A history meme with a hidden, dark meaning is going viral across social media, and it's shining a spotlight on the atrocities of Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus.

The meme is known as "What Columbus Saw," and the latest iteration has some people confused and others searching for the subject of the meme's profile.

So, what is the "What Columbus Saw" meme, what does it mean, and who is the girl in the viral meme? Here's what you need to know.

What Is The 'What Columbus Saw When He Pulled Up To America' Meme?

The "What Columbus Saw" first started popping up on social media in October 2024, when X / Twitter user @ChrisWinig posted some fan art of the character Chel from the animated movie The Road to El Dorado under the caption, "The first thing Columbus saw when he arrived in America." The post gained about 2,000 likes in seven months.

In May 2025, X user @uncleHsTopGuy then revived the meme format by posting a photo of another woman wearing what might be perceived as Indigenous American apparel under a similar caption.

Later that month, they posted yet another version using the phrase, "This is what Christopher Columbus saw when he pulled up to America," which gained over 300,000 likes since.

This time, the post used a photo of a woman who is purported to be X user @SantoriMary, who posted another photo of herself in the same outfit as evidence that it's her in the meme. Purportedly, in the photo, she is cosplaying as BRchan mascot Kuruminha.

How Is 'What Columbus Saw When He Pulled Up To America' Used In Memes?

The meme format is generally followed by posting a photo of an attractive woman who might be perceived as looking like an Indigenous American person.

The memes reference a dark story about Christopher Columbus and a crewmate sexually assaulting a Carib woman during their discovery of America. This story has been the subject of dark memes on social media for years.

The version of the meme featuring @SantoriMary inspired a lot of reposts of the meme, as well as some photoshops of the image. These include Photoshop edits that add some funny or disturbing detail to the background and AI-generated reimaginings of the image.

What Are Some More 'What Columbus Saw' Memes?

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For the full history of What Columbus Saw, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.