Columbus and the Eclipse

February 29, 1504 - During his final voyage to the “New World,” Christopher Columbus’ small fleet was literally falling to pieces. The hulls were being devoured by shipworms which are like little leaches that love to bore holes through wood.

Columbus was forced to beach his disintegrating ships in Jamaica, where for over 6 months he relied on the kindness and generosity of the natives. He and his crew repaid them by pillaging their villages and sometimes murdering the locals.

Eventually, the Jamaicans reached their squeal point and cut off the gravy train of food and supplies. On the brink of starvation, Columbus came up with a clever plan. He knew from his almanac of astronomical tables that a full lunar eclipse was coming on February 29th, so he approached the local leaders with some big news. He told them that God was really upset with the way the Jamaicans were treating Columbus and his crew, and that God’s anger would be revealed when he turned the moon red with his rage. Columbus let them know that this was just a taste of the wrath he would inflict on the bad Jamaican hosts.

Sure enough, when the time came - the moon was indeed obliterated by the earth’s shadow and hung in the sky like a spooky red eyeball. The Jamaicans ran screaming to Columbus with as much food and supplies as they could carry. Columbus let them sweat it out for a bit, but eventually, he addressed the crowd and let them know that God had forgiven them.

Soon the moon returned to its normal glowing self and all seemed relatively right with the world. The natives would continue supporting Columbus and his crew until June, when a relief ship finally arrived to take them back to Spain.