La Isabela

La Isabela in Puerto Plata Province, Dominican Republic was the first stable Spanish settlement and town in the Americas established in December 1493.

[2] La Isabela was struck by the first known epidemic to spread from Europe to the New World in 1493[3] and two of the earliest North Atlantic hurricanes observed by Europeans in 1494 and 1495.

[4] Caves on the island where the Indians may have sheltered depict pictures of the sun, plants, animals, strange shapes, people, bearded faces, and sailing ships.

[4] In 1975, the Smithsonian concluded that the remains found in La Isabela of two male African skeletons dated back to 1250AD but is dismissed as Afrocentric pseudohistory.

Christopher left his brother Diego Columbus as president of the island, with Fray Bernardo Buil and Pedro Fernandez Coronel as regents.

[5] Within a year of Christopher Columbus' departure, "with their provisions running short and suffering and sickness growing, they became discontented with their present lot and despaired of the future."

The alcalde mayor, Francisco Roldán, formed a secret faction, and "disdaining to be ruled by a foreigner," plotted to kill Christopher's brothers Bartholomew and Diego.

First plotting to capture the town and fortress of Concepcion in the province of Cibao, Roldan eventually moved his rebels to Xaragua, where the land was fertile and the women were the "best-looking and best-natured in the country."

When Christopher entered Santo Domingo on 30 August 1498, he found many of the people he had left behind two and a half years ago were dead, some 160 were sick, while many more had joined Roldan's rebellion.

The two-year rebellion finally ended on 3 August 1499, when Christopher agreed to "restore Roldan to his office of perpetual alcalde mayor," allow 15 to return home to Spain, made grants of houses and land for those who stayed, and then "publicly proclaim that all that had happened was caused by false testimony of a few evil men.