In December 1492, Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa María, struck a reef near northern Hispaniola. Guacanagarí, a local Taíno leader, sent people to help recover goods and materials from the damaged vessel. Columbus then used its wood and nails to build La Navidad, the first Spanish settlement in the Americas. The fort, a building designed for defence, housed 39 men.
Columbus left the men behind and returned to Spain. When he came back in November 1493, he found the fort destroyed by fire and all the Spaniards dead. Rather than rebuild it, he established another settlement, La Isabela, elsewhere on the island. La Navidad had lasted less than a year.
Researchers believe a site called En Bas Saline, in northern Haiti, may be the location of La Navidad. Excavations revealed a large structure that burned at the end of the fifteenth century. However, the fort's exact position remains uncertain. The location of the Santa María's remains is also unresolved, despite a claim in 2014 that the ship had been found.
