Hide Caption 1 of 5 5 photos: U.S. returns 1493 Christopher Columbus letter to Italy A printer in Rome produced a Latin version of the Columbus letter in 1493. 5 photos: U.S. returns 1493 Christopher Columbus letter to Italy An Italian security officer in Rome stands with a rare copy of a letter written by Christopher Columbus in 1493 to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Hide Caption 2 of 5 5 photos: U.S. returns 1493 Christopher Columbus letter to Italy The explorer landed on the island of Guanahani in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. Hide Caption 3 of 5 5 photos: U.S. returns 1493 Christopher Columbus letter to Italy Columbus wrote that islanders "might become Christians and inclined to love our King and Queen and Princes and all the people of Spain." Hide Caption 4 of 5 5 photos: U.S. returns 1493 Christopher Columbus letter to Italy A translation by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History details the cultures of inhabitants of present-day San Salvador, Haiti and Cuba.

Source: CNN May 18, 2016 19:29 UTC