A Spanish Duke who traces his ancestry to Christopher Columbus began a week-long visit to Jamaica yesterday to commemorate the explorer's arrival on the Caribbean island 500 years ago.
Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, the 20th direct descendant of Columbus, paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister K D Knight before a scheduled meeting with Governor General Sir Howard Cooke, the Spanish Embassy said.Colon, a 55-year-old professional sailor from Madrid, then plans to take a boat tour of Port Royal, a historic port city that was a hotbed of piracy in colonial days.
Today, Colon, who holds the title of Duke of Veragua, will lay a wreath at a statue of Columbus in St Ann, where the explorer came ashore on May 5, 1494, on his second voyage to the Caribbean.
On Thursday, Colon is scheduled to receive the keys to the city of Spanish Town, Jamaica's first capital under Spanish settlement. The British claimed the island in 1655 and later moved the capital to Kingston.
He will also visit Ocho Rios and Port Antonio before flying back to Spain on Monday, the embassy said.
