IN SPAIN AGAIN
The loiterers about the harbour of Cadiz saw a curious sight on June
11th, 1496, when the two battered ships, bearing back the voyagers from
the Eldorado of the West, disembarked their passengers. There were some
220 souls on board, including thirty Indians: and instead of leaping
ashore, flushed with health, and bringing the fortunes which they had
gone out to seek, they crawled miserably from the boats or were carried
ashore, emaciated by starvation, yellow with disease, ragged and unkempt
from poverty, and with practically no possessions other than the clothes
they stood up in. Even the Admiral, now in his forty-sixth year, hardly
had the appearance that one would expect in a Viceroy of the Indies. His
white hair and beard were rough and matted, his handsome face furrowed by
care and sunken by illness and exhaustion, and instead of the glittering
armour and uniform of his office he wore the plain robe and girdle of the
Franciscan order--this last probably in consequence of some vow or other
he had made in an hour of peril on the voyage.
One lucky coincidence marked his arrival. In the harbour, preparing to
weigh anchor, was a fleet of three little caravels, commanded by Pedro
Nino, about to set out for Espanola with supplies and despatches.
Columbus hurried on board Nino's ship, and there read the letters from
the Sovereigns which it had been designed he should receive in Espanola.
The letters are not preserved, but one can make a fair guess at their
contents. Some searching questions would certainly be asked, kind
assurances of continued confidence would doubtless be given, with many
suggestions for the betterment of affairs in the distant colony. Only
their result upon the Admiral is known to us. He sat down there and then
and wrote to Bartholomew, urging him to secure peace in the island by
every means in his power, to send home any caciques or natives who were
likely to give trouble, and most of all to push on with the building of a
settlement on the south coast where the new mines were, and to have a
cargo of gold ready to send back with the next expedition. Having
written this letter, the Admiral saw the little fleet sail away on June
17th, and himself prepared with mingled feelings to present himself
before his Sovereigns.
While he was waiting for their summons at Los Palacios, a small town near
Seville, he was the guest of the curate of that place, Andrez Bernaldez,
who had been chaplain to Christopher's old friend DEA, the Archbishop of
Seville. This good priest evidently proved a staunch friend to Columbus
at this anxious period of his life, for the Admiral left many important
papers in his charge when he again left Spain, and no small part of the
scant contemporary information about Columbus that has come down to us is
contained in the 'Historia de los Reyes Catolicos', which Bernaldez wrote
after the death of Columbus.
Fickle Spain had already forgotten its first sentimental enthusiasm over
the Admiral's discoveries, and now was only interested in their financial
results. People cannot be continually excited about a thing which they
have not seen, and there were events much nearer home that absorbed the
public interest. There was the trouble with France, the contemplated
alliance of the Crown Prince with Margaret of Austria, and of the Spanish
Princess Juana with Philip of Austria; and there were the designs of
Ferdinand upon the kingdom of Naples, which was in his eyes a much more
desirable and valuable prize than any group of unknown islands beyond the
ocean.
Columbus did his very best to work up enthusiasm again. He repeated the
performance that had been such a success after his first voyage--the kind
of circus procession in which the natives were marched in column
surrounded by specimens of the wealth of the Indies. But somehow it did
not work so well this time. Where there had formerly been acclamations
and crowds pressing forward to view the savages and their ornaments,
there were now apathy and a dearth of spectators. And although Columbus
did his very best, and was careful to exhibit every scrap of gold that he
had brought, and to hang golden collars and ornaments about the necks of
the marching Indians, his exhibition was received either in ominous
silence or, in some quarters, with something like derision. As I have
said before, there comes a time when the best-disposed debtors do not
regard themselves as being repaid by promises, and when the most
enthusiastic optimist desires to see something more than samples.
It was only old Colon going round with his show again--flamingoes,
macaws, seashells, dye-woods, gums and spices; some people laughed,
and some were angry; but all were united in thinking that the New World
was not a very profitable speculation.
Things were a little better, however, at Court. Isabella certainly
believed still in Columbus; Ferdinand, although he had never been
enthusiastic, knew the Admiral too well to make the vulgar mistake of
believing him an impostor; and both were too polite and considerate to
add to his obvious mortification and distress by any discouraging
comments. Moreover, the man himself had lost neither his belief in the
value of his discoveries nor his eloquence in talking of them; and when
he told his story to the Sovereigns they could not help being impressed,
not only with his sincerity but with his ability and single-heartedness
also. It was almost the same old story, of illimitable wealth that was
just about to be acquired, and perhaps no one but Columbus could have
made it go down once more with success; but talking about his exploits
was never any trouble to him, and his astonishing conviction, the lofty
and dignified manner in which he described both good and bad fortune, and
the impressive way in which he spoke of the wealth of the gold of Ophir
and of the far-reaching importance of his supposed discovery of the
Golden Chersonesus and the mainland of Asia, had their due effect on his
hearers.
It was always his way, plausible Christopher, to pass lightly over the
premises and to dwell with elaborate detail on the deductions. It was by
no means proved that he had discovered the mines of King Solomon; he had
never even seen the place which he identified with them; it was in fact
nothing more than an idea in his own head; but we may be sure that he
took it as an established fact that he had actually discovered the mines
of Ophir, and confined his discussion to estimates of the wealth which
they were likely to yield, and of what was to be done with the wealth
when the mere details of conveying it from the mines to the ships had
been disposed of. So also with the Golden Chersonesus. The very name
was enough to stop the mouths of doubters; and here was the man himself
who had actually been there, and here was a sworn affidavit from every
member of his crew to say that they had been there too. This kind of
logic is irresistible if you only grant the first little step; and
Columbus had the art of making it seem an act of imbecility in any of his
hearers to doubt the strength of the little link by which his great
golden chains of argument were fastened to fact and truth.
For Columbus everything depended upon his reception by the Sovereigns at
this time. Unless he could re-establish his hold upon them and move to a
still more secure position in their confidence he was a ruined man and
his career was finished; and one cannot but sympathise with him as he
sits there searching his mind for tempting and convincing arguments, and
speaking so calmly and gravely and confidently in spite of all the doubts
and flutterings in his heart. Like a tradesman setting out his wares,
he brought forth every inducement he could think of to convince the
Sovereigns that the only way to make a success of what they had already
done was to do more; that the only way to make profitable the money that
had already been spent was to spend more; that the only way to prove the
wisdom of their trust in him was to trust him more. One of his
transcendent merits in a situation of this kind was that he always had
something new and interesting to propose. He did not spread out his
hands and say, "This is what I have done: it is the best I can do; how
are you going to treat me?" He said in effect, "This is what I have
done; you will see that it will all come right in time; do not worry
about it; but meanwhile I have something else to propose which I think
your Majesties will consider a good plan."
His new demand was for a fleet of six ships, two of which were to convey
supplies to Espanola, and the other four to be entrusted to him for the
purpose of a voyage of discovery towards the mainland to the south of
Espanola, of which he had heard consistent rumours; which was said to be
rich in gold, and (a clever touch) to which the King of Portugal was
thinking of sending a fleet, as he thought that it might lie within the
limits of his domain of heathendom. And so well did he manage, and so
deeply did he impress the Sovereigns with his assurance that this time
the thing amounted to what is vulgarly called "a dead certainty," that
they promised him he should have his ships.
But promise and performance, as no one knew better than Columbus, are
different things; and it was a long while before he got his ships. There
was the usual scarcity of money, and the extensive military and
diplomatic operations in which the Crown was then engaged absorbed every
maravedi that Ferdinand could lay his hands on. There was an army to be
maintained under the Pyrenees to keep watch over France; fleets had to be
kept patrolling both the Mediterranean and Atlantic seaboards; and there
was a whole armada required to convey the princesses of Spain and Austria
to their respective husbands in connection with the double matrimonial
alliance arranged between the two countries. And when at last, in
October 1496, six million maravedis were provided wherewith Columbus
might equip his fleet, they were withdrawn again under very mortifying
circumstances. The appropriation had just been made when a letter
arrived from Pedro Nino, who had been to Espanola and come back again,
and now wrote from Cadiz to the Sovereigns, saying that his ships were
full of gold. He did not present himself at Court, but went to visit his
family at Huelva; but the good news of his letter was accepted as an
excuse for this oversight.
No one was better pleased than the Admiral. "What did I tell you?" he
says; "you see the mines of Hayna are paying already." King Ferdinand,
equally pleased, and having an urgent need of money in connection with
his operations against France, took the opportunity to cancel the
appropriation of the six million maravedis, giving Columbus instead an
order for the amount to be paid out of the treasure brought home by Nino.
Alas, the mariner's boast of gold had been a figure of speech. There was
no gold; there was only a cargo of slaves, which Nino deemed the
equivalent of gold; and when Bartholomew's despatches came to be read he
described the affairs of Espanola as being in very much the same
condition as before. This incident produced a most unfortunate
impression. Even Columbus was obliged to keep quiet for a little while;
and it is likely that the mention of six million maravedis was not
welcomed by him for some time afterwards.
After the wedding of Prince Juan in March 1497, when Queen Isabella had
more time to give to external affairs, the promise to Columbus was again
remembered, and his position was considered in detail. An order was made
(April 23rd, 1497), restoring to the Admiral the original privileges
bestowed upon him at Santa Fe. He was offered a large tract of land in
Espanola, with the title of Duke; but much as he hankered after titular
honours, he was for once prudent enough to refuse this gift. His reason
was that it would only further damage his influence, and give apparent
justification to those enemies who said that the whole enterprise had
been undertaken merely in his own interests; and it is possible also that
his many painful associations with Espanola, and the bloodshed and
horrors that he had witnessed there, had aroused in his superstitious
mind a distaste for possessions and titles in that devastated Paradise.
Instead, he accepted a measure of relief from the obligations incurred by
his eighth share in the many unprofitable expeditions that had been sent
out during the last three years, agreeing for the next three years to
receive an eighth share of the gross income, and a tenth of the net
profits, without contributing anything to the cost. His appointment of
Bartholomew to the office of Adelantado, which had annoyed Ferdinand, was
now confirmed; the universal license which had been granted to Spanish
subjects to settle in the new lands was revoked in so far as it infringed
the Admiral's privileges; and he was granted a force of 330 officers,
soldiers, and artificers to be at his personal disposal in the
prosecution of his next voyage.
The death of Prince Juan in October 1497 once more distracted the
attention of the Court from all but personal matters; and Columbus
employed the time of waiting in drafting a testamentary document in which
he was permitted to create an entail on his title and estates in favour
of his two sons and their heirs for ever. This did not represent his
complete or final testament, for he added codicils at various times,
the latest being executed the day before his death. The document is
worth studying; it reveals something of the laborious, painstaking mind
reaching out down the rivers and streams of the future that were to flow
from the fountain of his own greatness; it reveals also his triple
conception of the obligations of human life in this world--the
cultivation and retention of temporal dignity, the performance of pious
and charitable acts, and the recognition of duty to one's family. It was
in this document that Columbus formulated the curious cipher which he
always now used in signing his name, and of which various readings are
given in the Appendix. He also enjoined upon his heir the duty of using
the simple title which he himself loved and used most--"The Admiral."
After the death of Prince Juan, Queen Isabella honoured Columbus by
attaching his two sons to her own person as pages; and her friendship
must at this time have gone far to compensate him for the coolness shown
towards him by the public at large. He might talk as much as he pleased,
but he had nothing to show for all his talk except a few trinkets, a
collection of interesting but valueless botanical specimens, and a
handful of miserable slaves. Lives and fortunes had been wrecked on the
enterprise, which had so far brought nothing to Spain but the promise of
luxurious adventure that was not fulfilled and of a wealth and glory that
had not been realised. It must have been a very humiliating circumstance
to Columbus that in the preparations which he was now (February 1498)
making for the equipment of his new expedition a great difficulty was
found in procuring ships and men. Not even before the first voyage had
so much reluctance been shown to risk life and property in the
enterprise. Merchants and sailors had then been frightened of dangers
which they did not know; now, it seemed, the evils of which they did know
proved a still greater deterrent. The Admiral was at this time the guest
of his friend Bernaldez, who has told us something of his difficulties;
and the humiliating expedient of seizing ships under a royal order had
finally to be adopted. But it would never have done to impress the
colonists also; that would have been too open a confession of failure for
the proud Admiral to tolerate.
Instead he had recourse to the miserable plan of which he had made use in
Palos; the prisons were opened, and criminals under sentence invited to
come forth and enjoy the blessings of colonial life. Even then there was
not that rush from the prison doors that might have been expected, and
some desperate characters apparently preferred the mercies of a Spanish
prison to what they had heard of the joys of the Earthly Paradise. Still
a number of criminals did doubtfully crawl forth and furnish a retinue
for the great Admiral and Viceroy. Trembling, suspicious, and with more
than half a mind to go back to their bonds, some part of the human vermin
of Spain was eventually cajoled and chivied on board the ships.
The needs of the colony being urgent, and recruiting being slow, two
caravels laden with provisions were sent off in advance; but even for
this purpose there was a difficulty about money, and good Isabella
furnished the expense, at much inconvenience, from her private purse.
Columbus had to supervise everything himself; and no wonder that by the
end of May, when he was ready to sail, his patience and temper were
exhausted and his much-tried endurance broke down under the petty
gnatlike irritations of Fonseca and his myrmidons. It was on the deck of
his own ship, in the harbour of San Lucar, that he knocked down and
soundly kicked Ximeno de Breviesca, Fonseca's accountant, whose nagging
requisitions had driven the Admiral to fury.
After all these years of gravity and restraint and endurance, this
momentary outbreak of the old Adam in our hero is like a breath of wind
through an open window.
To the portraits of Columbus hanging in the gallery of one's imagination
this must surely be added; in which Christopher, on the deck of his ship,
with the royal standard and the Admiral's flag flying from his masthead,
is observed to be soundly kicking a prostrate accountant. The incident
is worthy of a date, which is accordingly here given, as near as may be--
May 29, 1498.
End of Project Gutenberg's Christopher Columbus, Volume 5, by Filson Young