THE THIRD VOYAGE.
The circumstances attending the disembarking of Columbus on his return
after the second voyage were of a nature to emphasize rather than allay
the popular opinion that had been aroused against him. Three years
before, the expedition had gone out with the most joyous anticipations.
Representatives of noble and gentle families had begged the privilege
of going in the hope of easily finding either renown or fortune. All
these expectations had been disappointed. A large proportion of those
who had gone out had lost their lives; many others remained to battle
still longer with poverty, and perhaps even with hunger; while the two
hundred or more wretched creatures who now “crawled out of the ships”
told their tales of disastrous experience to the eyes as well as to the
ears of the people. It is related that Columbus himself was unshaven,
and that he was clad with the robe and girdled with the cord of the
Franciscans.
On arriving at the port of Cadiz, the Admiral found three caravels
on the point of sailing with provisions for the colony. Seeking an
interview with the commander, he learned much in regard to the state
of feeling that awaited him. In view of this information, he wrote
a letter to the Adelantado, not only to apprise him of his own safe
arrival, but also to urge him to endeavour by every possible means to
bring the island into a peaceful and productive condition. He urged
his brother to appease all discontents and commotions, and to use the
utmost diligence in exploring and working the mines that had recently
been discovered.
As soon as tidings of his arrival reached the sovereigns, they sent
Columbus a letter congratulating him on his safe return, and inviting
him to court. Accordingly, he at once made all necessary preparations
to go to Almazan, where the court was at that time established.
Desiring to keep alive an interest in his discoveries, he made a
studious display of the curiosities and treasures he had brought with
him. As at the end of the first voyage, the people along the way showed
great interest in the natives and in the products of the new islands.
The king and queen, though temporarily absent, soon returned to
Almazan, and gave him a gracious reception. It was evident that however
much of adverse criticism they may have heard, they were disposed to
hold in strict reserve any questionings they may have had in regard to
the general wisdom of his administrative methods.
Columbus gave a full account of his explorations in Cuba, and dwelt
in detail upon the promises held forth by the gold mines recently
discovered. If we may judge from its immediate consequences, we must
infer that the report made a favourable and deep impression.
The sovereigns even went so far as to give special and exceptional
evidence of their approval. In April of 1497 they confirmed anew
the commissions and hereditary privileges granted before the first
voyage; they confirmed and even made hereditary the appointment of
Bartholomew Columbus to the office of Adelantado, which at first had
been criticised as an undue exercise of authority by the Admiral; they
promised to comply with his request for eight ships with which to
complete his explorations and annex the mainland to their dominions. A
little later the queen also appointed his son Fernando as a page.
Other favours of a less personal nature were also freely granted. It
was determined that there should be sent out on the new fleet three
hundred and thirty men in the pay of the sovereigns. Others might be
enlisted by the Admiral, on condition that their pay could be provided
for in some other way. Those who volunteered to go without pay were
to receive a third part of the gold they might get out of the mines,
and nine tenths of all other products. The residue in both cases was
to be turned over to the royal officers. The Admiral also obtained
the privilege of transporting all criminals to the Indies, to serve
there for a number of years. This exceedingly unwise and unfortunate
provision, putting, as it did, the stamp of ignominy upon service in
the colony, exerted a pernicious influence, not only in preventing
enlistments, but also in demoralizing future life in the colonies.
These favours and promises by the sovereigns were more than Columbus
had dared even to hope for. But notwithstanding the kind, if not the
enthusiastic, favour of the sovereigns, the promises were not speedily
to be fulfilled. There were several reasons why the furnishing of the
ships was a matter of most annoying delay. During the long months of
waiting, Columbus was under the roof of Andres Bernaldez, who turned to
account many of his interviews with the Admiral in his History of the
Spanish Kings. Columbus left with Bernaldez several important documents
which the historian made the basis of much of his History. It is from
Bernaldez that we get the most definite account of the temper and
opposition of the people, as well as the grounds of their discontent.
The whole may be expressed in the single word “disappointment.” The
cost of the expeditions had been very great, and the returns very
small. A tradition has assumed the form of a popular belief that the
gold brought back to Spain by this second expedition was so abundant
that it was used to ornament palaces and gild cathedrals. But this
belief must be discarded; for we learn from Bernaldez that the gold
brought back consisted mainly of personal ornaments.
There were several causes for delay in fitting out the third
expedition. Spain was now at war with France in regard to that vexed
question which involved the suzerainty of Naples. Besides a powerful
army in Italy under Gonzalo de Cordova, Spain was obliged to keep
an army on her own frontier, which was threatened with an invasion
from France. A strong fleet had to be kept in the Mediterranean, and
another was called for to defend the Atlantic coasts of the Spanish
peninsula. But even these were not all. Ferdinand and Isabella, if
not far-seeing, were far-reaching in their ambition to extend their
international importance by judicious matrimonial alliances of their
children. This was to be done, not simply by the marriage of Catherine
of Aragon with Prince Henry of England, but also by the far more
important double alliance with Austria. The arrangements for the
Austrian nuptials were now complete, and a magnificent armada of a
hundred and twenty ships, with twenty thousand persons on board, had
been sent as a convoy of the Princess Juana to Flanders, where she was
to marry Philip, the archduke of Austria, and bring back the Austrian
Princess Margarita, who was to complete the double Austrian alliance by
marrying Prince Juan.
These several demands quite exhausted the maritime resources of the
Spanish Government. Delay therefore in the equipment of ships for
the third expedition of Columbus was inevitable. But there were also
other reasons that emphasized and reinforced the same tendencies. The
affairs of the Indian Office, after once having been sequestered, had
now been restored to the control of Fonseca. For a time they had been
transferred to the direction of Antonio de Torres; but in consequence
of high and unreasonable demands, he had been removed from office, and
Fonseca, the Bishop of Badajoz, had been reinstated. Fonseca had never
been actively helpful to Columbus, and as time had passed on, what at
first had an air of indifference, gradually changed to ill-concealed
enmity. In the position to which he had now been reinstated it was easy
for him to impede, if not frustrate, all the navigator’s plans. The
delay became intolerable. In the spring of 1498, Columbus, after nearly
two years had elapsed since his second return, presented a direct
appeal to the queen, making urgent representations of the misery to
which the colonists had been reduced. The appeal was successful; two
ships with supplies for the colony were despatched early in February,
1498.
The fitting out of the vessels that were to be commanded by Columbus
himself was retarded by many very annoying conditions. Fonseca seemed
determined to throw every obstacle in his way. It was everywhere
evident, moreover, that the popular favour in which the Admiral had
been more or less generally held was fast slipping away. At one time
he thought of abandoning the enterprise altogether; and in one of his
letters he intimates that he was restrained from doing so only by his
unwillingness to disoblige or disappoint the queen.
Of the various annoyances that occurred, there were two that are worthy
of note. The sovereigns ordered six million maravedis to be set apart
for the equipment of the new expedition. But soon after the arrival of
the three caravels of slaves in the autumn of 1495, word was circulated
that the fleet was freighted with _bars of gold_. The report had so
much influence on the sovereigns that they revoked their order for
six million maravedis, and directed that the necessary money for the
new expedition should be taken from the gold brought home. What was
the chagrin of Columbus and of all his friends to find that what was
only a wretched joke of one of the ship’s commanders had been taken in
serious earnest even by Ferdinand and Isabella. When the truth came
to be known, it was found that the bars of gold were only slaves kept
behind bars, with the design of converting them into gold in the market
of Seville. It is not difficult to imagine the indignation of Isabella
when the truth came to be known. The other affair alluded to was the
personal altercation that occurred between Columbus and Breviesca,
the treasurer of Fonseca. The very day when the squadron was about to
embark, Columbus was assailed in so insolent a manner by this official
that he lost his self-control, and not only struck his accuser to the
ground, but kicked him in his paroxysm of rage. As to the extent of the
provocation, Las Casas, who relates the anecdote, leaves us in doubt;
but the influence of such a spectacle could hardly have been favourable
to the Admiral.
It was the 30th day of May, 1498, before the expedition was ready to
sail. The fleet, consisting of six ships loaded with provisions and
other necessaries for the planters in Hispaniola, was detained at the
Canary and Cape de Verde islands until the 5th of July. From the island
of Ferro Columbus decided to send three of the vessels to Hispaniola,
and to sail in a more southerly direction with the rest, for the
purpose of making further discoveries. He designed to make the course
southwest until they should reach the equinoctial line, and then to
take a course due west. But the currents flowed so strongly toward the
north, and the heat was so severe, that this purpose was abandoned
before they reached the equator. Fernando, with characteristic
exaggeration, says that “had it not rained sometimes, and the sun been
clouded, he thought they would have been burned alive, together with
the ships, for the heat was so violent that nothing could withstand
it.” Las Casas, who had other sources of authentic information besides
the narrative of Columbus, declares that but for this heat and the
fact that the vessels were becalmed eight days, the Admiral would have
taken a course so far to the south that the fleet would have been
carried to the coast of Brazil. Be this as it may, the effect of the
temperature on the men and on the provisions was such that on the last
day of July the Admiral, thinking they were now south of the Caribbean
islands, resolved to abandon their course and make for Hispaniola.
Sailing toward the northwest one day, the man at the lookout descried
land to the westward, which, because of the three mountains that arose
above the horizon, Columbus called Trinidad. This discovery led to a
little delay. Cruising about the island for a considerable time without
finding a harbour, he came to deep soundings near Point Alcatraz, where
he decided to take in water and make such repairs as the shrinkage of
the timbers had made necessary. From the point where they now were, the
low lands about the mouth of the Orinoco were plainly visible; and
the incident is memorable because, notwithstanding the assertion of
Oviedo that Vespucius anticipated Columbus in reaching the mainland, it
was probably here that the Spaniards obtained the first sight of the
western continent. It was on the 1st day of August, 1498,--two months
and ten days after Vasco da Gama had cast anchor in the bay of Calicut.
After necessary delays the little fleet resumed its westerly course.
Although in his letter to the Spanish court, the Admiral gives a
graphic account of the rush of waters from the Orinoco, he seems not
at first to have suspected that he was in sight of the mainland. The
waters delivered to the ocean by this river came with such impetuous
force that they seemed to produce a ridge along the top of which the
squadron was borne at a furious rate into the Gulf of Paria. “Even
to-day,” wrote Columbus, “I shudder lest the waters should have upset
the vessel when they came under its bows.” We now know that the tumult
of the waters was very largely the result of the African current
wedging in between the island of Trinidad and the mainland, and forming
that stupendous flow which on emerging from the Caribbean Sea is known
as the Gulf Stream.
In sailing along the coast the Admiral met with nothing but friendly
treatment from the natives. The region at the left of the Gulf of
Paria he called Gracia. At length the immense volume of waters passing
through the mouths of the Orinoco led him to surmise that the land
he had been calling an island was in fact the continent. Holding
this conjecture with increasing confidence, he was unwilling to give
any considerable time to further exploration; and accordingly, after
passing through what he called the Boca del Drago, or Dragon’s Mouth,
he sailed directly for Hispaniola. His departure was hastened by the
desire, not only of landing the stores he had in charge, but also of
learning the truth in regard to the reports of disturbance among the
colonists that had reached Spain before his embarkation.
Before following him, however, to the unhappy colony, it may not be
out of place to make note of a few of his reflections, as recorded
in his own words. There is nothing in the life of Columbus more
interesting than his letter to the court describing this third voyage,
and commenting on the various phenomena which he observed. The minute
and ingenious details of this letter not only show how easily he was
captivated by delusions, but they also throw a flood of light on his
general habit of mind. It is impossible to quote the letter at length,
but a few of his conclusions may not be omitted.
In remarking that Ptolemy and all the other ancient writers regarded
the earth as spherical, he says that they had had no opportunity of
observing the region he was now exploring, and that in consequence
they had fallen into error. To his mind it was clear that the form
of the earth was not globular, but pear-shaped, and that the form
of a pear about the stem was the form of the earth in the region he
had discovered. He had at all times noted a marked change in the
temperature on crossing the one hundredth meridian. The north star also
perceptibly changed its relative position in regard to the horizon
at this point. The deflection of the needle here changed from five
degrees to the east to as many degrees to the west. The waters of the
great river flowing into the Gulf of Paria could hardly come with
a tumultuous volume for any other reason. As they sailed away from
this region, they were so rapidly descending that they easily made
sixty-five leagues in a day, which they could hardly have done on an
ascending or a level sea.
It was his opinion, moreover, derived from numerous considerations,
that the point at the stem of the pear represented the garden of
Paradise. “I do not suppose,” he writes, “that the earthly Paradise
is in the form of a rugged mountain, as the descriptions of it have
made it appear, but that it is on the summit of the spot which I have
described as being in the form of the neck of a pear. The approach
to it from a distance must be by a constant and gradual ascent; but
I believe that, as I have already said, no one could ever reach the
top. I think also that the water I have described may proceed from it,
though it be far off, and that stopping at the place I have just left,
it forms this lake.” He further states: “There are great indications of
this being the terrestrial paradise, for its site coincides with the
opinion of the holy and wise theologians whom I have mentioned.”
The speculations of Columbus in regard to the currents of the ocean and
their effects on the shape of the islands are interesting; but they are
important only as revealing the observing and generalizing habit of
his mind. His remarks on the characteristics of the natives are more
important. Their superior intelligence and courage, as well as their
lighter colour, and even their long, smooth hair, he attributes to the
mildness of the climate, occasioned by the altitude of this portion of
the pear-shaped earth.
Resuming the general course of his voyage toward the northwest, after
pausing for a time at Margarita he arrived at the harbour of San
Domingo on the 30th of August, 1498.
In order to understand the condition of affairs on the arrival of the
Admiral, it is necessary to call attention briefly to the history of
the island during the two years of his absence.
We find that early in the administration of the Adelantado he sent to
Spain three hundred slaves from Hispaniola. As these were represented
as having been taken while they were killing Christians, this
disposition of them seems not to have met with any insurmountable
disfavour. Indeed, the sovereigns had given orders that all those
who should be found guilty should be sent to Spain. The way was thus
opened for an iniquitous traffic by a royal order that simply provided
for an inevitable flexibility of interpretation under an imperfect
administration of justice. There was no reason to anticipate that there
would in the future be any insurmountable obstacle to a profitable
exercise of the trade in slaves. Human nature, as it revealed itself in
the fifteenth century, might well be trusted to find the means.
The order, already alluded to, authorizing judges to transport
criminals to the Indies, had already begun to exert its baleful
influence; and a still more pernicious result came from the further
edict giving an indulgence to such criminals as should go out at their
own expense and serve under the Admiral. The provisions of this edict,
which must have been recommended by Columbus himself, could hardly have
been more ingeniously framed for the purpose of bringing the greatest
harm to the colony. They not only made all labour disreputable, but
they drew into the colonies the worst classes of criminals. Those
to whom an indulgence was most desirable, were the very men who had
committed the most flagrant crimes; and these were the persons that
most eagerly accepted the opportunity. Three years later, when Columbus
was under accusation, he excused the acts complained of by referring to
the badness of the men who were allowed to go out under this edict; but
he did not call attention to the fact that the edict was one which he
himself had recommended. Of these he said, with unwonted emphasis: “I
swear that numbers of men have gone to the Indies who did not deserve
water from God or man.” The colony as made up in 1493 was not of a
nature to bear with impunity such an influx of rascality.
Another royal order that contributed not a little to the future
turbulence of the islands was the one which provided for what are
known as the _repartimientos_. This edict was also issued in 1497, and
it authorized the Admiral to give in the most formal way any of the
lands discovered to any Spaniard, with all rights “to hold, to sell, to
traffic with, and to alienate and to do with it and in it all that he
likes or may think good.”
Here, then, was introduced an ingenious instrument of interminable
discord. The ill effects of these several edicts were not mitigated
by the methods of government pursued by the Adelantado; but, on the
contrary, Don Bartholomew was so unwise as to contribute in many ways
to the prevailing dissatisfaction and turbulence.
Before the Admiral had sailed for home, as we have already seen, gold
mines had been discovered near the southern coast of the island. He
had promptly reported the discovery and had recommended the opening
of the mines and the establishment of a port at no remote distance.
The recommendations were favorably received by the monarchs, and the
captain of the fleet which Columbus met as he was entering the bay
of Cadiz was the bearer of the letter of approval. The Admiral, on
receiving this letter, at once wrote to his brother, ordering him to
begin work at once to carry out the royal pleasure in regard to the
mines and the establishment of a port on the southern coast of the
island. He also directed him to spare no pains to conciliate all the
adverse interests and bind them into harmonious unity of purpose.
Don Bartholomew on receiving this letter at once proceeded southward
and fixed upon the mouth of the river Ozama as the site of the new
port. Sending for artisans and labourers, he at once began the
building of a fortress which he named San Domingo, and which afterward
gave its name to the chief port and city of the island. The purpose
of the Admiral and of his brother seems to have been ultimately to
abandon Isabella and to establish in the new town on the southern coast
the seat of government of the colony. In accordance with this design,
Don Bartholomew planned to transport to the southern coast all of the
working population at Isabella excepting so many as were necessary to
complete the two caravels now in process of construction.
Scarcely was the building of the new port and town fairly undertaken
when the Adelantado became involved in what seems to have been a most
needless and disastrous undertaking. No one of the early authorities
gives any justifiable reason for the enterprise. The brief statement of
Herrera has the advantage of clearness, and is perhaps as trustworthy
as any other. His language is: “The work having begun, Don Bartholomew
resolved to view the kingdom of Behechio, called Xaragua, of whose
state and government and of whose sister Anacaona he had heard so much
talk.” That this intimation concerning Anacaona is not altogether
gratuitous may be inferred from numerous statements in the original
authorities. Fernando Columbus, in explaining why his uncle wished to
establish himself in Xaragua, gives several reasons touching climate,
soil, etc., and then adds: “But above all, because the women were the
handsomest and of the most pleasing conversation of any.” It is a
deplorable fact, but one that can hardly be ignored, that the motives
here ascribed to Don Bartholomew were a constant element, not only of
distrust and hatred in all the relations of the Spaniards with the
natives, but also a constant element of danger and depletion.[1]
[1] Fernando Columbus, in describing the condition of the
colony on the return of the Admiral, says, “Perciocchè gran
parte della gente, da lui lasciatavi, era già morta, e
degli altri ve n’ erano piu di cento sessanta ammalati di
mal Francese” (Vita di Christoforo Colombo, descritta da
Ferdinando, suo figlio, Londra, 1867, cap. lxxiii. p. 239).
The expedition into Xaragua--a province situated in the western portion
of the island--was fraught with many new complications. The cacique
Behechio at first seemed disposed to offer a spirited and warlike
resistance. But on receiving the assurance that the mission was a
friendly one, for the purpose of paying respect to himself and his
sister, he adopted the policy of welcoming the Adelantado in the most
friendly manner. Don Bartholomew, with his soldiers, was thus admitted
to the very heart of the kingdom. It was now easy for him to complete
his errand by imposing tribute. Behechio answered that tribute would
be impossible, as there was no gold within his kingdom; whereupon the
lieutenant declared that he would be content to receive tribute in
the products of the territory. On these conditions and in this manner
it was that the suzerainty of the Spaniards was established over the
western portion of the island.
On returning to Isabella, Don Bartholomew had found a deplorable
state of affairs. During his absence more than three hundred of the
colonists had died of various diseases. Among the living, moreover,
discontents were universal. He distributed the sick among the various
forts and friendly Indian villages in the vicinity, and then set out
for San Domingo, collecting tribute by the way. In all these energetic
proceedings he constantly augmented the accumulations of ill-will, not
only on the part of the Spaniards, but also on that of the natives. The
islanders needed only an occasion and a leader to ignite them into a
general conflagration; and neither was long wanting. The authorities do
not quite agree as to the exact time when the outburst took place; but
the matter of a precise date is not important. Of the fact itself there
seems no room for doubt.
There was everywhere complaint on the part of the natives of the
tribute imposed upon them; and nothing but the hopelessness of the
situation had prevented them so long from a general attempt to throw
off their hateful yoke. On the occasion of this last tribute several
of the minor chiefs complained to the cacique Guarionex, and urged a
general rising of the Indians. This cacique was greatly respected for
his intelligence, as well as for his prudence and his courage. Though
well aware of the power of the Spaniards, he finally consented to put
himself at the head of a general revolt. A battle ensued, in which the
Spaniards, as usual, were successful, taking Guarionex and many other
important persons captive. The Adelantado ordered the movers in the
insurrection to be put to death; but he thought it politic and prudent
to deliver Guarionex up to his people.
Having thus settled the revolt in the centre of the island, and hearing
that the tribute of Behechio was ready for him, Don Bartholomew left
the region between Isabella and San Domingo in the control of his
brother Diego, and took his departure for the west to visit Xaragua.
But the occasion of his going was the signal for further revolt. Now,
however, he had to confront an insurrection, not of the Indians, but of
the Spaniards themselves.
Before the Admiral had left Hispaniola for Spain in 1496, he appointed
Francis Roldan chief justice of the island. This officer was endowed
with an arrogant and turbulent temper, and it soon became apparent that
there were abundant causes of friction between him and the Adelantado.
Disagreement between the executive and judicial authorities is always
more or less liable to occur in primitive governments; and although
the chief authority must have been in the hands of the governor, it is
probable that their functions were never very clearly defined. Roldan
early began to show signs of a restive spirit, which waxed stronger and
stronger until it broke forth into open defiance. By a watchful seizing
of opportunities for encouraging the complaints of the people, and by
ingeniously declaring how the methods of rule ought to be modified, he
had no difficulty in attaching to him a formidable party. The absence
of Don Bartholomew and the weakness of Don Diego now afforded him
an opportunity. Fernando Columbus gives details of Roldan’s plan to
assassinate the Adelantado and then make himself master of the island.
He was to await the return of Don Bartholomew to Isabella, and then,
having put him to death, was to proclaim himself chief ruler of the
island. The Adelantado, however, received tidings of the insurrection
before reaching Isabella, and so put himself on his guard. But no
effort to bring Roldan to terms was successful. The leader of the
rebellion had secured a numerous following, both of natives and of
Spaniards; and the consequence was that for months the island was kept
in such turbulence that no progress could be made either in working the
mines or in building the new city.
The two vessels which the Admiral sent out with provisions arrived
in the spring of 1498. The same ships brought the royal commission
confirming the appointment of Don Bartholomew as Adelantado, or Lord
Lieutenant, of the islands, and conveying the further information that
the Admiral himself, with a fleet of six ships, was soon to embark for
the same destination. The commission was duly proclaimed, and on the
strength of this confirmation of authority and the prospect of the
speedy arrival of the Admiral, a new effort was made to bring Roldan
to terms. But even this attempt was not successful. After ravaging
considerable portions of the centre of the island, Roldan entered with
his followers into the luxuriant regions of Xaragua, there to await
coming events. Though Roldan was not subdued, it is probable that the
arrival of reinforcements saved the government of Don Bartholomew from
complete destruction.
In midsummer the three ships despatched by Columbus from the Canaries
with provisions arrived off the south coast of the island. Ignorant of
the situation of San Domingo, and carried by strong winds and currents
in a westerly direction, they made their landing, as if adverse fates
were in control, in the very territory held by Roldan. As if to give
added significance to this misfortune, the captains decided that the
labouring-men should go ashore, and make their way on foot to San
Domingo. The result was that, according to Herrera, Roldan “easily
persuaded them to stay with him, telling them at the same time how
they would live with him, which was only going about from one town to
another, taking the gold and what else they saw fit.”
Such was the condition of affairs when Christopher Columbus arrived
on the 22d of August, 1498. It was not until some days later that the
three caravels with supplies, after returning from Xaragua, reached the
same port. In one of his letters, written a year later, Columbus says:
“I found nearly half the colonists of Hispaniola in a state of revolt.”
The formidable extent of this insurrection is revealed, not only by
the numbers that participated in it, but also by the spirit shown
by those in revolt, as well as by those in authority. Neither Don
Bartholomew nor the Admiral thought it prudent to move against Roldan
and attempt to crush him by force. This hesitating prudence can only
be explained by the fear that such a movement would weaken rather than
strengthen the colony; and such a fear could be justified only by a
very wide-spread and deep-seated spirit of dissatisfaction. Columbus
evidently expected on his arrival to find that the revolt of Roldan had
its root in a personal antipathy to the Adelantado, and that as soon
as he should himself resume direct control of affairs, all discontent
would subside. But in this he was bitterly disappointed. The Alcalde
continued to maintain an attitude of stubborn defiance. Negotiations
were entered into from time to time; but they proceeded slowly, and
only served to show the extent and the spirit of the party in revolt.
It was while these perplexing events were taking place that Columbus
sent back to Spain such of the ships as were not needed in the colonies.
In November of 1498 an elaborate agreement was reached, the details
of which reveal at once the weakness of Columbus and the strength of
Roldan. It had all the characteristics of a treaty, in which every
concession, except that of abandoning the island to the rebellion, was
made by the Admiral. Columbus agreed to furnish within fifty days two
vessels for transporting the rebels to Spain, to furnish them with
ample provisions for the voyage, to allow one slave, man or woman, to
each of Roldan’s men, to pledge his honour as a Spanish gentleman that
he would do nothing to detain or obstruct the vessels, and to write to
the sovereigns a letter designed to absolve Roldan and his men from all
blame.
But even this treaty, duly signed and sealed on the 21st of November,
did not bring this painful history to an end. The vessels were not
ready in time. It was the midsummer of the following year before
Columbus had put the ships at the disposal of Roldan and his men. This
may not have been the fault of the Admiral, but it furnished a least a
pretext for abandoning the contract on the part of Roldan. His men seem
to have been unwilling to return to the restraints of civilization, and
it was necessary to begin negotiations on another basis. The settlement
finally agreed upon and signed on the 5th of November, 1499, contained
the four following provisions: First, that fifteen of Roldan’s men
should be sent to Spain in the first vessel that went; secondly, that
to those that remained, Columbus should give land and houses for their
pay; thirdly, that proclamation should be made that all that had
happened had resulted from false reports and through the fault of bad
men; and fourthly, that Columbus should now appoint Roldan perpetual
judge. The conditions of this agreement were fulfilled, and thus,
after Columbus had put forth efforts extending over nearly a year and
a half, the rebellion was brought to an end by a treaty that is a sad
commentary on the condition of affairs in the island.
But quiet was not yet by any means to be restored. No sooner was
Roldan’s rebellion suppressed than the appearance of another turbulent
spirit on the scene threatened to make the permanent establishment of
peace impossible. Alonzo de Ojeda, soon after his treacherous exploit
in the capture of the cacique Caonabo, had been despatched with four
vessels on a voyage of exploration. With the details of his expedition,
however interesting in themselves, we have nothing in this connection
to do, except to note the fact that he returned to Hispaniola just
after matters had been adjusted between Columbus and Roldan. However
Ojeda may have felt toward his chief at the time of his departure, it
is evident that he brought back from his voyage a malignant enmity.
He was a strong partisan of Fonseca, and he now represented that
the queen was at the point of death, that her demise would deprive
Columbus of his last friend, and that it would not be difficult so to
arrange matters that Columbus would soon be stripped of his authority.
To the honour of Roldan it must be said that he not only opposed a
stern resistance to all Ojeda’s schemes, but that he acted with strict
loyalty to the interests of Columbus. Nevertheless, for months the
island was kept in turmoil, the forces of Roldan were pitted against
those of Ojeda, and it was not until after several hostile skirmishes
that the hopes of this new rebel were finally dispelled.
Meanwhile reports of the unhappy situation were finding their way back
to Spain. Ojeda lost no opportunity to write to Fonseca and to pour
the poison of his representations into the mind of the minister. Don
Fernando tells us that during the period of these disorders “many of
the rebels sent letters from Hispaniola, and others, when returned
to Spain, did not cease to give false information to the king and his
council against the Admiral and his brother.”
It was while these various occurrences were taking place that Columbus
sent back to Spain five of the vessels that had set out with him on
his third voyage. The freightage and the news borne by the ships were
most unfortunate for the cause of the Admiral. The caravels were laden
with slaves for the Spanish market. Such a method of recruiting the
colonial treasury was not indeed unknown, for slaves had already before
been sent back and sold for the benefit of the expedition. But hitherto
the Indian slave-trade had been kept within the domain of custom and
ecclesiastical sanction. In the fifteenth century infidels taken in
war were thrown upon the slave-market without provoking ecclesiastical
protest. In the war against the Moors the victors often sold prisoners
in large numbers, and even the sensibilities of Isabella seem not to
have been offended by such a proceeding. But the Indians now to be
sent to the auction-block had been taken in a very different way. Many
of the native men and women had found the tribute of service demanded
of them so oppressive or revolting that they had fled to the forests
as a means of escape. But in this dash for liberty they were pursued,
and often overtaken. Those who were captured were thrown into the
ships and held in close confinement until the time of sailing. It is
painful to relate that Columbus not only sanctioned and directed this
proceeding, but that in his letter to the sovereigns he even entered
into an account of the pecuniary advantage that would arise from these
slave-dealing transactions. He estimated that as many slaves could
be furnished as the Spanish market would demand, and that from this
species of traffic a revenue of as much as forty million maravedis
might be derived. Not only this, but he even alludes to the intended
adoption on the part of private individuals of a system of exchange of
slaves for goods wanted in colonial life. According to this scheme, as
outlined by the Admiral, the colonists were to furnish slaves to the
shipowners who were to take this human freightage to Spain, and then,
having disposed of it and taken their commission, invest the remaining
proceeds in the articles needed, and carry them back to the traders in
the islands. The plan had all the cold-hearted brutality of a practised
slave-dealer.
The misfortune of this policy to Columbus was in the relation of the
king and queen respectively to the colonial enterprise. Ferdinand had
never shown himself heartily favourable to the projects of the Admiral.
The queen, on the other hand, had taken a much larger and juster view
of the importance and glory of the discovery. But Isabella had from the
first been extremely sensitive on the matter of reducing the native
Indians to a condition of slavery. Before she would consent to the
sale of a former consignment, she had required that proofs should be
furnished of their having been taken in open warfare, and also that
an ecclesiastical commission should certify to the regularity and
propriety of such a proceeding. These requirements, if no other,
should have prevented Columbus from presuming very much upon any
indulgent leniency on this subject. In view of the queen’s previous
attitude in regard to the matter of slavery, no intelligent observer
can think it strange that the course Columbus was now taking gave great
offence, if it did not arouse an earnest indignation.
It is evident, moreover, that the scruples of the queen in regard
to the general wisdom of Columbus’s course must have received new
significance from the news that came from the island. It is true
that Columbus himself wrote an elaborate account of the causes of
the revolt; but it is also true that the same ships that carried the
slaves and the report of the Admiral, carried also several descriptions
of affairs by Roldan and his followers. The Admiral and the Lord
Lieutenant were freely charged with every species of enormity. Nor were
these charges confined to generalities. The rebels went so far as to
declare that the tyranny of the rule in the islands was so intolerable
that nothing but revolt was possible. They also very adroitly called
attention to the fact that notwithstanding all the reports that
received currency in regard to the discoveries of gold, no gold of any
amount had as yet found its way back to Spain.
Besides these reports, numerous others of a more private nature were
sent by colonists to their friends at home, all of them laden with
gloom and dissatisfaction. That the administrations of the Admiral and
the Lord Lieutenant were very unpopular, there can be no doubt whatever
in the mind of any one who reads the original accounts; and these
expressions of popular disfavour streamed back to the mother-country by
every means of conveyance. Nor did these tidings fall upon unwelcoming
ears. Those who had sent out friends only to hear of their death or
misfortunes; those who were filled with envy at the success of one whom
they regarded as merely a foreign adventurer; those who were embittered
by disappointment that no pecuniary returns had been received,--all
these and thousands of others now united in one general cry of
denunciation. The Admiral’s son Fernando gives a vivid picture of the
complaints made against his father. Columbus himself, in writing to the
nurse of Prince Juan at this period, said: “I have now reached a point
where there is no man so vile but thinks it his right to insult me....
If I had plundered the Indies, even to the country where is the fabled
altar of St. Peter’s, and had given them all to the Moors, they could
not have shown toward me more bitter enmity than they have done in
Spain.”
That much of this unpopularity was unjust and unreasonable, there can
be no doubt whatever. But even when we have conceded this, there still
remains the great fact of a popular outcry; and such an outcry always
justifies at least an inquiry. It must not, therefore, be regarded
as strange that the Spanish sovereigns at length decided to make an
official investigation. Indeed, any other course would have been little
less than a culpable disregard of a powerful public sentiment.
Such were the influences that were borne in upon the king and queen.
There is evidence that soon after the return of the five vessels
with their cargo of slaves, Ferdinand and Isabella began to take
into consideration the question of suspending the Admiral. They did
not, however, act in haste. The ships arrived with their ill-omened
freightage in November of 1498. In the course of the following winter
the monarchs decided definitively that an investigation should be
made. On the 21st of March, 1499, they issued a commission authorizing
Francis de Bobadilla “to ascertain what persons have raised themselves
against justice in the island of Hispaniola, and to proceed against
them according to law.”
Bobadilla was an officer of the royal household and a commander of
one of the military and religious orders. His general reputation was
good. Oviedo says that he was “a very honest and religious man.” The
misfortune of the appointment was not so much in the badness of the
man as in the badness of the situation in which he was placed. The
instructions given by Ferdinand and Isabella have been preserved; and
as we read them we cannot escape the conviction that they subjected
Bobadilla to a temptation greater than ordinary human nature could
bear. He received a series of commissions, each conferring greater
authority than that conferred by the one before, each intended to be
used only in case of imperative emergency. In one of these commissions
Bobadilla was authorized to issue his commands in the royal name and to
send back to Spain “any cavaliers or other persons,” in case he should
think such a course necessary for the service. Another commission
authorizes Bobadilla to require Columbus to surrender “the fortresses,
ships, houses, arms, ammunition, cattle, and all other royal property,
under penalty of the customary punishment for disobedience of a royal
order.”
Having received these general instructions, Bobadilla was made the
bearer of the following letter to the Admiral:--
DON CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, _our Admiral of the Ocean_:
We have commanded the commendador, Francis de Bobadilla, the
bearer of this, that he speak to you on our part some things
which he will tell you. We pray you give him faith and credence,
and act accordingly.
But notwithstanding this authority, for some reason that has not been
adequately explained, Bobadilla was not despatched to the Indies until
a year from the following July. It is very easy to conjecture that the
sovereigns were more than willing that, if possible, Columbus should
still work out the problem for himself. They may have desired Bobadilla
to try his influence at first from a distance, in the hope that extreme
measures might not have to be resorted to. But this purpose seems not
to have been successful. If we accept of this explanation of the delay,
we can hardly withhold from the sovereigns some measure of commendation
for their caution and prudence.
But caution and prudence formed no part of the policy pursued after
Bobadilla was sent to Hispaniola. It is difficult to believe that the
commissioner acted without at least the royal approval of a policy of
vigour, though it is impossible to suppose that the sovereigns would
have given their sanction in detail to the manner in which he performed
his mission. Bobadilla seems at least not to have been unwilling to
act with energy and directness. There is no evidence that he was not
high-principled, or that he was actuated by any other motives than
those of the public good; but he was a person of strong prejudices and
of narrowness of mind, and consequently he was unable to distinguish
between vigour and coarse brutality.
The arrival of Bobadilla at San Domingo was on the 23d of August, 1499.
He found affairs in extreme disorder. The first information he received
was that seven of the rebels had just been hanged, and that five more
had been condemned and were awaiting a similar fate. Las Casas tells
us that as Bobadilla entered the river, he beheld on either hand a
gibbet, and on it the body of a prominent Spaniard lately executed!
The impression thus made upon his mind was no doubt intensified by the
rumours that came from every quarter. He seems to have regarded what
he saw and heard as conclusive evidence of the Admiral’s cruelty and
culpability.
The next morning, after mass, Bobadilla ordered the letter authorizing
him to make investigations to be read before the assembled populace
about the church-door. The commission authorized him to seize persons
and fortresses, to sequestrate the property of delinquents, and
finally called upon the Admiral and all others in authority to assist
in the discharge of his duties. The Admiral and the Adelantado were
in another part of the island, the command at San Domingo having been
intrusted to Don Diego. After the reading of the commission, Bobadilla
demanded of the acting governor that he surrender the prisoners that
were held for execution, together with the evidence concerning them.
The reply was given that the prisoners were held by command of the
Admiral, and that the Admiral’s authority was superior to any that
Bobadilla might possess, and therefore that the prisoners could not be
given up. This defiant answer to his demand provoked Bobadilla into
bringing forward all the reserves of his authority. Accordingly, on the
next morning, as soon as mass was said, he caused his other letter to
be proclaimed, investing him with the government of the islands and of
the continent. After taking the oath of office, he produced the third
letter of the Crown, ordering Columbus to deliver up all the royal
property; and then, as if to clinch popular favour, he produced an
additional mandate, requiring him, at the earliest practicable moment,
to pay all arrears of wages due to persons in the royal service.
This proclamation had the desired effect. The populace, many of whom
were suffering from arrears in payment of wages, hailed the new
governor as a benefactor and a saviour.
Thus it was that, by a very natural series of events, the narrow
mind of Bobadilla was led on to a precipitate assumption of all the
authority conferred upon him. He decided to act with an energy that
amounted to brutality. His next step was to take possession of the
Admiral’s house, and then, sending the royal letter, to summon the
Admiral before him. No resistance was offered either by Columbus or
by either of his brothers. Indeed, the authority conferred by the
commission and the attitude of the populace made resistance impossible.
Bobadilla, without hesitation, not only arrested them, but put them
into chains.
No sooner was it apparent that the commissioner was disposed to act
with energy than the whole pack of malcontents set up their cry of
accusation. They told how Columbus had made them work on the fortresses
and other buildings even when they were sick; how he had condemned them
to be whipped even for stealing a peck of wheat when they were dying
with hunger; how he had not baptized Indians, because he desired to
make slaves rather than Christians; and, finally, how he had entered
into unjust wars with the natives, in order that he might capture
slaves to be sent to the markets in Spain. Many of these accusations,
if the facts could have been understood, might doubtless have been
explained in a way to reflect no discredit upon the Admiral; they might
even have shown proof of his firmness and sagacity as a ruler. But
there was no opportunity for explanation. It is only certain that the
populace rejoiced in the coming of Bobadilla, and that they encouraged
him in all his acts of violence.
Thus it was that the disaster toward which so many things had been
tending was finally consummated. It has been fortunate for the memory
of Columbus that the act of suspension was carried out with such total
disregard of what the navigator had accomplished. In accordance with
a well-known impulse of human nature, the sympathies of all generous
minds from that time to this have been enlisted in his favour. These
sympathies have often led to a forgetfulness of the grievances under
which the colonists were suffering. But in the light of all the facts
that are accessible, it is difficult to believe that the sovereigns
were wrong in providing for his removal. The only cause of just
complaint is the fact that it was not done in a manner that was worthy
of his great achievements.
Bobadilla acted with such brutal energy, and the outcries of the
poplace were so violent, that Columbus believed his life was to be
sacrificed. There is no reason to suppose, however, that Bobadilla
ever for a moment thought of bringing the Admiral to execution. He
decided at once to send the prisoners to Spain. Alonzo de Villejo was
put in charge of the Admiral and of the two brothers. Las Casas says
of Villejo: “He was a worthy hidalgo and my particular friend.” When
the new custodian with his guard entered the prison, Columbus supposed
it was to conduct him to the scaffold. Villejo at once reassured him,
however, and told him his errand was to transfer him to the ship, and
that they were at once to embark for Spain. Columbus may well have felt
like one restored from death to life. But as the officers took him to
the ship, they were followed by the insulting scoffs of the rabble; for
all seemed to take a brutal satisfaction in heaping indignities upon
his head.
On shipboard Villejo treated his illustrious prisoner with every
consideration. He offered to remove the irons; but to this Columbus
would not consent. It is a signifiant indication of his character
that he haughtily answered: “No, their Majesties ordered me to submit
to whatever Bobadilla might command; by their authority I was put in
chains, and by their authority alone shall they be removed.” Fernando
tells us that his father was in the habit of keeping the manacles in
his cabinet, and that he requested that they might be buried with him.
After a prosperous voyage, the ship reached the port of Cadiz in
November, 1500.