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''La Pinta'' (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
for ''The Painted One'', ''The Look'', or ''The Spotted One'') was the fastest of the three Spanish
ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s used by
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
in his first transatlantic voyage in 1492. The
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
was first sighted by
Rodrigo de Triana Rodrigo de Triana (born 1469 in Lepe, Huelva, Spain) was a Spanish sailor, believed to be the first European from the Age of Exploration to have seen the Americas. Born as Juan Rodríguez Bermejo, Triana was the son of hidalgo and potter Vicen ...
aboard ''La Pinta'' on 12 October 1492. The owner of ''La Pinta'' was Cristóbal Quintero. The Quintero brothers were ship owners from Palos. The owner of the ship allowed
Martín Alonso Pinzón Martín Alonso Pinzón, (; Palos de la Frontera, Huelva; c. 1441 – c. 1493) was a Spanish mariner, shipbuilder, navigator and exploration, explorer, oldest of the Pinzón brothers. He sailed with Christopher Columbus on his Voyages of Christoph ...
to take over the ship so he could keep an eye on the ship. ''La Pinta'' was a
caravel The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing w ...
-type vessel. By tradition Spanish ships were named after saints and usually given nicknames. Thus, ''La Pinta'', like '' La Niña'', was not the ship's actual name; ''La Niña's'' actual name was the ''Santa Clara''. The '' Santa María'''s original nickname was ''La Gallega''. The actual original name of ''La Pinta'' is unknown. The origin of the ship is disputed but is believed to have been built in Spain in the year 1441. She was later rebuilt for use by
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
.


Detail

''La Pinta'' was
square rig Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called '' yards'' ...
ged and smaller than . The ship displaced approximately 60 tons, with an estimated deck length of and a width of . The crew size was 26 men under Captain
Martín Alonso Pinzón Martín Alonso Pinzón, (; Palos de la Frontera, Huelva; c. 1441 – c. 1493) was a Spanish mariner, shipbuilder, navigator and exploration, explorer, oldest of the Pinzón brothers. He sailed with Christopher Columbus on his Voyages of Christoph ...
. The other ships of the Columbus expedition were ''La Niña'' (real name ''Santa Clara'') and ''Santa María''. There are no known contemporary likenesses of Columbus's ships. ''Santa María'' (also known as the ''Gallega'') was the largest, of a type known as a
carrack A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade ...
(''carraca'' in Spanish), or by the Portuguese term ''nau''. ''La Niña'' and ''La Pinta'' were smaller. They were called caravels, a name then given to the smallest three-masted vessels. Columbus once used the word for a vessel of forty tons, but it generally applied in Portuguese or Spanish use to a vessel ranging from 120 to 140 Spanish "toneles". This word represents a capacity about one-tenth larger than that expressed by the modern English "ton". ''La Niña'', ''La Pinta'', and ''Santa María'' were not the largest ships in Europe at the time. They were small trade ships surpassed in size by ships like , built in Scotland in 1511 with a length of , and a crew of 300 sailors, 120 gunners, and up to 1,000 soldiers. of the
Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
was built in 1462 and was long. Another large ship, the English carrack , was built during the period 1420–1439, was long, and displaced between 1,400 tons and 2,750 tons. Ships built in Europe in the 15th century were designed to sail the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean coastlines. Columbus' smaller-sized ships were considered riskier on the open ocean than larger ships. This made it difficult to recruit crew members, and a small number were jailed prisoners given a light sentence if they would sail with Columbus. Most of the commerce of the time was the coastal commerce of the Mediterranean, so it was better if ships did not draw much water. As it sailed, the fleet of Columbus consisted of ''Gallega'' (the ''Galician''), which he changed to ''Santa María'', ''La Pinta'' and ''La Niña''. Of these the first two were about 130 tons. ''La Niña'' was much smaller, not more than 50 tons. One writer says that they were all without full decks, that is, that such decks as they had did not extend from stem to stern. Other authorities, however, speak as if ''La Niña'' only was an open vessel, and the two larger were decked. Columbus himself took command of ''Santa María'', Martin Alonso Pinzon of ''La Pinta'', and his brothers, Francis Martin and Vicente Yanez, of ''La Niña''. The whole company in all three ships likely numbered 90 men (Santa Maria 40, La Nina 24, La Pinta 26) although some historians cite 120 men.


Replicas

A replica of ''La Pinta'' was built by the Spanish government for the Columbian Naval Review of 1893. Along with replicas of ''Santa María'' and ''La Niña'', it participated in the review. Replicas are on display in two locations in Spain: * at the
Wharf of the Caravels The Wharf of the Caravels ( es, Muelle de las Carabelas) is a museum in Palos de la Frontera, in the province of Huelva, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Its most prominent exhibits are replicas of Christopher Columbus's boats for his ...
(Spanish: Muelle de las Carabelas) in
Palos de la Frontera Palos de la Frontera () is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva. According to the 2015 census, the cit ...
,
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
* in
Baiona, Pontevedra Baiona is a town and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It's a tourist town with a medieval historical center situated by the outlet of the Vigo Bay. Its population of just over 11,000 rises to ...
,
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
In 2008, a replica of ''La Pinta'', although 15 feet (4.5 m) longer and 8 feet (2.4 m) wider than the original, was launched by the Christopher Columbus Foundation.The Niña & Pinta - The Columbus Foundation
/ref> This ship weighs 101 tons and often sails alongside an authentic replica of ''La Niña'', which was launched in 1991.


References


External links



List of crew members on ''La Pinta''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinta (ship) Exploration ships Age of Discovery ships Individual sailing vessels Christopher Columbus 1492 in the Spanish West Indies Spanish West Indies 15th-century ships Age of Sail individual ships