THE REMAINS OF COLUMBUS
Burial of Columbus.--Disappearance of epitaph.--Removal of remains in
1795.--Discovery of remains in 1877.--Resting place of Discoverer
of America.
The greatest pride of the Dominican people is that they are the
custodians of the mortal remains of Christopher Columbus. The same
honor is claimed by Spain, but a Dominican would consider it almost
treasonable to doubt the justice of the Dominican claim. It is a
strange freak of fate that not only should the great navigator have
been denied in life the rewards promised him, not only should the new
world he discovered have been given the name of another, but that his
very tomb is a matter of controversy. It is admitted that after his
death in Spain his remains were transferred to Santo Domingo City and
there deposited in the cathedral. In 1795, when the Spanish colony of
Santo Domingo was ceded to France, the Spaniards carried with them to
Cuba what they supposed were the remains of Columbus, and these were
in 1898 taken to Spain, but in the year 1877 another casket was
brought to light in the Santo Domingo cathedral, with inscriptions
which indicated that it contained the bones of the great Discoverer.
It was the desire of Columbus to be buried in Santo Domingo, his
favorite island. In his will, executed shortly before his death, he
called on his son Diego to found, if possible, a chapel dedicated to
the Holy Trinity, "and if this can be in the Island of Española, I
should like to have it there where I invoked the Trinity, which is in
La Vega, named Concepción." Columbus died on May 20, 1506, in
Valladolid and his body was deposited in the church of Santa Maria de
la Antigua in that city. In 1513, or perhaps before, it was
transferred to the Carthusian monastery of Santa Maria de las Cuevas
in Seville, where was also deposited the body of his son Diego, who
died in 1526. Diego Columbus, in his will of the year 1523, stated
that he had been unable to carry out his father's wishes, but
requested his heirs to found in the city of Santo Domingo, inasmuch as
La Vega was losing population, a nunnery dedicated to St. Clara, the
sanctuary of which was to be the burial place of the Columbus family.
His plans were modified in favor of a nobler mausoleum and his widow,
Maria de Toledo, in the name of her son Louis Columbus, applied to the
king of Spain for the sanctuary of the cathedral of Santo Domingo as a
burial place for her husband, his father and his heirs, which grant
the king made in 1537 and reiterated in 1539. A difference having
arisen with the bishop of Santo Domingo, who wished to reserve the
higher platform of the sanctuary for the interment of prelates and
cede only the lower portion to the Columbus family, the king in 1540
again reiterated his concession of the whole sanctuary. According to
the annals of the Carthusian monastery of Seville, the bodies of
Christopher Columbus and his son were taken away in 1536, and it is
probable that they were deposited in the cathedral of Santo Domingo in
1540 or 1541, after the issue of the king's third order and the
conclusion of the work on the cathedral. Where they were during the
intervening four or five years and in what year they were brought to
Santo Domingo, is not known. Las Casas, writing in 1544, states that
the remains of the Admiral were at that time buried in the sanctuary
of the cathedral of Santo Domingo. In the year 1572 Louis Columbus,
the grandson of the Discoverer, died in Oran, in Africa, and his
remains were taken to the Carthusian monastery in Seville. It is not
known when they were brought to Santo Domingo, but the transfer
probably took place in the beginning of the seventeenth century.
The early records of the Santo Domingo cathedral were burnt at the
time of Drake's invasion in 1586, and those since that year have been
so damaged by the ravages of tropical insects that little is left of
them. They make little and only passing reference to the tomb of
Columbus, and mention no monument or inscription whatever. Juan de
Castellanos, in his book "Varones Ilustres de Indias," printed in
1589, recites a Latin epitaph which he says appeared near the place
where lay the body of Columbus in Seville, but pretty Latin epitaphs
were Castellanos' weakness, and it is to be feared that this one, like
others which he dedicated to American explorers, was nothing more than
a figment of his poetic imagination. Two writers, Coleti and Alcedo,
who almost two centuries later mentioned the same epitaph as marking
the grave in Santo Domingo, must have copied from Castellanos.
Undoubtedly there was at first some inscription to mark the tomb, but
in the course of the years any slabs with inscriptions were permitted
to disappear entirely from the graves of Columbus, his son and
grandson, and the very existence of their remains in the cathedral
became a matter of tradition. It is possible that the epitaphs
disappeared at some time when the pavement of the church was renewed,
or when damages inflicted by earthquake shocks were repaired, or when
changes were made in the windows and doors about the main altar, or
when the higher altar platform was extended to reach the desks on
which lie the Gospels and Epistles. At any such times the slabs over
the burial vaults may have been broken or laid aside and never
replaced. It is also possible that they were intentionally removed in
order to guard against profanation of the tombs by enemies in time of
war or by West Indian pirates, who captured and sacked stronger cities
than Santo Domingo. In 1655 when an English fleet under Admiral
William Penn appeared before the city and landed an army under General
Venables, there was great excitement and fear in Santo Domingo, and
the archbishop ordered that the sacred ornaments and vessels be hidden
and that "the sepulchres be covered in order that no irreverence or
profanation be committed against them by the heretics, and especially
do I so request with reference to the sepulchre of the old Admiral
which is on the gospel side of my holy church and sanctuary," That
other tombs were hidden, whether at this time or another, was shown in
1879, when, on repairing the flooring in the chapel of the "stone
bishop" in the cathedral, the slab indicating the grave of the
Adelantado Rodrigo de Bastidas, the explorer, was found concealed
under a stone, and it was discovered that the epitaph of Bastidas on a
board which from time immemorial had hung on the wall of the chapel
was an incorrect copy of the original graven on the burial slab. From
the words of the archbishop it appears possible that the sepulchre of
Columbus was marked in some way in 1655, although even then there may
have been nothing, since the prelate saw fit to specify the point in
the church where the tomb was situated.
The first document in which tradition appears invoked for designating
the burial place is the record of a synod held in 1683, which contains
the following clause: "this Island having been discovered by
Christopher Columbus, illustrious and very celebrated throughout the
world, whose bones repose in a leaden box in the sanctuary next to the
pedestal of the main altar of this our cathedral, with those of his
brother Louis Columbus which are on the other side, according to the
tradition of the old people of this Island." The synod and tradition
were not strong in Columbus genealogy when they referred to Louis
Columbus as the brother instead of the grandson of the Discoverer, and
it is noticeable that no mention is made of the son Diego Columbus. It
may be remarked, in passing, that the body of Bartholomew Columbus,
brother of the Admiral, was deposited in the convent of San Francisco
in Santo Domingo, upon his death in 1514, and while some writers
suggest it may have been taken to Spain, there is nothing to indicate
that it was ever given sepulture in the cathedral of Santo Domingo.
After the lapse of another century tradition referred to two
sepulchres, one of Christopher Columbus, on the right side of the
altar, the other of his brother or son, on the left side of the altar.
Moreau de Saint-Méry, a French diplomat and statesman, who lived in
the French colony of St. Domingue for some years during the decade of
1780 to 1790, in his book "Description de la partie espagnole de
l'isle Saint-Domingue" states that, being desirous of obtaining
accurate information with reference to the tomb of Columbus, he
addressed himself to José Solano, an ex-governor of the colony, then
in command of a fleet in the insular waters; that this official wrote
a letter to his successor in the governorship, Isidoro Peralta, and
that he received the following answer:
"SANTO DOMINGO, March 29, 1783.
"_My very dear friend and patron:_
"I have received the kind letter of Your Excellency of the 13th of this
month, and did not answer immediately in order to have time to
ascertain the details it requests relative to Christopher Columbus,
and also in order to enjoy the satisfaction of serving Your Excellency
as far as is in my power and to permit Your Excellency to have the
satisfaction of obliging the friend who has asked for those details.
"With respect to Christopher Columbus, although the insects destroy
the papers in this country and have converted whole archives into
lace-work, I hope nevertheless to remit to Your Excellency the proof
that the bones of Columbus are in a leaden box, enclosed in a stone
box which is buried in the sanctuary on the side of the gospels and
that those of Bartholomew Columbus, his brother, repose on the side of
the epistles in the same manner and under the same precautions. Those
of Christopher Columbus were transported from Seville, where they had
been deposited in the pantheon of the dukes of Alcala after having
been taken there from Valladolid, and where they remained until their
transport here.
"About two months ago, in working in the church, a piece of thick wall
was thrown down and immediately reconstructed. This fortuitous event
was the occasion of finding the box of which I have spoken, and which,
although without inscriptions, was known, according to a constant and
invariable tradition, to contain the remains of Columbus. In addition
I am having a search made to see whether in the church archives or
those of the government some document can be found which will furnish
details on this point; and the canons have seen and stated that the
greater part of the bones were reduced to dust and that bones of the
forearm had been distinguished.
"I send Your Excellency also a list of all the archbishops which this
island has had and which is more interesting than that of its
presidents, for I am assured that the first is complete, while in the
second there are voids produced by the insects of which I have spoken
and which attack some papers in preference to others.
"I also refer to the buildings, the temples, the beauty of the ruins
and the motive which determined the transfer of this city to the west
bank of the river which constitutes its port. But with reference to
the plan requested by the note there is a real difficulty, as this is
forbidden me as governor; the superior understanding of Your
Excellency will comprehend the reasons, etc."
The documents sent by Governor Peralta were as follows:
"I, José Nuñez de Caceres, doctor in sacred theology of the pontifical
and royal University of the Angelical St. Thomas d'Acquino, dignitary
dean of this holy metropolitan church, primate of the Indies, do
certify that the sanctuary of this holy cathedral having been torn
down on January 30 last, for reconstruction, there was found, on the
side of the platform where the gospels are chanted, and near the door
where the stairs go up to the capitular room, a stone coffer, hollow,
of cubical form and about a yard high, enclosing a leaden urn, a
little damaged, which contained several human bones. Several years
ago, under the same circumstances and I so certify, there was found on
the side of the epistles, another similar stone box, and according to
the tradition handed down by the old men of the country and a chapter
of the synod of this holy cathedral, that on the side of the gospels
is reputed to enclose the bones of the Admiral Christopher Columbus
and that on the side of the epistles, those of his brother, nor has it
been possible to verify whether they are those of his brother
Bartholomew or of Diego Columbus, son of the admiral. In testimony
whereof I have delivered the present in Santo Domingo, April 20, 1783.
JOSÉ NUÑEZ DE CACERES."
An identical certificate, signed by Manuel Sanchez, was also sent, as
well as a third which reads as follows:
"I, Pedro de Galvez, schoolmaster, dignitary canon of this cathedral,
primate of the Indies, do certify that the sanctuary having been
overthrown in order to be reconstructed there was found on the side of
the platform where the gospels are chanted, a stone coffer with a
leaden urn, a little damaged, which contained human bones; and it is
remembered that there is another of the same kind on the side of the
epistles; and according to the report of the old men of the country
and a chapter of the synod of this holy cathedral that on the side of
the gospels encloses the bones of the Admiral Christopher Columbus,
and that on the side of the epistles those of his brother Bartholomew.
In witness whereof I have delivered the present on April 26, 1783.
PEDRO DE GALVEZ."
The certificates were not carefully drafted, for in speaking of the
rebuilding of the sanctuary only the interior thereof, probably only
the platform, was referred to, and from a notarial document of
December 21, 1795, quoted below, it is evident that by coffer was
meant a vault and that the word urn was used synonymously with box.
The papers give eloquent testimony of the uncertainty in which the
eminent men's remains were involved. Governor Peralta died in 1786 and
was interred under the altar platform near the supposed remains of
Columbus. In 1787, when Moreau de St. Méry endeavored to find the
official record of the find of 1783, it had already disappeared.
In 1795 Spain ceded to France the entire Spanish part of Santo
Domingo, and in evacuating the island the Spanish authorities
determined to carry with them the remains of the great Discoverer. It
is to be assumed that there were still persons connected with the
cathedral who could point out the location of the vault accidentally
discovered twelve years before and that as tradition referred to only
one vault on that side of the altar, the remains contained therein
were extracted without further investigation. The description of the
vault opened tallies with that of the vault found in 1783. The
document attesting the embarking of these remains reads as
follows: "I, the undersigned clerk of the King, our Lord, in charge of
the office of the chamber of this Royal Audiencia, do certify that on
the twentieth day of December of the current year, there being in this
holy cathedral the Commissioner Gregorio Saviñon, perpetual member and
dean of the very illustrious municipal council of this city, and in
the presence of the most illustrious and reverend friar Fernando
Portillo y Torres, most worthy Archbishop of this metropolitan see; of
His Excellency Gabriel de Aristizabal, Lieutenant-General of the royal
navy of His Majesty; of Antonio Cansi, Brigadier in charge of the fort
of this city; of Antonio Barba, Field-marshal and Commander of
Engineers; of Ignacio de la Rocha, Lieutenant-colonel and
Sergeant-major of this city, and of other persons of rank and
distinction, a vault was opened which is in the sanctuary on the side
of the gospel (between) the main wall and the pedestal of the main
altar, which is one cubic yard in size, and in the same there were
found several plates of lead, about one tercio in length, indicating
that there had been a box of the said metal, and pieces of bone as of
the tibia or other parts of some deceased person, and they were
collected in a salver that was filled with the earth, which by the
fragments of small bone it contained and its color could be seen to
belong to that dead body; and everything was placed in an ark of
gilded lead with iron lock, which being closed its key was delivered
to the said illustrious Archbishop, and which box is about half a yard
long and wide and in height something more than a quarter of a yard,
whereupon it was transferred to a small coffin lined with black
velvet, and adorned with gold trimmings, and was placed on a decent
catafalque.
"On the following day with the presence of the same illustrious
Archbishop, His Excellency Aristizabal, the communities of Dominicans,
Franciscans and Mercenarians, military and naval officers, and a
concourse of distinguished persons, and people of the lower classes,
mass was solemnly said and fasting enjoined, whereupon the same
illustrious Archbishop preached.
"On this day, about half past four o'clock in the afternoon there
came to the holy cathedral the gentlemen of the Royal Order, to wit,
Joaquin Garcia, Fieldmarshal, President-Governor and Captain-General
of this Island of Española; José Antonio de Vrisar, knight of the
royal and distinguished order of Charles the Third, Minister of the
royal and supreme council of the Indies and at present Regent of the
Royal Audiencia; Justices Pedro Catani, dean; Manuel Bravo, likewise
knight of the royal and distinguished order of Charles the Third, and
with honors and seniority in the Royal Audiencia of Mexico; Melchor
Joseph de Foncerrada and Andres Alvarez Calderon, state's attorney;
there being in the cathedral the most illustrious and reverend
Archbishop, His Excellency Gabriel de Aristizabal, the municipal
council and religious communities, and a complete picket with draped
banner, and taking the wooden box covered with plush and gold
trimmings, in the interior of which was the box of gilded lead, which
contained the remains exhumed on the preceding day, the President
Joaquin Garcia, the Regent Joseph Antonio de Vrisar and the Justices,
Dean Pedro Catani and Manuel Bravo conducted it to a little before the
exit through the door of the said holy church, where the President and
Regent separated, passed to their respective places and were
substituted by Justice Foncerrada and Calderon, state's attorney, and
upon leaving the church it was saluted by the said picket with a
discharge of musketry, and there followed the Fieldmarshal and
Commander of Engineers Antonio Barba, the Brigadier and Commander of
militia Joaquin Cabrera, the Brigadier and Commander of the fort
Antonio Cansi, and the colonel of the regiment 'Cantabria,' Gaspar de
Casasola, and thereafter the military officers alternated according to
their grade and seniority until reaching the city gate which leads to
the harbor, where their places were taken by the members of the very
illustrious municipal council of this city, dean Gregorio Saviñon,
Miguel Martinez Santalices, Francisco de Tapia and Francisco de
Arredondo, judge of the rural court, and upon emerging from the gate
it was placed upon a table prepared therefor; a response was chanted
and during the same the forts saluted it with fifteen minute guns, as
for an admiral, and one after another took the key of the ark and
through the said illustrious Archbishop placed it in the hands of His
Excellency Aristizabal, stating that they delivered the ark into his
possession subject to the orders of the Governor of Havana as a
deposit until His Majesty should determine what may be his royal
pleasure, to which His Excellency acceded, accepting the ark in the
manner stated and transferring it aboard the brigantine 'Descubridor,'
which, with the other war-vessels waiting with insignia of mourning,
also saluted it with fifteen guns, whereupon this certificate was
concluded and signed by the parties.
"Santo Domingo, December 21, 1795. Joaquin Garcia. Friar Fernando,
Archbishop of Santo Domingo. Gabriel de Aristizabal. Gregorio Saviñon.
José Francisco Hidalgo."
The brief account of the remains when everything else was related with
such detail leads to the logical conclusion that there was no epitaph
on the vault and no inscription on the leaden plates found within. The
Spanish judicial chronicler's habit of minute description would not
have permitted the omission of such important particulars, if they
had existed.
The remains were transferred to Havana where their reception was even
more solemn than their embarkation in Santo Domingo. On January 19,
1796, they were landed amid the booming of guns, conducted in state by
the civil and military authorities and a large concourse to the plaza,
and deposited on a magnificent bier in the shadow of the column
erected where, according to tradition, the first mass was said in
Havana and the first municipal council met. Here the ark was formally
delivered to the Governor of Havana, who had it opened and its
contents inspected, whereupon it was again closed and transferred with
great pomp to the cathedral. The key was there delivered to the bishop
and the remains deposited in a sepulchre with suitable bas-reliefs
and inscriptions. The notarial narrative of the event goes into the
most minute particulars, but the contents of the ark are merely
described as "several leaden plates nearly a tercio in length, several
small pieces of bone as of some deceased person, and some earth which
seemed to be of that body."
For over eighty years it was generally accepted in Santo Domingo, as
throughout the world, that the bones of Columbus rested in the
cathedral of Havana. There were, indeed, persons who handed down a
tradition that the remains taken away by the Spaniards were not those
of the great navigator and that these still remained under the altar
platform in the Santo Domingo cathedral, but such persons were very
few and no attention was paid to their allegations. Some Dominicans
even called on the Spanish government to return the remains and let
them be laid to rest in Dominican soil in accordance with the
Discoverer's dying wish. In the meantime no one thought of the tombs
of Diego Columbus or Louis Columbus, nor was it remembered that they
were buried in the cathedral.
In the year 1877 extensive repairs were undertaken in the cathedral of
Santo Domingo. The worn brick flooring was to be replaced with marble
squares, the old choir was to be torn down and a choir established
elsewhere in the church, and the altar platform was to be extended
into the church proper and reduced in height. Shortly after the work
had begun, a heavy bronze image kept in the vestry--which adjoined the
sanctuary on the side opposite that where the remains were exhumed in
1795--was, on May 14, 1877, placed in a doorway long closed leading to
the sanctuary. In doing so it was noticed that a hollow sound came
from the wall adjoining and in order to ascertain the cause a small
opening was made in the wall about a yard above the floor. It was then
seen that there was a small vault under the altar platform of the
church, and that the vault contained a metal box with human remains.
Canon Billini, in charge of the cathedral, immediately ordered that
the opening be closed until the return of the bishop from a pastoral
visit to the Cibao. The hole was hidden behind a curtain and no
immediate attention given to it. Towards the end of June Mr. Carlos
Nouel, a friend of Canon Billini, obtained permission to look in at
the box and deciphered a rude inscription reading, "El Almirante D.
Luis Colon, Duque de Veragua, Marques de--" "The Admiral Don Louis
Columbus, Duke of Veragua, Marquis of--." The last word was missing
because of a hole in the corroded leaden plate, but was supposed to be
"Jamaica." At this time the box was broken, because several days
before in placing a scaffold in the church one of the posts had been
located over the box and had broken through. The persons who
afterwards sought to draw out the box pulled to overcome the obstacle
and tore the weak plates apart entirely.
The bishop returned on August 18, 1877, and being informed of what had
happened, on September 1 invited the Cabinet officers, the consular
corps and a number of civil and military authorities and private
persons to witness the removal of the remains of Louis Columbus. To
the chagrin of the bishop and canon, it was found that the plate with
the inscription had been stolen. Probably shamed by ever increasing
popular indignation, the grave-robber anonymously returned it on
December 14, 1879, by leaving it in the cathedral door in a package
addressed to the archbishop. The other plates with the earth and
pieces of bone were carefully collected.
[Illustration: SANCTUARY OF CATHEDRAL IN SEPTEMBER, 1877
(Scale; 1 centimeter = 1 meter)
1. Vault containing remains of Christopher Colombus.
2. Vault opened by Spaniards in 1795.
3. Vault containing remains of Louis Columbus.
4. Pedestal of main altar.
5. Door leading to vestry.
6. Door leading to capitular room.
7. Location of containing wall of old altar platform, as it existed
in 1540.
8. Location of stairs which in 1540 led up to altar platform.
9. Tribune of the Gospels.
10. Tribune of the Epistles.
11. Steps of altar platform.
12. Grave of Juan Sanchez Ramirez. Isidore Peralta had also been
buried at this spot.]
The unexpected finding of the long forgotten remains of the grandson
of the Admiral recalled the tradition that the Discoverer's body still
remained in Santo Domingo, and several gentlemen, among them the
Italian consul, requested the bishop to take advantage of the
repairing of the church for a thorough investigation of the altar
platform in order to ascertain whether it contained any other notable
graves. The bishop gave his consent, and the investigation commenced
on September 8, under the direction of Canon Billini. Digging was
begun near the door of the capitular room and in a short time an
unmarked grave was found containing human remains and military
insignia. It was proven by witnesses that they were the remains of
Juan Sanchez Ramirez, Captain-General of Santo Domingo, who died on
February 12, 1811, and was buried in the same place where had been the
grave of General Isidore Peralta. A narrow wall was then encountered
which was afterwards found to be the containing wall of the ancient
altar platform. On the ninth, a Sunday, the work went on during the
morning with the permission of the bishop. An excavation was made at
the place where, according to tradition, the remains taken to Havana
had lain and soon a small vault was discovered quite empty. It was
evidently the vault opened by the Spaniards in 1795. The examination
was continued between this vault and the main altar, but nothing new
was encountered, whereupon the work was left to be resumed on the
following day, rather with the hope of finding something of Diego
Columbus, for the empty vault seemed to show that the remains of
Christopher Columbus were really removed in 1795.
The excavations continued on September 10, 1877, between the empty
vault and the wall. A large stone was found, and a piece broken off,
disclosing another vault containing what appeared to be a square box.
The bishop and the Italian consul were sent for immediately and upon
their arrival the orifice was slightly enlarged and a metal box became
clearly visible. It was covered with the dust of centuries, but an
inscription was seen, in which abbreviations of the words "First
Admiral" could faintly be distinguished. The work was stopped at once,
the doors of the cathedral were locked and all the principal persons
of the city invited to attend the further investigation of the vault's
contents. The report of the find rapidly spread through the city,
though distorted in some quarters, for one of the workmen hearing the
bishop's joyful exclamation, "Oh, what a treasure!" conceived the idea
that the box was full of gold pieces and so informed the people that
gathered outside.
The formal opening of the vault on the afternoon of that day and the
examination of its contents are minutely described in the notarial
document drawn up on the occasion:
"In the City of Santo Domingo on the tenth of September of the year
eighteen hundred and seventy-seven. At four o'clock in the afternoon
upon invitation of the most illustrious and reverend Doctor Friar
Roque Cocchia, Bishop of Orope, Vicar and Apostolic Delegate of the
Holy See in the Republics of Santo Domingo, Venezuela and Haiti,
assisted by presbyter Friar Bernardino d'Emilia, secretary of the
bishopric, by the honorary penitentiary canon, presbyter Francisco
Javier Billini, rector and founder of the College of San Luis Gonzaga
and of the charity asylum, apostolic missionary and acting curate of
the holy cathedral, and by presbyter Eliseo J'Andoli, assistant curate
of the same, there met in the holy cathedral General Marcos A. Cabral,
Minister of the Interior and Police; Licentiate Felipe Davila
Fernandez de Castro, Minister of Foreign Relations; Joaquin Montolio,
Minister of Justice and Public Instruction; General Manuel A. Caceres,
Minister of Finance and Commerce; and General Valentin Ramirez Baez,
Minister of War and the Navy; and the citizens General Braulio
Alvarez, Civil and Military Governor of the Province of the Capital,
assisted by his secretary Pedro Maria Gautier; the honorable members
of the illustrious municipal council of this capital, citizen Juan de
la C. Alfonseca, president, and citizens Felix Baez, Juan Bautista
Paradas, Pedro Mota, Manuel Maria Cabral and José Maria Bonetti,
members; General Francisco Ungria Chala, military commandant of this
city; citizens Felix Mariano Lluveres, president of the legislative
chamber and Francisco Javier Machado, deputy to the same chamber; the
members of the consular corps accredited to the Republic, Messrs.
Miguel Pou, Consul of H.M. the Emperor of Germany, Luis Cambiaso,
Consul of H.M. the King of Italy, Jose Manuel Echeverri, Consul of H.
Catholic M. the King of Spain, Aubin Defougerais, Consul of the French
Republic, Paul Jones, Consul of the United States of North America,
José Martin Leyba, Consul of H.M. the King of the Netherlands, and
David Coen, Consul of H.M. the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain; the citizens licentiates in medicine and surgery Marcos
Antonio Gomez and Jose de Jesus Brenes; the civil engineer Jesus Maria
Castillo, director of the work in this cathedral; the chief sexton of
the same, Jesus Maria Troncoso, and the undersigned notaries public,
Pedro Nolasco Polanco, Mariano Montolio and Leonardo Delmonte i
Aponte, the first also being the acting notary of the curacy and the
second the titular notary of the municipal council of this capital.
"The most illustrious Bishop, in the presence of the gentlemen above
designated and of a numerous concourse, declares: that the holy
cathedral being undergoing repairs under the direction of the reverend
Canon Francisco Javier Billini, and it having come to his notice that
according to tradition and notwithstanding what appears from public
documents with reference to the transfer of the remains of the Admiral
Christopher Columbus to the city of Havana in the year seventeen
hundred and ninety-five the said remains might still be in the place
where they had been deposited and as such place the right side of the
sanctuary was designated, under the spot occupied by the archbishop's
chair; with the desire of clearing up the matters which tradition had
carried to him, he authorized the reverend Canon Billini, upon his
request, to make the necessary explorations; and as the latter was
doing so with two workmen on the morning of this day, he discovered at
a depth of two palms, more or less, the beginning of a vault which
permitted part of a metal box to be seen; that immediately the said
Canon Billini ordered the chief sexton, Jesus Maria Troncoso, to go to
the archiepiscopal palace and inform His Grace of the result of the
investigations, also informing the Minister of the Interior,
requesting their presence without loss of time; that immediately His
Grace proceeded to the holy cathedral where he found Jesus Maria
Castillo, civil engineer, in charge of the repairs to this temple and
two workmen who, in company with Canon Billini, guarded the small
excavation which had been made, and at the same time Luis Cambiaso
arrived, called by the said Canon Billini; that having personally made
certain of the existence of the vault as well as that it contained the
box to which Canon Billini made reference and an inscription being
discovered on the upper part of what appeared to be the lid, he
ordered that things be left as they were and that the doors of the
temple be closed, the keys being confided to the reverend Canon
Billini; proposing to invite, as he did invite, His Excellency the
great citizen, President of the Republic, General Buenaventura Baez,
his Cabinet, the consular corps and the other civil and military
authorities named in the beginning of this certificate, in order to
proceed with all due solemnity to the extraction of the box and give
all required authenticity to the result of the investigation; and
having advised the authorities, by their order municipal policemen
were stationed at each one of the closed doors of the temple.
"His Grace, stationed in the sanctuary, near the started excavation
and surrounded by the authorities above mentioned and a very numerous
concourse, all the doors of the temple having been opened, had the
excavation continued, and a slab was removed, permitting the raising
of the box, which was taken and shown by His Grace and found to be of
lead. The said box was exhibited to all the authorities convoked, and
thereupon was carried in procession through the interior of the temple
and shown to the people.
"The pulpit of the left nave of the temple being occupied by His
Grace, by the reverend Canon Billini, who carried the box, the
Minister of the Interior, the president of the municipal council and
two of the notaries public who sign this document: His Grace opened
the box and exhibited to the people a part of the remains it encloses;
he also read the several inscriptions on the box, which prove beyond
controversy that the remains are really and in fact those of the
illustrious Genovese, the great Admiral Christopher Columbus,
Discoverer of America. The truth of the matter being irrefutably
ascertained, a salute of twenty-one guns, fired by the artillery of
the fort, a general ringing of bells and strains of music from the
military band, announced the happy and memorable event to the city.
"Immediately the authorities convoked met in the vestry of the temple
and proceeded in the presence of the undersigned notaries public, who
certify thereto, to an examination and expert investigation of the box
and its contents; the result of the examination being that the said
box is of lead, has hinges and measures forty-two centimeters in
length, twenty-one centimeters in depth and twenty and a half in
width; containing the following inscriptions: on the upper side of the
lid 'D. de la A, Per. Ate.'--On the left headboard 'C.' On the front
side 'C'--On the right headboard 'A.' On raising the lid the following
inscription was found on the inner side of the same carved in German
Gothic characters: 'Illtre. y Esdo. Varon Dn. Cristobal Colon,' and in
the said box human remains which on examination by the licentiate of
equal class Jose de Jesus Brenes are found to be: A femur deteriorated
in the upper part of the neck, between the great trochanter and its
head. A fibula in its natural state. A radius also complete. The os
sacrum in bad condition. The coccyx. Two lumbar vertabrae. One
cervical and two dorsal vertabrae. Two calcanea. One bone of the
metacarpus. Another of the metatarsus. A fragment of the frontal or
coronal bone, containing half of an orbital cavity. A middle third of
the tibia. Two more fragments of tibia. Two astragoli. One upper
portion of shoulder-blade. One fragment of the lower jawbone. One half
of an os humeri, the whole constituting thirteen small and
twenty-eight large fragments, there being others reduced to dust.
"In addition a leaden ball weighing about an ounce, more or less, was
found and two small screws belonging to the box.
"The examination mentioned having been terminated, the ecclesiastical
and civil authorities and the illustrious municipal council resolved
to close and seal the box with their respective seals and deposit it
in the sanctuary of the church of Regina Angelorum, under the
responsibility of the aforesaid penitentiary canon Francisco Javier
Billini, until otherwise determined; His Grace, the Ministers, the
consuls and the undersigned notaries immediately proceeding to affix
their seals; and finally they determined to transfer the box in
triumph to the said church of Regina Angelorum, accompanied by the
veteran troops of the capital, batteries of artillery, music, and
whatever else might give impressiveness and splendor to so solemn an
act, for which the town was prepared as was noted from the great
multitude which filled the temple and the cathedral plaza, to which we
certify, as we do also that the present was signed by the gentlemen
above named and other distinguished persons.
"Friar Roque Cocchia, of the Order of Capuchins, Bishop of Orope,
Apostolic Delegate to Santo Domingo, Haiti and Venezuela, Apostolic
Vicar in Santo Domingo--Friar Bernardino d'Emilia, Capuchin, Secretary
of His Excellency the Apostolic Delegate and Vicar--Francisco X.
Billini--Eliseo J'Andoli, assistant curate of the cathedral--Marcos A.
Cabral, Minister of the Interior and Police--Felipe Davila Fernandez
de Castro, Minister of Foreign Relations--Joaquin Montolio, Minister
of Justice and Public Instruction--M. A. Caceres, Minister of Finance
and Commerce--Valentin Ramirez Baez, Minister of War and the
Navy--Braulio Alvarez, Governor of the Province--Pedro Ma. Gautier,
Secretary--Juan de la C. Alfonseca, President of the Municipal
council--Members, Felix Baez--Juan Bautista Paradas--Manuel Ma. Cabral
B.--P. Mota--Jose M. Bonetti--Francisco Ungria Chala, Commandant of
Arms--Felix Mariano Lluveres, President of the Legislative
Chamber--Francisco Javier Machado, Deputy of the Legislative
Chamber--The Consul of Spain, Jose Manuel Echeverri--Luigi Cambiaso,
R. Consul of H. M. the King of Italy--Miguel Pou, Consul of the German
Empire--Paul Jones, United States Consul--D. Coen, British
Vice-Consul--J. M. Leyba, Consul of the Netherlands--A. Aubin
Defougerais, Vice-Consul of France--Jesus Ma. Castillo, Civil
Engineer--M. A. Gomez, Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery--J. J.
Brenes, Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery--The chief sexton, Jesus
Ma. Troncoso--A. Licairac--M. M. Santamaria--Domingo Rodriguez--Manuel
de Jesus Garcia--Enrique Peinado--Federico Polanco--Lugardis Olivo--P.
Mr. Consuegra--Eujenio de Marchena--Valentin Ramirez, Jr.--F.
Perdomo--Joaquin Ramirez Morales--Amable Damiron--Jaime Ratto--Pedro
N. Polanco, Notary Public--Leonardo Delmonte I Aponte, Notary
Public--Mariano Montolio, Notary Public."
[Illustration: Inscription on lid of lead box. (2/5 actual size)]
[Illustration: Inscription on inner side of lid. (2/5 actual size)]
The vault so opened was a little larger than that opened in 1795, and
separated therefrom by a six-inch wall. The leaden box was of rude
construction, dented and much oxydized, the plates being a little
thicker than those of the casket of Louis Columbus. The inscription on
the outside of the lid "D. de la A. Per, Ate." was taken to mean
"Descubridor de la América, Primer Almirante"--"Discoverer of America,
First Admiral." The inscription on the inner side of the lid, without
contractions, was: "Ilustre y Esclarecido Varon Don Cristobal
Colon"--"Illustrious and noble man, Christopher Columbus." The letters
"C C A" were interpreted as signifying "Cristobal Colón,
Almirante"--"Christopher Columbus, Admiral." On January 3, 1878, a
more minute examination of the remains was made at the request of the
Spanish Academy of History and in the dust at the bottom of the box
was found a small silver plate with two holes by which it had
evidently been screwed with the two screws found at the first
examination to some wooden board or receptacle. All vestige of wood
had disappeared, either through decay or perhaps through destruction
by insects, for on the walls of the vault are faint traces of ancient
tracks made by the comejen or wood-eating ant. On one side of the
plate was engraved in rude letters: "Ua. pte. de los rtos. del pmer.
Alte. D. Cristoval Colon Des.," which is read as meaning "Ultima parte
de los restos del primer Almirante, Don Cristoval Colon,
Descubridor"--"Last part of the remains of the first Admiral, Don
Christopher Columbus, Discoverer." On the reverse side are the words
"Cristoval Colon" and several letters which indicate that the
inscription "Ua. pte." etc., was begun here but was stopped, perhaps
because there was not sufficient room.
[Illustration: Obverse side of silver plate (Enlarged 1/20)]
[Illustration: Reverse side of silver plate. (Enlarged 1/20)]
The small lead ball, similar to a musket-ball, found in the box, has
been the subject of much comment. It is not known that Columbus was
ever wounded, though it is true that of many years of his life we
have little information. Some writers make deductions from an
equivocal sentence contained in a letter written by him to the rulers
of Spain on his fourth voyage, in which he refers to his difficulties
off the coast of Central America and says: "There the wound of my
trouble opened." Others refer to an obscure sentence of Las Casas, but
others believe that the ball was dropped in the box by accident,
either when the box was prepared for the vault or at some time when in
the course of the centuries the vault may have been casually opened as
was the adjoining vault in 1783. At what time the remains were
enclosed in this box and the inscriptions placed on the same it is
impossible to determine; it may have been in Seville, or in the early
days in Santo Domingo, or at a later date, perhaps when the epitaphs
were removed from the vault.
The remainder of the old altar platform was carefully examined but no
other vaults or remains were discovered. With reference to the bones
"of a deceased person" transferred in 1795 a logical conclusion can be
reached: Christopher Columbus, his son Diego, and his grandson Louis
were all buried in the Santo Domingo cathedral; the caskets, with
inscriptions, of the first and third were found in 1877 and there are
no other vaults under the old altar platform; therefore the remains
taken away in 1795 with pieces of a casket without inscription, or the
inscription of which had become illegible, were most probably those of
Diego Columbus.
Santo Domingo went wild with joy over the discovery. It was determined
to erect a suitable monument for the remains with funds raised by
private subscription and by a half per cent, surtax on imports. A
beautiful marble memorial costing $40,000, guarded by bronze lions and
adorned with bronze relief work depicting scenes from the life of
Columbus, was designed by two Spanish sculptors. The first intention
was to place the same in a mausoleum specially built for the purpose,
but it was finally erected in the nave of the cathedral near the main
door. A richly ornamented bronze box placed in the monument contains
the leaden casket and the remains. Once a year on the anniversary of
the find, the box is opened and the public permitted to gaze on
its contents.
The Spanish authorities would never admit the authenticity of the
remains found in 1877, and the Spanish consul in Santo Domingo was
bitterly criticized for affixing his signature to the notarial
document relating the discovery. The Spaniards continue to claim that
the true remains of the Discoverer are those which were transferred to
Havana. Upon the evacuation of Cuba by Spain in 1898 these remains
were solemnly removed and taken to Spain, where they now rest in the
cathedral of Seville. Many investigations have been made from
different sources and the majority of investigators report in favor of
the Dominican contention, especially when they have personally visited
Santo Domingo. The Spanish writers present no proof that the remains
taken to Havana in 1795 were those of Christopher Columbus, but limit
themselves to attacking the find of 1877. The insinuations and
accusations, without corroborating facts, prove nothing but the temper
of their authors. All criticisms have been refuted by showing that
even supposing the box to date from the year 1540, other and
indubitable inscriptions of that year have the same style of letters,
abbreviations, spelling and words as those criticized. Further the
appearance of the box and vault of 1877, the circumstances attending
their discovery, and the irreproachable character of the Apostolic
Delegate, of Canon Billini and of others connected with that event
preclude all suspicion of fraud.
On the whole, the weight of evidence is strongly in favor of the
Dominican contention. It seems that, in spite of the acts of men, fate
has permitted the remains of the Discoverer of America to repose in
the principal cathedral of the island he loved.