Of the estimated 250,000 natives in Hispaniola, Columbus' first stop in the Americas in 1492, new infectious diseases wiped out a staggering 236,000 indigenous people by 1517 — nearly 95% of ...

Columbus—who died in Valladolid, Spain in 1506—wanted to be buried across the ocean on the island of Hispaniola, which is today split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. His wish was ...