On the evening of 3 August 1492, Italian Christopher Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships. The largest was a carrack, the Santa María, and the other two were smaller caravels, the Pinta and the Niña. Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands where he restocked provisions and made repairs then departed from San Sebastián de La Gomera on 6 September, for what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the ocean.
On 11 October, Columbus changed the fleet’s course to due west, and sailed through the night, believing land was soon to be found. The following morning, a lookout on the Pinta spotted land. The captain verified the sight of land and alerted Columbus.
Columbus and his ships landed on an island on 12 October. The native Lucayan people called the island Guanahani but Columbus renamed it San Salvador (Holy Saviour).
Details
- Designer: John Waddington of Kirkstall Ltd, Leeds, England
- Printer: Format International Security Printers Ltd
- Process: Lithography
- Paper:
- Watermark: Multiple Crown CA Diagonal
- Perf: 14.5 (comb)
- Cylinders: Printed in four panes separated by gutter between the four panes, and guillotined into two horizontal panes.
- 1A (Cyan), 1A (Yellow), 1A (Magenta), 1A (Black), 1A (Green) : 1B (Cyan), 1B (Yellow), 1B (Magenta), 1B (Black), 1B (Green) [upper left : upper right]
- 1C (Cyan), 1C (Yellow), 1C (Magenta), 1C (Black), 1C (Green) : 1D (Cyan), 1B (Yellow), 1D (Magenta), 1D (Black), 1D(Green) [lower left : lower right]
- Sheet: R10 x 5 in two panes separated by a gutter (100 stamps)
- Quantity:
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