THE LAST DAYS
Columbus, for whom rest and quiet were the first essentials, remained in
Seville from November 1504 to May 1505, when he joined the Court at
Segovia and afterwards at Salamanca and Valladolid, where he remained
till his death in May 1506. During this last period, when all other
activities were practically impossible to him, he fell into a state of
letter-writing--for the most part long, wearisome complainings and
explainings in which he poured out a copious flood of tears and self-pity
for the loss of his gold.
It has generally been claimed that Columbus was in bitter penury and want
of money, but a close examination of the letters and other documents
relating to this time show that in his last days he was not poor in any
true sense of the word. He was probably a hundred times richer than any
of his ancestors had ever been; he had, money to give and money to spend;
the banks honoured his drafts; his credit was apparently indisputable.
But compared with the fabulous wealth to which he would by this time have
been entitled if his original agreement with the Crown of Spain had been
faithfully carried out he was no doubt poor. There is no evidence that
he lacked any comfort or alleviation that money could buy; indeed he
never had any great craving for the things that money can buy--only for
money itself. There must have been many rich people in Spain who would
gladly have entertained him in luxury and dignity; but he was not the
kind of man to set much store by such things except in so far as they
were a decoration and advertisement of his position as a great man. He
had set himself to the single task of securing what he called his rights;
and in these days of sunset he seems to have been illumined by some
glimmer of the early glory of his first inspiration. He wanted the
payment of his dues now, not so much for his own enrichment, but as a
sign to the world that his great position as Admiral and Viceroy was
recognised, so that his dignities and estates might be established and
consolidated in a form which he would be able to transmit to his remote
posterity.
Since he wrote so copiously and so constantly in these last days, the
best picture of his mood and condition is afforded in his letters to his
son Diego; letters which, in spite of their infinitely wearisome
recapitulation and querulous complaint, should be carefully read by those
who wish to keep in touch with the Admiral to the end.
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to DON DIEGO, his Son,
November 21, 1504.
"VERY DEAR SON,--I received your letter by the courier. You did
well in remaining yonder to remedy our affairs somewhat and to
employ yourself now in our business. Ever since I came to Castile,
the Lord Bishop of Palencia has shown me favour and has desired that
I should be honoured. Now he must be entreated that it may please
him to occupy himself in remedying my many grievances and in
ordering that the agreement and letters of concession which their
Highnesses gave me be fulfilled, and that I be indemnified for so
many damages. And he may be certain that if their Highnesses do
this, their estate and greatness will be multiplied to them in an
incredible degree. And it must not appear to him that forty
thousand pesos in gold is more than a representation of it; because
they might have had a much greater quantity if Satan had not
hindered it by impeding my design; for, when I was taken away from
the Indies, I was prepared to give them a sum of gold incomparable
to forty thousand pesos. I make oath, and this may be for thee
alone, that the damage to me in the matter of the concessions their
Highnesses have made to me, amounts to ten millions each year, and
never can be made good. You see what will be, or is, the injury to
their Highnesses in what belongs to them, and they do not perceive
it. I write at their disposal and will strive to start yonder. My
arrival and the rest is in the hands of our Lord. His mercy is
infinite. What is done and is to be done, St. Augustine says is
already done before the creation of the world. I write also to
these other Lords named in the letter of Diego Mendez. Commend me
to their mercy and tell them of my going as I have said above. For
certainly I feel great fear, as the cold is so inimical to this, my
infirmity, that I may have to remain on the road.
"I was very much pleased to hear the contents of your letter and
what the King our Lord said, for which you kissed his royal hands.
It is certain that I have served their Highnesses with as much
diligence and love as though it had been to gain Paradise, and more,
and if I have been at fault in anything it has been because it was
impossible or because my knowledge and strength were not sufficient.
God, our Lord, in such a case, does not require more from persons
than the will.
"At the request of the Treasurer Morales, I left two brothers in the
Indies, who are called Porras. The one was captain and the other
auditor. Both were without capacity for these positions: and I was
confident that they could fill them, because of love for the person
who sent them to me. They both became more vain than they had been.
I forgave them many incivilities, more than I would do with a
relation, and their offences were such that they merited another
punishment than a verbal reprimand. Finally they reached such a
point that even had I desired, I could not have avoided doing what I
did. The records of the case will prove whether I lie or not. They
rebelled on the island of Jamaica, at which I was as much astonished
as I would be if the sun's rays should cast darkness. I was at the
point of death, and they martyrised me with extreme cruelty during
five months and without cause. Finally I took them all prisoners,
and immediately set them free, except the captain, whom I was
bringing as a prisoner to their Highnesses. A petition which they
made to me under oath, and which I send you with this letter, will
inform you at length in regard to this matter, although the records
of the case explain it fully. These records and the Notary are
coming on another vessel, which I am expecting from day to day. The
Governor in Santo Domingo took this prisoner.--His courtesy
constrained him to do this. I had a chapter in my instructions in
which their Highnesses ordered all to obey me, and that I should
exercise civil and criminal justice over all those who were with me:
but this was of no avail with the Governor, who said that it was not
understood as applying in his territory. He sent the prisoner to
these Lords who have charge of the Indies without inquiry or record
or writing. They did not receive him, and both brothers go free.
It is not wonderful to me that our Lord punishes. They went there
with shameless faces. Such wickedness or such cruel treason were
never heard of. I wrote to their Highnesses about this matter in
the other letter, and said that it was not right for them to consent
to this offence. I also wrote to the Lord Treasurer that I begged
him as a favour not to pass sentence on the testimony given by these
men until he heard me. Now it will be well for you to remind him of
it anew. I do, not know how they dare to go before him with such an
undertaking. I have written to him about it again and have sent him
the copy of the oath, the same as I send to you and likewise to
Doctor Angulo and the Licentiate Zapata. I commend myself to the
mercy of all, with the information that my departure yonder will
take place in a short time.
"I would be glad to receive a letter from their Highnesses and to
know what they order. You must procure such a letter if you see the
means of so doing. I also commend myself to the Lord Bishop and to
Juan Lopez, with the reminder of illness and of the reward for my
services.
"You must read the letters which go with this one in order to act in
conformity with what they say. Acknowledge the receipt of his
letter to Diego Mendez. I do not write him as he will learn
everything from you, and also because my illness prevents it.
"It would be well for Carbajal and Jeronimo--[Jeronimo de Aguero, a
landowner in Espanola and a friend of Columbus]--to be at the-Court
at this time, and talk of our affairs with these Lords and with the
Secretary.
"Done in Seville, November 21.
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
.S.
.S.A.S.
XMY
Xpo FERENS."
"I wrote again to their Highnesses entreating them to order that
these people who went with me should be paid, because they are poor
and it is three years since they left their homes. The news which
they bring is more than extraordinary. They have endured infinite
dangers and hardships. I did not wish to rob the country, so as not
to cause scandal, because reason advises its being populated, and
then gold will be obtained freely without scandal. Speak of this to
the Secretary and to the Lord Bishop and to Juan Lopez and to
whomever you think it advisable to do so."
The Bishop of Palencia referred to in this letter is probably Bishop
Fonseca--probably, because it is known that he did become Bishop of
Palencia, although there is a difference of opinion among historians as
to whether the date of his translation to that see was before or after
this letter. No matter, except that one is glad to think that an old
enemy--for Fonseca and Columbus had bitter disagreements over the fitting
out of various expeditions--had shown himself friendly at last.
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to DON DIEGO, November 28,
1504.
"VERY DEAR SON,--I received your letters of the 15th of this month.
It is eight days since I wrote you and sent the letter by a courier.
I enclosed unsealed letters to many other persons, in order that you
might see them, and having read them, seal and deliver them.
Although this illness of mine troubles me greatly, I am preparing
for my departure in every way. I would very much like to receive
the reply from their Highnesses and wish you might procure it: and
also I wish that their Highnesses would provide for the payment of
these poor people, who have passed through incredible hardships and
have brought them such great news that infinite thanks should be
given to God, our Lord, and they should rejoice greatly over it.
If I [lie ?] the 'Paralipomenon'--[ The Book of Chronicles]--and
the Book of Kings and the Antiquities of Josephus, with very many
others, will tell what they know of this. I hope in our Lord to
depart this coming week, but you must not write less often on that
account. I have not heard from Carbajal and Jeronimo. If they are
there, commend me to them. The time is such that both Carbajals
ought to be at Court, if illness does not prevent them. My regards
to Diego Mendez.
"I believe that his truth and efforts will be worth as much as the
lies of the Porras brothers. The bearer of this letter is Martin de
Gamboa. I am sending by him a letter to Juan Lopez and a letter of
credit. Read the letter to Lopez and then give it to him. If you
write me, send the letters to Luis de Soria that he may send them
wherever I am, because if I go in a litter, I believe it will be by
La Plata.--[The old Roman road from Merida to Salamanca.]--May our
Lord have you in His holy keeping. Your uncle has been very sick
and is now, from trouble with his jaws and his teeth.
"Done in Seville, November 28.
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
.S.
.S.A.S.
XMY
Xpo FERENS."
Bartholomew Columbus and Ferdinand were remaining with Christopher at
Seville; Bartholomew probably very nearly as ill as the Admiral, although
we do not hear so many complaints about it. At any rate Diego, being ay
Court, was the great mainstay of his father; and you can see the sick man
sitting there alone with his grievances, and looking to the next
generation for help in getting them redressed. Diego, it is to be
feared, did not receive these letters with so much patience and attention
as he might have shown, nor did he write back to his invalid father with
the fulness and regularity which the old man craved. It is a fault
common to sons. Those who are sons will know that it does not
necessarily imply lack of affection on Diego's part; those who are
fathers will realise how much Christopher longed for verbal assurance of
interest and affection, even though he did not doubt their reality. News
of the serious illness of Queen Isabella had evidently reached Columbus,
and was the chief topic of public interest.
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to DON DIEGO, his Son,
December 1, 1504.
"VERY DEAR SON,--Since I received your letter of November 15 I have
heard nothing from you. I wish that you would write me more
frequently. I would like to receive a letter from you each hour.
Reason must tell you that now I have no other repose. Many couriers
come each day, and the news is of such a nature and so abundant that
on hearing it all my hair stands on end; it is so contrary to what
my soul desires. May it please the Holy Trinity to give health to
the Queen, our Lady, that she may settle what has already been
placed under discussion. I wrote you by another courier Thursday,
eight days ago. The courier must already be on his way back here.
I told you in that letter that my departure was certain, but that
the hope of my arrival there, according to experience, was very
uncertain, because my sickness is so bad, and the cold is so well
suited to aggravate it, that I could not well avoid remaining in
some inn on the road. The litter and everything were ready. The
weather became so violent that it appeared impossible to every one
to start when it was getting so bad, and that it was better for so
well-known a person as myself to take care of myself and try to
regain my health rather than place myself in danger. I told you in
those letters what I now say, that you decided well in remaining
there (at such a time), and that it was right to commence occupying
yourself with our affairs; and reason strongly urges this. It
appears to me that a good copy should be made of the chapter of that
letter which their Highnesses wrote me where they say they will
fulfil their promises to me and will place you in possession of
everything: and that this copy should be given to them with another
writing telling of my sickness, and that it is now impossible for me
to go and kiss their Royal feet and hands, and that the Indies are
being lost, and are on fire in a thousand places, and that I have
received nothing, and am receiving nothing, from the revenues
derived from them, and that no one dares to accept or demand
anything there for me, and I am living upon borrowed funds. I spent
the money which I got there in bringing those people who went with
me back to their homes, for it would be a great burden upon my
conscience to have left them there and to have abandoned them. This
must be made known to the Lord Bishop of Palencia, in whose favour
I have so much confidence, and also to the Lord Chamberlain.
I believed that Carbajal and Jeronimo would be there at such a time.
Our Lord is there, and He will order everything as He knows it to be
best for us.
"Carbajal reached here yesterday. I wished to send him immediately
with this same order, but he excused himself profusely, saying that
his wife was at the point of death. I shall see that he goes,
because he knows a great deal about these affairs. I will also
endeavour to have your brother and your uncle go to kiss the hands
of Their Highnesses, and give them an account of the voyage if my
letters are not sufficient. Take good care of your brother. He has
a good disposition, and is no longer a boy. Ten brothers would not
be too many for you. I never found better friends to right or to
left than my brothers. We must strive to obtain the government of
the Indies and then the adjustment of the revenues. I gave you a
memorandum which told you what part of them belongs to me. What
they gave to Carbajal was nothing and has turned to nothing.
Whoever desires to do so takes merchandise there, and so the eighth
is nothing, because, without contributing the eighth, I could send
to trade there without rendering account or going in company with
any one. I said a great many times in the past that the
contribution of the eighth would come to nothing. The eighth and
the rest belongs to me by reason of the concession which their
Highnesses made to me, as set forth in the book of my Privileges,
and also the third and the tenth. Of the tenth I received nothing,
except the tenth of what their Highnesses receive; and it must be
the tenth of all the gold and other things which are found and
obtained, in whatever manner it may be, within this Admiralship, and
the tenth of all the merchandise which goes and comes from there,
after the expenses are deducted. I have already said that in the
Book of Privileges the reason for this and for the rest which is
before the Tribunal of the Indies here in Seville, is clearly set
forth.
"We must strive to obtain a reply to my letter from their
Highnesses, and to have them order that these people be paid. I
wrote in regard to this subject four days ago, and sent the letter
by Martin de Gamboa, and you must have seen the letter of Juan Lopez
with your own.
"It is said here that it has been ordered that three or four Bishops
of the Indies shall be sent or created, and that this matter is
referred to the Lord Bishop of Palencia. After having commended me
to his Worship, tell him that I believe it will best serve their
Highnesses for me to talk with him before this matter is settled.
"Commend me to Diego Mendez, and show him this letter. My illness
permits me to write only at night, because in the daytime my hands
are deprived of strength. I believe that a son of Francisco Pinelo
will carry this letter. Entertain him well, because he does
everything for me that he can, with much love and a cheerful
goodwill. The caravel which broke her mast in starting from Santo
Domingo has arrived in the Algarves. She brings the records of the
case of the Porras brothers. Such ugly things and such grievous
cruelty as appear in this matter never were seen. If their
Highnesses do not punish it, I do not know who will dare to go out
in their service with people.
"To-day is Monday. I will endeavour to have your uncle and brother
start to-morrow. Remember to write me very often, and tell Diego
Mendez to write at length. Each day messengers go from here yonder.
May our Lord have you in His Holy keeping.
"Done in Seville, December 1.
"Your father who loves you as himself.
.S.
.S.A.S.
XMY
Xpo FERENS."
The gout from which the Admiral suffered made riding impossible to him,
and he had arranged to have himself carried to Court on a litter when he
was able to move. There is a grim and dismal significance in the
particular litter that had been chosen: it was no other than the funeral
bier which belonged to the Cathedral of Seville and had been built for
Cardinal Mendoza. A minute of the Cathedral Chapter records the granting
to Columbus of the use of this strange conveyance; but one is glad to
think that he ultimately made his journey in a less grim though more
humble method. But what are we to think of the taste of a man who would
rather travel in a bier, so long as it had been associated with the
splendid obsequies of a cardinal, than in the ordinary litter of
every-day use? It is but the old passion for state and splendour thus
dismally breaking out again.
He speaks of living on borrowed funds and of having devoted all his
resources to the payment of his crew; but that may be taken as an
exaggeration. He may have borrowed, but the man who can borrow easily
from banks cannot be regarded as a poor man. One is nevertheless
grateful for these references, since they commemorate the Admiral's
unfailing loyalty to those who shared his hardships, and his unwearied
efforts to see that they received what was due to them. Pleasant also
are the evidences of warm family affection in those simple words of
brotherly love, and the affecting advice to Diego that he should love his
brother Ferdinand as Christopher loved Bartholomew. It is a pleasant
oasis in this dreary, sordid wailing after thirds and tenths and eighths.
Good Diego Mendez, that honourable gentleman, was evidently also at Court
at this time, honestly striving, we may be sure, to say a good word for
the Admiral.
Some time after this letter was written, and before the writing of the
next, news reached Seville of the death of Queen Isabella. For ten years
her kind heart had been wrung by many sorrows. Her mother had died in
1496; the next year her only son and heir to the crown had followed; and
within yet another year had died her favourite daughter, the Queen of
Portugal. Her other children were all scattered with the exception of
Juana, whose semi-imbecile condition caused her parents an anxiety
greater even than that caused by death. As Isabella's life thus closed
sombrely in, she applied herself more closely and more narrowly to such
pious consolations as were available. News from Flanders of the
scandalous scenes between Philip and Juana in the summer of 1504 brought
on an illness from which she really never recovered, a kind of feverish
distress of mind and body in which her only alleviation was the
transaction of such business as was possible for her in the direction of
humanity and enlightenment. She still received men of intellect and
renown, especially travellers. But she knew that her end was near, and
as early as October she had made her will, in which her wishes as to the
succession and government of Castile were clearly laid down. There was
no mention of Columbus in this will, which afterwards greatly mortified
him; but it is possible that the poor Queen had by this time, even
against her wish, come to share the opinions of her advisers that the
rule of Columbus in the West Indies had not brought the most humane and
happy results possible to the people there.
During October and November her life thus beat itself away in a
succession of duties faithfully performed, tasks duly finished,
preparations for the great change duly made. She died, as she would have
wished to die, surrounded by friends who loved and admired her, and
fortified by the last rites of the Church for her journey into the
unknown. Date, November 26, 1504, in the fifty-fourth year of her age.
Columbus had evidently received the news from a public source, and felt
mortified that Diego should not have written him a special letter.
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to DON DIEGO, his Son,
December 3, 1504.
"VERY DEAR SON,--I wrote you at length day before yesterday and sent
it by Francisco Pinelo, and with this letter I send you a very full
memorandum. I am very much astonished not to receive a letter from
you or from any one else, and this astonishment is shared by all who
know me. Every one here has letters, and I, who have more reason to
expect them, have none. Great care should be taken about this
matter. The memorandum of which I have spoken above says enough,
and on this account I do not speak more at length here. Your
brother and your uncle and Carbajal are going yonder. You will
learn from them what is not said here. May our Lord have you in His
Holy keeping.
"Done in Seville, December 3.
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
.S.
.S.A.S.
XMY
Xpo FERENS."
Document of COLUMBUS addressed to his Son, DIEGO, and intended to
accompany the preceding letter.
"A memorandum for you, my very dear son, Don Diego, of what occurs
to me at the present time which must be done:--The principal thing
is, affectionately and with great devotion to commend the soul of
the Queen, our Lady, to God. Her life was always Catholic and Holy
and ready for all the things of His holy service, and for this
reason it must be believed that she is in His holy glory and beyond
the desires of this rough and wearisome world. Then the next thing
is to be watchful and exert one's self in the service of the King,
our Lord, and to strive to keep him from being troubled. His
Highness is the head of Christendom. See the proverb which says
that when the head aches, all the members ache. So that all good
Christians should entreat that he may have long life and health: and
those of us who are obliged to serve him more than others must join
in this supplication with great earnestness and diligence. This
reason prompts me now with my severe illness to write you what I am
writing here, that his Highness may dispose matters for his service:
and for the better fulfilment I am sending your brother there, who,
although he is a child in days, is not a child in understanding; and
I am sending your uncle and Carbajal, so that if this, my writing,
is not sufficient, they, together with yourself, can furnish verbal
evidence. In my opinion there is nothing so necessary for the
service of his Highness as the disposition and remedying of the
affair of the Indies.
"His Highness must now have there more than 40,000 or 50,000 gold
pieces. I learned when I was there that the Governor had no desire
to send it to him. It is believed among the other people as well
that there will be 150,000 pesos more, and the mines are very rich
and productive. Most of the people there are common and ignorant,
and care very little for the circumstances. The Governor is very
much hated by all of them, and it is to be feared that they may at
some time rebel. If this should occur, which God forbid, the remedy
for the matter would then be difficult: and so it would be if
injustice were used toward them, either here or in other places,
with the great fame of the gold. My opinion is that his Highness
should investigate this affair quickly and by means of a person who
is interested and who can go there with 150 or 200 people well
equipped, and remain there until it is well settled and without
suspicion, which cannot be done in less than three months: and that
an endeavour be made to raise two or three forces there. The gold
there is exposed to great risk, as there are very few people to
protect it. I say that there is a proverb here which says that the
presence of the owner makes the horse fat. Here and wherever I may
be, I shall serve their Highnesses with joy, until my soul leaves
this body.
"Above I said that his Highness is the head of the Christians, and
that it is necessary for him to occupy himself in preserving them
and their lands. For this reason people say that he cannot thus
provide a good government for all these Indies, and that they are
being lost and do not yield a profit, neither are they being handled
in a reasonable manner. In my opinion it would serve him to intrust
this matter to some one who is distressed over the bad treatment of
his subjects.
"I wrote a very long letter to his Highness as soon as I arrived
here, fully stating the evils which require a prompt and efficient
remedy at once. I have received no reply, nor have I seen any
provision made in the matter. Some vessels are detained in San
Lucar by the weather. I have told these gentlemen of the Board of
Trade that they must order them held until the King, our Lord, makes
provision in the matter, either by some person with other people,
or by writing. This is very necessary and I know what I say. It is
necessary that the authorities should order all the ports searched
diligently, to see that no one goes yonder to the Indies without
licence. I have already said that there is a great deal of gold
collected in straw houses without any means of defence, and there
are many disorderly people in the country, and that the Governor is
hated, and that little punishment is inflicted and has been
inflicted upon those who have committed crimes and have come out
with their treasonable conduct approved.
"If his Highness decides to make some provision, it must be done at
once, so that these vessels may not be injured.
"I have heard that three Bishops are to be elected and sent to
Espanola. If it pleases his Highness to hear me before concluding
this matter, I will tell in what manner God our Lord may be well
served and his Highness served and satisfied.
"I have given lengthy consideration to the provision for Espanola:"
Yes, the Queen is in His Holy Glory, and beyond the desires of this rough
and wearisome world; but we are not; we are still in a world where fifty
thousand gold pieces can be of use to us, and where a word spoken in
season, even in such a season of darkness, may have its effect with the
King. A strange time to talk to the King about gold; and perhaps Diego
was wiser and kinder than his father thought in not immediately taking
this strange document to King Ferdinand.
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to DON DIEGO, his Son,
December 13, 1504
"VERY DEAR SON,--It is now eight days since your uncle and your
brother and Carbajal left here together, to kiss the royal hands of
his Highness, and to give an account of the voyage, and also to aid
you in the negotiation of whatever may prove to be necessary there.
"Don Ferdinand took from here 150 ducats to be expended at his
discretion. He will have to spend some of it, but he will give you
what he has remaining. He also carries a letter of credit for these
merchants. You will see that it is very necessary to be careful in
dealing with them, because I had trouble there with the Governor, as
every one told me that I had there 11,000 or 12,000 castellanos, and
I had only 4000. He wished to charge me with things for which I am
not indebted, and I, confiding in the promise of their Highnesses,
who ordered everything restored to me, decided to leave these
charges in the hope of calling him to account for them. If any one
has money there, they do not dare ask for it, on account of his
haughtiness. I very well know that after my departure he must have
received more than 5000 castellanos. If it were possible for you to
obtain from his Highness an authoritative letter to the Governor,
ordering him to send the money without delay and a full account of
what belongs to me, by the person I might send there with my power
of attorney, it would be well; because he will not give it in any
other manner, neither to my friend Diaz or Velasquez, and they dare
not even speak of it to him. Carbajal will very well know how this
must be done. Let him see this letter. The 150 ducats which Luis
de Soria sent you when I came are paid according to his desire.
"I wrote you at length and sent the letter by Don Ferdinand, also a
memorandum. Now that I have thought over the matter further, I say
that, since at the time of my departure their Highnesses said over
their signature and verbally, that they would give me all that
belongs to me, according to my privileges--that the claim for the
third or the tenth and eighth mentioned in the memorandum must be
relinquished, and instead the chapter of their letter must be shown
where they write what I have said, and all that belongs to me must
be required, as you have it in writing in the Book of Privileges, in
which is also set forth the reason for my receiving the third,
eighth, and tenth; as there is always an opportunity to reduce the
sum desired by a person, although his Highness says in his letter
that he wishes to give me all that belongs to me. Carbajal will
understand me very well if he sees this letter, and every one else
as well, as it is very clear. I also wrote to his Highness and
finally reminded him that he must provide at once for this affair of
the Indies, that the people there may not be disturbed, and also
reminding him of the promise stated above. You ought to see the
letter.
"With this letter I send you another letter of credit for the said
merchants. I have already explained to you the reasons why expenses
should be moderated. Show your uncle due respect, and treat your
brother as an elder brother should treat a younger. You have no
other brother, and praised be our Lord, he is such a one as you need
very much. He has proved and proves to be very intelligent. Honour
Carbajal and Jeronimo and Diego Mendez. Commend me to them all. I
do not write them as there is nothing to write and this messenger is
in haste. It is frequently rumoured here that the Queen, whom God
has, has left an order that I be restored to the possession of the
Indies. On arrival, the notary of the fleet will send you the
records and the original of the case of the Porras brothers. I have
received no news from your uncle and brother since they left. The
water has been so high here that the river entered the city.
"If Agostin Italian and Francisco de Grimaldo do not wish to give
you the money you need, look for others there who are willing to
give it to you. On the arrival here of your signature I will at
once pay them all that you have received: for at present there is
not a person here by whom I can send you money.
"Done to-day, Friday, December 13, 1504
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
.S.
.S.A.S.
XMY
Xpo FERENS."
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to his Son, DON DIEGO,
December 21, 1504.
"VERY DEAR SON, The Lord Adelantado and your brother and Carbajal
left here sixteen days ago to go to the Court. They have not
written me since. Don Ferdinand carried 150 ducats. He must spend
what is necessary, and he carries a letter, that the merchants may
furnish you with money. I have sent you another letter since, with
the endorsement of Francisco de Ribarol, by Zamora, the courier, and
told you that if you had made provision for yourself by means of my
letter, not to use that of Francisco de Ribarol. I say the same now
in regard to another letter which I send you with this one, for
Francisco Doria, which letter I send you for greater security that
you may not fail to be provided with money. I have already told you
how necessary it is to be careful in the expenditure of the money,
until their Highnesses give us law and justice. I also told you
that I had spent 1200 castellanos in bringing these people to
Castile, of which his Highness owes me the greater part, and I wrote
him in regard to it asking him to order the account settled.
"If possible I should like to receive letters here each day. I
complain of Diego Mendez and of Jeronimo, as they do not write me:
and then of the others who do not write when they arrive there. We
must strive to learn whether the Queen, whom God has in His keeping,
said anything about me in her will, and we must hurry the Lord
Bishop of Palencia, who caused the possession of the Indies by their
Highnesses and my remaining in Castile, for I was already on my way
to leave it. And the Lord Chamberlain of his Highness must also be
hurried. If by chance the affair comes to discussion, you must
strive to have them see the writing which is in the Book of
Privileges, which shows the reason why the third, eighth, and tenth
are owing me, as I told you in another letter.
"I have written to the Holy Father in regard to my voyage, as he
complained of me because I did not write him. I send you a copy of
the letter. I would like to have the King, our Lord, or the Lord
Bishop of Palencia see it before I send the letter, in order to
avoid false representations.
"Camacho has told a thousand falsehoods about me. To my regret I
ordered him arrested. He is in the church. He says that after the
Holidays are past, he will go there if he is able. If I owe him, he
must show by what reason; for I make oath that I do not know it, nor
is it true.
"If without importunity a licence can be procured for me to go on
mule-back, I will try to leave for the Court after January, and I
will even go without this licence. But haste must be made that the
loss of the Indies, which is now imminent, may not take place. May
our Lord have you in His keeping.
"Done to-day, December 21.
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
.S.
.S.A.S.
XMY
Xpo FERENS."
"This tenth which they give me is not the tenth which was promised
me. The Privileges tell what it is, and there is also due me the
tenth of the profit derived from merchandise and from all other
things, of which I have received nothing. Carbajal understands me
well. Also remind Carbajal to obtain a letter from his Highness for
the Governor, directing him to send his accounts and the money I
have there, at once. And it would be well that a Repostero of his
Highness should go there to receive this money, as there must be a
large amount due me. I will strive to have these gentlemen of the
Board of Trade send also to say to the Governor that he must send my
share together with the gold belonging to their Highnesses. But the
remedy for the other matter must not be neglected there on this
account. I say that 7000 or 8000 pesos must have passed to my
credit there, which sum has been received since I left, besides the
other money which was not given to me.
"To my very dear son Don Diego at the Court."
All this struggling for the due payment of eighths and tenths makes
wearisome reading, and we need not follow the Admiral into his
distinctions between one kind of tenth and another. There is something
to be said on his side, it must be remembered; the man had not received
what was due to him; and although he was not in actual poverty, his only
property in this world consisted of these very thirds and eighths and
tenths. But if we are inclined to think poorly of the Admiral for his
dismal pertinacity, what are we to think of the people who took advantage
of their high position to ignore consistently the just claims made upon
them?
There is no end to the Admiral's letter-writing at this time.
Fortunately for us his letter to the Pope has been lost, or else we
should have to insert it here; and we have had quite enough of his
theological stupors. As for the Queen's will, there was no mention of
the Admiral in it; and her only reference to the Indies showed that she
had begun to realise some of the disasters following his rule there, for
the provisions that are concerned with the New World refer exclusively to
the treatment of the natives, to whose succour, long after they were past
succour, the hand of Isabella was stretched out from the grave. The
licence to travel on mule-back which the Admiral asked for was made
necessary by a law which had been passed forbidding the use of mules for
this purpose throughout Spain. There had been a scarcity of horses for
mounting the royal cavalry, and it was thought that the breeding of
horses had been neglected on account of the greater cheapness and utility
of mules. It was to encourage the use and breeding of horses that an
interdict was laid on the use of mules, and only the very highest persons
in the land were allowed to employ them.
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to his Son, DON DIEGO,
December 29, 1504.
"VERY DEAR SON,--I wrote you at length and sent it by Don Ferdinand,
who left to go yonder twenty-three days ago to-day, with the Lord
Adelantado and Carbajal, from whom I have since heard nothing.
Sixteen days ago to-day I wrote you and sent it by Zamora, the
courier, and I sent you a letter of credit for these merchants
endorsed by Francisco de Ribarol, telling them to give you the money
you might ask for. And then, about eight days ago, I sent you by
another courier a letter endorsed by Francisco Soria, and these
letters are directed to Pantaleon and Agostin Italian, that they may
give it to you. And with these letters goes a copy of a letter
which I wrote to the Holy Father in regard to the affairs of the
Indies, that he might not complain of me any more. I sent this copy
for his Highness to see, or the Lord Bishop of Palencia, so as to
avoid false representations. The payment of the people who went
with me has been delayed. I have provided for them here what I have
been able. They are poor and obliged to go in order to earn a
living. They decided to go yonder. They have been told here that
they will be dealt with as favourably as possible, and this is
right, although among them there are some who merit punishment more
than favours. This is said of the rebels. I gave these people a
letter for the Lord Bishop of Palencia. Read it, and if it is
necessary for them to go and petition his Highness, urge your uncle
and brother and Carbajal to read it also, so that you can all help
them as much as possible. It is right and a work of mercy, for no
one ever earned money with so many dangers and hardships and no one
has ever rendered such great service as these people. It is said
that Camacho and Master Bernal wish to go there--two creatures for
whom God works few miracles: but if they go, it will be to do harm
rather than good. They can do little because the truth always
prevails, as it did in Espanola, from which wicked people by means
of falsehoods have prevented any profit being received up to the
present time. It is said that this Master Bernal was the beginning
of the treason. He was taken and accused of many misdemeanours,
for each one of which he deserved to be quartered. At the request
of your uncle and of others he was pardoned, on condition that if he
ever said the least word against me and my state the pardon should
be revoked and he should be under condemnation. I send you a copy
of the case in this letter. I send you a legal document about
Camacho. For more than eight days he has not left the church on
account of his rash statements and falsehoods. He has a will made
by Terreros, and other relatives of the latter have another will of
more recent date, which renders the first will null, as far as the
inheritance is concerned: and I am entreated to enforce the latter
will, so that Camacho will be obliged to restore what he has
received. I shall order a legal document drawn up and served upon
him, because I believe it is a work of mercy to punish him, as he is
so unbridled in his speech that some one must punish him without the
rod: and it will not be so much against the conscience of the
chastiser, and will injure him more. Diego Mendez knows Master
Bernal and his works very well. The Governor wished to imprison him
at Espanola and left him to my consideration. It is said that he
killed two men there with medicines in revenge for something of less
account than three beans. I would be glad of the licence to travel
on muleback and of a good mule, if they can be obtained without
difficulty. Consult all about our affairs, and tell them that I do
not write them in particular on account of the great pain I feel
when writing. I do not say that they must do the same, but that
each one must write me and very often, for I feel great sorrow that
all the world should have letters from there each day, and I have
nothing, when I have so many people there. Commend me to the Lord
Adelantado in his favour, and give my regards to your brother and to
all the others.
"Done at Seville, December 29.
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
.S.
.S.A.S.
XMY
Xpo FERENS."
"I say further that if our affairs are to be settled according to
conscience, that the chapter of the letter which their Highnesses wrote
me when I departed, in which they say they will order you placed in
possession, must be shown; and the writing must also be shown which is in
the Book of Privileges, which shows how in reason and in justice the
third and eighth and the tenth are mine. There will always be
opportunity to make reductions from this amount."
Columbus's requests were not all for himself; nothing could be more
sincere or generous than the spirit in which he always strove to secure
the just payment of his mariners.
Otherwise he is still concerned with the favour shown to those who were
treasonable to him. Camacho was still hiding in a church, probably from
the wrath of Bartholomew Columbus; but Christopher has more subtle ways
of punishment. A legal document, he considers, will be better than a
rod; "it will not be so much against the conscience of the chastiser, and
will injure him (the chastised) more."
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to DON DIEGO, his Son,
January 18, 1505.
"VERY DEAR SON,--I wrote you at length by the courier who will
arrive there to-day, and sent you a letter for the Lord Chamberlain.
I intended to inclose in it a copy of that chapter of the letter
from their Highnesses in which they say they will order you placed
in possession; but I forgot to do it here. Zamora, the courier,
came. I read your letter and also those of your uncle and brother
and Carbajal, and felt great pleasure in learning that they had
arrived well, as I had been very anxious about them. Diego Mendez
will leave here in three or four days with the order of payment
prepared. He will take a long statement of everything and I will
write to Juan Velasquez. I desire his friendship and service. I
believe that he is a very honourable gentleman. If the Lord Bishop
of Palencia has come, or comes, tell him how much pleased I have
been with his prosperity, and that if I go there I must stop with
his Worship even if he does not wish it, and that we must return to
our first fraternal love. And that he could not refuse it because
my service will force him to have it thus. I said that the letter
for the Holy Father was sent that his Worship might see it if he was
there, and also the Lord Archbishop of Seville, as the King might
not have opportunity to read it. I have already told you that the
petition to their Highnesses must be for the fulfilment of what they
wrote me about the possession and of the rest which was promised me.
I said that this chapter of the letter must be shown them and said
that it must not be delayed, and that this is advisable for an
infinite number of reasons. His Highness may believe that, however
much he gives me, the increase of his exalted dominions and revenue
will be in the proportion of 100 to 1, and that there is no
comparison between what has been done and what is to be done. The
sending of a Bishop to Espanola must be delayed until I speak to his
Highness. It must not be as in the other cases when it was thought
to mend matters and they were spoiled. There have been some cold
days here and they have caused me great fatigue and fatigue me now.
Commend me to the favour of the Lord Adelantado. May our Lord guard
and bless you and your brother. Give my regards to Carbajal and
Jeronimo. Diego Mendez will carry a full pouch there. I believe
that the affair of which you wrote can be very easily managed. The
vessels from the Indies have not arrived from Lisbon. They brought
a great deal of gold, and none for me. So great a mockery was never
seen, for I left there 60,000 pesos smelted. His Highness should
not allow so great an affair to be ruined, as is now taking place.
He now sends to the Governor a new provision. I do not know what it
is about. I expect letters each day. Be very careful about
expenditures, for it is necessary.
"Done January 18.
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
There is playful reference here to Fonseca, with whom Columbus was
evidently now reconciled; and he was to be buttonholed and made to read
the Admiral's letter to the Pope. Diego Mendez is about to start, and is
to make a "long statement"; and in the meantime the Admiral will write as
many long letters as he has time for. Was there no friend at hand, I
wonder, with wit enough to tell the Admiral that every word he wrote
about his grievances was sealing his doom, so far as the King was
concerned? No human being could have endured with patience this
continuous heavy firing at long range to which the Admiral subjected his
friends at Court; every post that arrived was loaded with a shrapnel of
grievances, the dull echo of which must have made the ears of those who
heard it echo with weariness. Things were evidently humming in Espanola;
large cargoes of negroes had been sent out to take the place of the dead
natives, and under the harsh driving of Ovando the mines were producing
heavily. The vessels that arrived from the Indies brought a great deal
of gold; "but none for me."
Letter written by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to his Son, DON DIEGO,
February 5, 1505.
"VERY DEAR SON,--Diego Mendez left here Monday, the 3rd of this
month. After his departure I talked with Amerigo Vespucci, the
bearer of this letter, who is going yonder, where he is called in
regard to matters of navigation. He was always desirous of pleasing
me. He is a very honourable man. Fortune has been adverse to him
as it has been to many others. His labours have not profited him as
much as reason demands. He goes for me, and is very desirous of
doing something to benefit me if it is in his power. I do not know
of anything in which I can instruct him to my benefit, because I do
not know what is wanted of him there. He is going with the
determination to do everything for me in his power. See what he can
do to profit me there, and strive to have him do it; for he will do
everything, and will speak and will place it in operation: and it
must all be done secretly so that there may be no suspicion.
"I have told him all that could be told regarding this matter, and
have informed him of the payment which has been made to me and is
being made. This letter is for the Lord Adelantado also, that he
may see how Amerigo Vespucci can be useful, and advise him about it.
His Highness may believe that his ships went to the best and richest
of the Indies, and if anything remains to be learned more than has
been told, I will give the information yonder verbally, because it
is impossible to give it in writing. May our Lord have you in his
Holy keeping.
"Done in Seville, February 5.
"Your father who loves you more than himself.
This letter has a significance which raises it out of the ruck of this
complaining correspondence. Amerigo Vespucci had just returned from his
long voyage in the West, when he had navigated along an immense stretch
of the coast of America, both north and south, and had laid the
foundations of a fame which was, for a time at least, to eclipse that of
Columbus. Probably neither of the two men realised it at this interview,
or Columbus would hardly have felt so cordially towards the man who was
destined to rob him of so much glory. As a matter of fact the practical
Spaniards were now judging entirely by results; and a year or two later,
when the fame of Columbus had sunk to insignificance, he was merely
referred to as the discoverer of certain islands, while Vespucci, who
after all had only followed in his lead, was hailed as the discoverer of
a great continent. Vespucci has been unjustly blamed for this state of
affairs, although he could no more control the public estimate of his
services than Columbus could. He was a more practical man than Columbus,
and he made a much better impression on really wise and intelligent men;
and his discoveries were immediately associated with trade and colonial
development, while Columbus had little to show for his discoveries during
his lifetime but a handful of gold dust and a few cargoes of slaves. At
any rate it was a graceful act on the part of Vespucci, whose star was in
the ascendant, to go and seek out the Admiral, whose day was fast verging
to night; it was one of those disinterested actions that live and have a
value of their own, and that shine out happily amid the surrounding murk
and confusion.
Letter signed by CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS to DON DIEGO, his Son,
February 25, 1505.
"VERY DEAR SON,--The Licientiate de Zea is a person whom I desire to
honour. He has in his charge two men who are under prosecution at
the hands of justice, as shown by the information which is inclosed
in this letter. See that Diego Mendez places the said petition with
the others, that they may be given to his Highness during Holy Week
for pardon. If the pardon is granted, it is well, and if not, look
for some other manner of obtaining it. May our Lord have you in His
Holy keeping. Done in Seville, February 25, 1505. I wrote you and
sent it by Amerigo Vespucci. See that he sends you the letter
unless you have already received it.
"Your father.
Xpo FERENS.//"
This is the last letter of Columbus known to us otherwise an entirely
unimportant document, dealing with the most transient affairs. With it
we gladly bring to an end this exposure of a greedy and querulous period,
which speaks so eloquently for itself that the less we say and comment on
it the better.
In the month of May the Admiral was well enough at last to undertake the
journey to Segovia. He travelled on a mule, and was accompanied by his
brother Bartholomew and his son Ferdinand. When he reached the Court he
found the King civil and outwardly attentive to his recitals, but
apparently content with a show of civility and outward attention.
Columbus was becoming really a nuisance; that is the melancholy truth.
The King had his own affairs to attend to; he was already meditating a
second marriage, and thinking of the young bride he was to bring home to
the vacant place of Isabella; and the very iteration of Columbus's
complaints and demands had made them lose all significance for the King.
He waved them aside with polite and empty promises, as people do the
demands of importunate children; and finally, to appease the Admiral and
to get rid of the intolerable nuisance of his applications, he referred
the whole question, first to Archbishop DEA, and then to the body of
councillors which had been appointed to interpret Queen Isabella's will.
The whole question at issue was whether or not the original agreement
with Columbus, which had been made before his discoveries, should be
carried out. The King, who had foolishly subscribed to it simply as a
matter of form, never believing that anything much could come of it, was
determined that it should not be carried out, as it would give Columbus a
wealth and power to which no mere subject of a crown was entitled. The
Admiral held fast to his privileges; the only thing that he would consent
to submit to arbitration was the question of his revenues; but his titles
and territorial authorities he absolutely stuck to. Of course the
council did exactly what the King had done. They talked about the thing
a great deal, but they did nothing. Columbus was an invalid and broken
man, who might die any day, and it was obviously to their interest to
gain time by discussion and delay--a cruel game for our Christopher, who
knew his days on earth to be numbered, and who struggled in that web of
time in which mortals try to hurry the events of the present and delay
the events of the future. Meanwhile Philip of Austria and his wife
Juana, Isabella's daughter, had arrived from Flanders to assume the crown
of Castile, which Isabella had bequeathed to them. Columbus saw a chance
for himself in this coming change, and he sent Bartholomew as an envoy to
greet the new Sovereigns, and to enlist their services on the Admiral's
behalf. Bartholomew was very well received, but he was too late to be of
use to the Admiral, whom he never saw again; and this is our farewell to
Bartholomew, who passes out of our narrative here. He went to Rome after
Christopher's death on a mission to the Pope concerning some fresh
voyages of discovery; and in 1508 he made, so far as we know, his one
excursion into romance, when he assisted at the production of an
illegitimate little girl--his only descendant. He returned to Espanola
under the governorship of his nephew Diego, and died there in 1514
--stern, valiant, brotherly soul, whose devotion to Christopher must be
for ever remembered and honoured with the name of the Admiral.
From Segovia Columbus followed the Court to Salamanca and thence to
Valladolid, where his increasing illness kept him a prisoner after the
Court had left to greet Philip and Juana. He had been in attendance upon
it for nearly a year, and without any results: and now, as his infirmity
increased, he turned to the settling of his own affairs, and drawing up
of wills and codicils--all very elaborate and precise. In these
occupations his worldly affairs were duly rounded off; and on May 19,
1506, having finally ratified a will which he had made in Segovia a year
before, in which the descent of his honours was entailed upon Diego and
his heirs, or failing him Ferdinand and his heirs, or failing him
Bartholomew and his heirs, he turned to the settlement of his soul.
His illness had increased gradually but surely, and he must have known
that he was dying. He was not without friends, among them the faithful
Diego Mendez, his son Ferdinand, and a few others. His lodging was in a
small house in an unimportant street of Valladolid, now called the "Calle
de Colon"; the house, .No. 7, still standing, and to be seen by curious
eyes. As the end approached, the Admiral, who was being attended by
Franciscan monks, had himself clothed in a Franciscan habit; and so, on
the 20th May 1506, he lay upon his bed, breathing out his life.
. . . And as strange thoughts
Grow with a certain humming in my ears,
About the life before I lived this life,
And this life too, Popes, Cardinals, and priests,
Your tall pale mother with her talking eyes
And new-found agate urns fresh as day . . .
. . . we do not know what his thoughts were, as the shadows grew
deeper about him, as the sounds of the world, the noises from the sunny
street, grew fainter, and the images and sounds of memory clearer and
louder. Perhaps as he lay there with closed eyes he remembered things
long forgotten, as dying people do; sounds and smells of the Vico Dritto
di Ponticelli, and the feel of the hot paving-stones down which his
childish feet used to run to the sea; noises of the sea also, the
drowning swish of waters and sudden roar of breakers sounding to
anxiously strained ears in the still night; bright sunlit pictures of
faraway tropical shores, with handsome olive figures glistening in the
sun; the sight of strange faces, the sound of strange speech, the smell
of a strange land; the glitter of gold; the sudden death-shriek breaking
the stillness of some sylvan glade; the sight of blood on the grass
. . . The Admiral's face undergoes a change; there is a stir in the
room; some one signs to the priest Gaspar, who brings forth his sacred
wafer and holy oils and administers the last sacraments. The wrinkled
eyelids flutter open, the sea-worn voice feebly frames the responses;
the dying eyes are fixed on the crucifix; and--"In manus tuas Domine
commendo spiritum meum." The Admiral is dead.
He was in his fifty-sixth year, already an old man in body and mind; and
his death went entirely unmarked except by his immediate circle of
friends. Even Peter Martyr, who was in Valladolid just before and just
after it, and who was writing a series of letters to various
correspondents giving all the news of his day, never thought it worth
while to mention that Christopher Columbus was dead. His life flickered
out in the completest obscurity. It is not even known where he was first
buried; but probably it was in the Franciscan convent at Valladolid.
This, however, was only a temporary resting-place; and a few years later
his body was formally interred in the choir of the monastery of Las
Cuevas at Seville, there to lie for thirty years surrounded by continual
chauntings. After that it was translated to the cathedral in San
Domingo; rested there for 250 years, and then, on the cession of that
part of the island to France, the body was removed to Cuba. But the
Admiral was by this time nothing but a box of bones and dust, as also
were brother Bartholomew and son Diego, and Diego's son, all collected
together in that place. There were various examinations of the
bone-boxes; one, supposed to be the Admiral's, was taken to Cuba and
solemnly buried there; and lately, after the conquest of the island in
the Spanish-American War, this box of bones was elaborately conveyed to
Seville, where it now rests.
But in the meanwhile the Chapter of the cathedral in San Domingo had made
new discoveries and examinations; had found another box of bones, which
bore to them authentic signs that the dust it contained was the Admiral's
and not his grandson's; and in spite of the Academy of History at Madrid,
it is indeed far from unlikely that the Admiral's dust does not lie in
Spain or Cuba, but in San Domingo still. Whole books have been written
about these boxes of bones; learned societies have argued about them,
experts have examined the bones and the boxes with microscopes; and
meantime the dust of Columbus, if we take the view that an error was
committed in the transference to Cuba, is not even collected all in one
box. A sacrilegious official acquired some of it when the boxes were
opened, and distributed it among various curiosity-hunters, who have
preserved it in caskets of crystal and silver. Thus a bit of him is worn
by an American lady in a crystal locket; a pinch of him lies
in a glass vial in a New York mansion; other pinches in the Lennox
Library, New York, in the Vatican, and in the University of Pavia. In
such places, if the Admiral should fail to appear at the first note of
their trumpets, must the Angels of the Resurrection make search.