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1492-12-15

1492-12-15: (Tortuga, the Small Turtle-Shaped Island Off Haiti’s Northwestern Coast Where Columbus Landed in 1492, Later Colonized by France in 1625 and Used…

Haitian

1492-12-15: (Tortuga, the Small Turtle-Shaped Island Off Haiti’s Northwestern Coast Where Columbus Landed in 1492, Later Colonized by France in 1625 and Used as a Pirate Refuge Throughout the Seventeenth Century): Tortuga is a small island off the northwestern coast of Haiti that Columbus landed on December 15, 1492, naming it for its turtle-like shape. The Taíno never established a permanent settlement there. France colonized the island in 1625, and during the seventeenth century it became a notorious refuge for pirates and buccaneers operating in the Caribbean. Those buccaneers were, in practical terms, the advance guard of French colonial presence in the region, their settlement on Tortuga preceding and enabling France’s eventual claim to the western third of Hispaniola. Today, a daily ferry connects the island to the mainland. Despite beautiful beaches, there are no tourist hotels, which means Tortuga remains one of those Caribbean places whose pirate-era mythology far outstrips its present-day infrastructure.