Fourth voyage of Columbus

Fourth voyage of Columbus
	Landing of Columbus / 1847 oil on canvas by J Vanderlyn / via Commons
Country	Spain
Leader	Christopher Columbus
Start	Cádiz; 6–11 May 1502
End	Sanlúcar de Barrameda; 7 November 1504
Goal	To discover a western maritime passage to the Far East
Ships	Capitana; Santiago; Gallego; Vizcaíno;
Crew	138–152 men / excl impressed Amerindians
Fatalities	33–34 men / excl Amerindian deaths
Achievements	First non-Amerindian discovery of mainland Middle America; First crossing of Caribbean Sea; First non-Amerindian survey of eastern Bay of Honduras; First survey of Caribbean waters off lower Central America; First non-Amerindian contact with Maya civilisation / possibly;
Route
	; Caribbean route / 2011 map by K Pickering / via Commons

The fourth voyage of Columbus was a Spanish maritime expedition in 1502–1504 to the western Caribbean Sea led by Christopher Columbus. The voyage, Columbus's last, failed to find a western maritime route to the Far East, returned relatively little profit, and resulted in the loss of many crew men, all the fleet's ships, and a year-long marooning in Jamaica. It is deemed the first non-Amerindian discovery of mainland Middle America, and one of the first non-Amerindian, non-Norse discoveries of continental North America.