In the spring succeeding the fall of Granada there came to Spain a glory
and renown that made her the envy of all the nations of Europe. During the
year before an Italian mariner, Christopher Columbus by name, after long
haunting the camp and court of Ferdinand and Isabella, had been sent out
with a meagre expedition in the forlorn hope of discovering new lands
beyond the seas. In March, 1493, extraordinary tidings spread through the
kingdom and reached the ears of the monarchs at their court in Barcelona.
The tidings were that the poor and despised mariner had returned to Palos
with wonderful tales of the discovery of a vast, rich realm beyond the
seas,--a mighty new empire for Spain.
The marvellous news set the whole kingdom wild with joy. The ringing of
bells and solemn thanksgivings welcomed Columbus at the port from which he
had set sail. On his journey to the king's court his progress was impeded
by the multitudes who thronged to see the suddenly famous man,--the humble
mariner who had discovered for Spain what every one already spoke of as a
"New World." With him he brought several of the bronze-hued natives of
that far land, dressed in their simple island costume, and decorated, as
they passed through the principal cities, with collars, bracelets, and
other ornaments of gold. He exhibited, also, gold in dust and in shapeless
masses, many new plants, some of them of high medicinal value, several
animals never before seen in Europe, and birds whose brilliant plumage
attracted glances of delight from all eyes.
It was mid-April when Columbus reached Barcelona. The nobility and knights
of the court met him in splendid array and escorted him to the royal
presence through the admiring throngs that filled the streets. Ferdinand
and Isabella, with their son, Prince John, awaited his arrival seated
under a superb canopy of state. On the approach of the discoverer they
rose and extended their hands to him to kiss, not suffering him to kneel
in homage. Instead, they bade him seat himself before them,--a mark of
condescension to a person of his rank unknown before in the haughty court
of Castile. He was, at that moment, "the man whom the king delighted to
honor," and it was the proudest period in his life when, having proved
triumphantly all for which he had so long contended, he was honored as the
equal of the proud monarchs of Spain.
At the request of the sovereigns Columbus gave them a brief account of his
adventures, in a dignified tone, that warmed with enthusiasm as he
proceeded. He described the various tropical islands he had landed upon,
spoke with favor of their delightful climate and the fertility of their
soil, and exhibited the specimens he had brought as examples of their
fruitfulness. He dwelt still more fully upon their wealth in the precious
metals, of which he had been assured by the natives, and offered the gold
he brought with him as evidence. Lastly, he expatiated on the opportunity
offered for the extension of the Christian religion through lands populous
with pagans,--a suggestion which appealed strongly to the Spanish heart.
When he ceased the king and queen, with all present, threw themselves on
their knees and gave thanks to God, while the solemn strains of the _Te
Deum_ were poured forth by the choir of the royal chapel.
[Illustration: RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.]