Columbus's vow

After this, he and all the crew made a vow to go in procession, clothed in penitential garments, to the first church dedicated to Our Lady which they should meet with on arriving at land, and there pay their devotions.

Besides these general vows, every individual made his private one, all expecting to be lost, so furious was the rage of the hurricane.On March 15, 1493, after having touched down at the Azores and at Lisbon, the Niña arrived on the banks of the Río Tinto in the Spanish province of Huelva.

The people of Moguer greeted them happily; Columbus and his crew headed promptly to the Santa Clara Monastery to light a taper and spend the night in vigil, in fulfilment of one of their vows.

"[5]The same archive contains the remarks of another witness, Martín González: "...he came the year of 'ninety-three and returned to the port of this town and thus the said admiral, like all who came with him, said publicly that they had discovered and found the said Indies and many islands..."This act is remembered annually on March 16 in an event at the Santa Clara Monastery in Moguer, attended by civil and military authorities, the Royal Columbian Society of Huelva (Real Sociedad Colombina Onubense), and the general public.

[6][7][8] The event consists of a mass in which a taper is burned as an act of thanksgiving, and later crown of laurel is placed on the Columbus Monument in homage to the Admiral and the sailors of Moguer who took part in the discovery of America.