Christopher Columbus's Naming in the 'diarios' of the Four Voyages (1492-1504)

In this fascinating book, Evelina Gužauskytė uses the names Columbus gave to places in the Caribbean Basin as a way to examine the complex encounter between Europeans and the native inhabitants.

Evelina Gužauskytė is an associate professor in the Spanish Department at Wellesley College.

‘This is an interesting book and a worthy addition to the growing volume of scholarship on Columbus.’

Elise Bartosik-Vélez, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Dickinson College:

“Evelina Gužauskyte shows in this fascinating book how Columbus’s discourse of naming reveals how power was negotiated between Columbus and the indigenous people he encountered. Most intriguing is her contention that the Tainos influenced that discourse and, more generally, ‘the Western mind.’ The appendix of place names is a valuable contribution to Columbus studies.”

Asela Laguna, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, Rutgers-Newark:

“Christopher Columbus’s Naming in the diarios of the Four Voyages is an ambitious and intriguing book. Gužauskyte’s approach is original, rich, and interdisciplinary, bringing new perspectives to the understanding of Columbus’s writing by exploring the relationship between narrative, culture, and the visual arts, whether from the mappa mundi or medieval religious art.”