Tabarca settled here. The islet was renamed Nova Tabarca ("New Tabarca" in both Valencian and Latin). Thus a settlement was created by royal edict on this uninhabited island which the North African corsaries had previously used as a platform for raids on the Levantine coast. On their arrival, the Genoese were first moved to Alicante, where they lived temporarily in the Jesuit School, empty after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain. Finally, the Genoese were moved to the island together with a Spanish garrison. The military engineer Fernando Méndez Ras planned a fortified town and walls, bulwarks, warehouses and barracks
San Sebastián de La Gomera arrived in 1440. Christopher Columbus stopped at the harbour on 6 September 1492 before heading to India but arrived in America instead. The building in which Columbus stayed whilst on the island is now a museum. Apart from the town of San Sebastián the municipality includes the settlements of The municipality also includes these sites of interest: The economy of San Sebastián de La Gomera is centered on the functions of the capital and its port, as well as in the public sector, particularly in the transportation, trading, and tourism of Tenerife. The port serves as a hub for tourists