Columbus's vow () was a vow by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

and other members of the crew of the

caravel The caravel (Portuguese language, Portuguese: , ) is a small sailing ship developed by the Portuguese that may be rigged with just lateen sails, or with a combination of lateen and Square rig, square sails. It was known for its agility and s ...

'' Niña'' on 14 February 1493, during the return trip of Columbus's first voyage to perform certain acts, including

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

s, upon their return to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The vow was taken at Columbus's behest during a severe storm at sea.

History

Of the three ships on Columbus's first voyage, the flagship, the '' Santa María'', had been shipwrecked in

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

on December 25, 1492, leaving only the ''Niña'' and '' Pinta'' to make the homeward voyage. 39 men were left behind, the first Spanish colonists in the Americas. Columbus took command of the ''Niña'';

Martín Alonso Pinzón Martín Alonso Pinzón, (; Palos de la Frontera, Huelva; c. 1441 – c. 1493) was a Spanish mariner, shipbuilder, navigator and explorer, oldest of the Pinzón brothers. He sailed with Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to the New World i ...

retained command of the ''Pinta''. On 14 February 1493, in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

east of the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

, they met with a storm that threatened to capsize the two caravels. In the storm, the boats lost contact with one another, and the crew of the ''Niña'' feared the worst. At that moment the admiral, Columbus, proposed a series of vows.

Fulfillment of the vows

On March 15, 1493, after having touched down at the Azores and at

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, the ''Niña'' arrived on the banks of the Río Tinto in the Spanish

province of Huelva Huelva () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva. Its area is ...

. Columbus, the Niño brothers and the rest of the crew from

Moguer Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2023 census, it has a population of 22,956. Its surface area is , and its population density is . The present site of Moguer had been ho ...

headed immediately to Moguer, bringing with them some Caribbean natives whom they had taken on their voyage back, and also bringing several

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

s. The people of Moguer greeted them happily; Columbus and his crew headed promptly to the Santa Clara Monastery to light a taper and spend the night in

vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

, in fulfilment of one of their vows. Years later, at Columbus's trial in 1513, Juan Rodríguez Cabezudo, a resident of Moguer and a friend of Columbus, who had taken custody of Columbus's son

Diego Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. ...

while Columbus was away at sea, described the event: The same archive contains the remarks of another witness, Martín González:

Commemoration

This act is remembered annually on March 16 in an event at the Santa Clara Monastery in Moguer, attended by civil and military authorities, the Royal Columbian Society of Huelva (''Real Sociedad Colombina Onubense''), and the general public. The event consists of a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in which a taper is burned as an act of thanksgiving, and later crown of laurel is placed on the Columbus Monument in homage to the Admiral and the sailors of Moguer who took part in the discovery of America. This is then followed by a talk or a cultural event.El regreso de la carabela Niña
Europa Press item on lukor.com. Undated, but clearly 2008 from its reference to the ''"515 Aniversario"''. Accessed online 2010-01-13.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbus's Vow Christopher Columbus Religious oaths History of the Atlantic Ocean 1490s in Spain 1493 in Europe March observances Province of Huelva

History

Fulfillment of the vows

Commemoration

See also

Further reading

Notes