The year was 1504 — Feb. 29, to be exact — and members of the Arawak tribe on the north coast of the island we know as Jamaica were sick to death of their alien visitors from beyond the sea.

In 1504, Christopher Columbus, on his fourth trans-Atlantic voyage, was stranded on the shores of Jamaica, with his ships ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American I am Trinidadian by way of indentured ...