Aftermath of Columbus's Fourth Voyage (1504)

Timeline

1. 1504Spanish port · SpainAfter his fleet ran aground in Jamaica in June 1503, Columbus sent envoys for help; after about a year of waiting, a rescue fleet finally arrived, and he returned to Spain in November 1504. The fourth voyage ended in failure, with heavy losses to the fleet.
2. 1504Seville · AndalusiaAfter returning to Spain, Columbus continued to petition King Ferdinand over the governorship, trade monopoly, and share of tribute promised in the Capitulations of Santa Fe, clashing fiercely with the royal colonial bureaucracy represented by Governor Ovando; the litigation did not restore his rights in any substantive way.
3. 1504Spain · SpainIn 1504 Columbus's health seriously deteriorated and the crown had already marginalized him; overseas colonization was dominated by Ovando and later by the governorship of Diego Columbus. The failure of the fourth voyage marked the end of the discoverer's personal era and the acceleration of institutionalized colonization.