When her mother died in 1471, Beatriz and Pedro were placed under the guardianship of her grandmother, Eleanor Nunez, and her maternal aunt, Mayor Enriquez de Arana.

[5][6] Christopher Columbus met Beatriz Enríquez de Arana sometime in 1487 while seeking support from the Catholic monarchs for his discovery project.

[7] Some stipulate that Christopher Columbus may have never married Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, possibly because of the strict social barriers that existed at the time between a nobleman and a common peasant.

[5][6] Other historians claim that Beatriz hailed from a noble family of small share-holders, removing any barrier she may have had preventing her from marrying Columbus, if otherwise she had been a commoner.

On his first voyage in 1492, Diego de Arana, a cousin to Beatriz, served Columbus as chief marshal of the fleet, responsible for maintaining order among the sailors.