Island of Guanahaní, christened San Salvador by Columbus, and later renamed Watling, lies at 24°03′ North and 74°28′ West.)

Ironically, thanks to a later lunar eclipse, Admiral Columbus would obtain cooperation, respect, and a great deal of help in food from the natives. Columbus and his crew were in Jamaica, during the fourth voyage to America. The journey had been rough, and the hungry Spaniards were waiting for help from the Crown that seemed never to arrive. It was February 29, 1504 (a leap year), a day of full moon. Columbus, chastened, I believe, by his earlier experiences, kept himself informed about upcoming eclipses; and he decided to take advantage of the eclipse that he knew would occur that night. Let us remember the divine character attributed to the Moon in primitive civilizations. Don Christopher hatched a cunning plan to obtain food for his weakened men. He courteously asked the natives for food, and when they refused, he threatened to take away the light of the Moon. They, of course, did not believe him. The Admiral only had to wait for nightfall. At 7:40 PM the Moon, completely eclipsed, looked terrifyingly dark. Shortly afterward the frightened natives of Jamaica knelt at Columbus’s feet, offering him food for all his men and their permanent support, begging him in exchange to give them back the light of the Moon. Columbus accepted, delighted. When the Moon came out of the Earth’s shadow, shortly afterward, and shone full again, the figure of Columbus was consolidated among those natives as that of a most powerful sorcerer, able to switch the Moon off and on at will.