The discovery of gold focused attention on Cibao. In March 1494 Columbus led a group of nearly 500 men to explore the region. The hunt for gold was unsuccessful but natives from the surrounding area brought in gold for trade. Columbus established a fort, Santo Tomas (named as a rebuke to those who doubted the presence of gold), to serve as a trading post and as a base for further prospecting. Pedro Margarite, a nobleman from Aragon and a confidant of the king, was put in command of the fort when Columbus returned to Isabela.