Diego de Arana

Diego de Arana (1468 in Cordoba, Spain – 1493 in Haiti) was governor of the first documented Spanish settlement in the New World, at La Navidad.

Columbus knew the Canaries Current and hoped he could reach the Indias by taking advantage of this ocean phenomenon.

Columbus was given subsistence and allowed to stay at the monarchs' castle in Cordoba as they thought he might have an idea that would provide riches and spread Christianity.

[1][2] While waiting for a decision and another meeting with the royals, Columbus patronized a local apothecary shop operated by people from Genoa, Italy.

Columbus is believed to have come from the Genoa area and is associated with doctors, physicians, surgeons, astronomers, scientists, and others who also patronized the Genoese pharmacy.

For the defense of those men, the expedition built a fort, La Navidad, with the help of native Taino and timbers from the Santa Maria.

On the night of November 21, the caravel Pinta had vanished into the darkness off the coast of Cuba, and in his journal Columbus accused Pinzón of deliberately having separated the Pinta from the other ships in order to beat the admiral to the rich sources of gold which Columbus imagined were in the immediate area.