The Diario of Christopher Columbus's First Voyage to America 1492-93

The Diario of Christopher Columbus, transcribed and translated here by Oliver Dunn and James E. Kelley, Jr., represents the primary record of Columbus's pivotal 1492 transatlantic voyage. The original manuscript is lost, making this scholarly edition essential for researchers as it reconstructs the text through Bartolomé de las Casas's 16th-century abstract. The University of Oklahoma Press published this specific edition in 1991 to coincide with the approach of the quincentenary, aiming to provide a definitive, accessible English-language reference for both historians and the general public.

The design of this volume prioritizes rigorous academic utility, presenting the Spanish text alongside its English translation. The editors sought to strip away the accretions of later editorial interpretations, focusing instead on the literal content of the abstract to allow for a clearer understanding of the navigation and observations recorded during the expedition. Upon its release, the work was noted for its meticulous historical context and has since become a standard resource for examining the foundational encounters between European explorers and the indigenous peoples of the Americas.