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Rodrigo de Triana was the first to see land. He was high up in the crow's nest of the Pinta which was the fastest of the three ships.
The year was 1492.
After months at sea, Columbus' men were exhausted, near starvation and ready to mutiny. But in the days before de Triana's sighting, they'd seen flocks of birds overhead and sticks and man-made boards floating in the water. The birds and debris gave them hope of a land not too far off. (It was a land they thought was China, but that's another story.)
To sweeten the pot and cool tempers, Columbus promised a hefty reward to the first man who saw land.
Promises under duress, the pressure of possible failure and the potential insubordination of an admiral's crew, are easy to make. They will often assuage anger for the moment and infuse some needed enthusiasm. The test comes once the pressure's off. De Triana, I'm sure, had high expectations.
I remember in the nineties, in my final year as a radio station manger in suburban Chicago, the new corporate general manager wanted to jump-start the sales team. He had a new owner to impress and felt great pressure to make something happen. He was under the gun.
I was in the meeting at the beginning of one particular month when he looked at the team and promised them great rewards, bonuses and incentives if they would reach a certain sales number that month.
The sales team refocused their energy, attacked sales with a relish, and by the end of the month, had exceeded the goals the GM had laid out.
I was also in the month-end meeting when the sales people, rightly proud of their work, waited to hear the good news confirmed, and that the rewards would be theirs'.
I remember the GM strutting into the meeting. I remember him telling the sales people that they had done an excellent job. He then laid out the objectives for the next month and turned to leave.
I piped up. "And the rewards and bonuses?" I asked. The GM looked puzzled. Then his recollection seemed to kick in. "I meant that for next month," he said. And he left.
Seriously?
Back to de Triana. According to the sometimes confusing, but highly informative new book, Columbus, by Laurence Bergreen, the Admiral actually penned in his log book Rodrigo de Triana's name as the first to see land. So there was no question he knew who it was.
However...
"As for the promised reward, which should have gone to the humble seaman, Rodrigo de Triana, who had first sighted land," Bergreen wrote, "(Columbus) kept the proceeds for himself."
Nice.
If you read the book, you'll discover in Columbus an amazingly astute navigator and seaman, but a horrendously poor leader and manager of men.
I remember the thoughts that went on in my mind when our GM lied to our sales team. I know the team never took his promises seriously again, and they never attacked a month with as much enthusiasm.
I wonder what went through the mind of Rodrigo de Triana.
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