1496 Establishments: Santo Domingo, Jesus College, Cambridge, Ishiyama Hongan-Ji

Chapters: Santo Domingo, Jesus College, Cambridge, Ishiyama Hongan-Ji. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 37. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Santo Domingo - Columbus Park Fortaleza Ozama, one of the historic buildings in Santo Domingo Alcazar de Colon, in the historic center of Santo Domingo's Zona ColonialBefore the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the Taino people populated the island they called Quisqueya (mother of all lands) and Ayiti (land of high mountains), which Columbus named Hispaniola. It includes the part now occupied by the Republic of Haiti. At the time, the island's territory consisted of five chiefdoms: Marien, Magua, Maguana, Jaragua, and Higuey. These were ruled respectively by caciques (chiefs) Guacanagarix, Guarionex, Caonabo, Bohechio, and Cayacoa. Dating to 1496, when the Spanish settled there, and officially to 5 August 1498, Santo Domingo is the oldest European city in America. Bartholomew Columbus founded the settlement and named it La Isabela, after the Queen of Spain Isabella I. It was later renamed Santo Domingo, in honor of Saint Dominic. Santo Domingo was destroyed by a hurricane in 1502, and the new Governor Nicolas de Ovando had it rebuilt on a different site nearby. The original layout of the city and a large portion of its defensive wall can still be appreciated today throughout the Colonial Zone, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. The Colonial Zone, bordered by the Rio Ozama, also has an impressive collection of 16th century buildings, including palatial houses and majestic churches that reflect the architectural style of the late medieval period. The city's most important colonial buildings include the Catedral Santa Maria La Menor, called La Catedral Primada de America, America's First Cathedral, which states its distin...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=57638