San Salvador Island, also known as Watlings Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas. Until 1986, when the National Geographic Society suggested Samana Cay, it was widely believed that during his first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land sighted and visited by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492, a land he named in honour of Jesus the Savior (with 'San Salvador' being Spanish for Holy Savior). Columbus' records indicate that the native Lucayan inhabitants of the territory, who called their island Guanahani, were "sweet and gentle".
The United Kingdom gained control of what are now the Bahamas in the early 18th century. For some time, San Salvador was the home of John Watling (alternately referred to as George Watling), who gave the island its alternative name by which it was officially known until 1925. At that time, the name "San Salvador" was transferred from another place, now called Cat Island, and given to "Watling Island" under the belief that it seemed a much more likely match for Columbus' description of Guanahani
