Book II 



Of the District of the Circuit Court of the Island of Hispaniola 

 (Espaiiola), in Which Is Given a Description of That Island and 

 the Others, Together with All the Provinces within Its Jurisdiction ; 

 the Characteristics of Its Territories and Their Products ; the Rites 

 and Customs of the Indians ; the Spanish Cities and Towns Estab- 

 lished in Them; the Governorships and Other Offices to Which His 

 Majesty Appoints in Them, as also the Religious Establishments 

 and Other Matters Worthy of Record ; All This Is Described in the 

 Books of This Part I. 



Chapter I 



Of the Island of Hispaniola, Its Size and Characteristics, and 

 When It Was Discovered by Christopher Columbus. 



98. The island of Hispaniola, which the Indians called Haiti, mean- 

 ing rugged country, and which they also called Quisqueya, meaning 

 large country, was discovered by Christopher Columbus in the year 

 1492, on Thursday, October 11, He called it Espanola, and it has 

 kept this name to the present day. From E. to W, it is 150 leagues 

 long; its breadth from N. to S. varies from 40 to 60 leagues; and 

 its circuit is over 4(X), as is stated in the admirable description of 

 Sr. D. Juan de Solorzano in his "De Indiarum Jure," folio 64, 

 book I, chapter VI, No. 10. At the time of its discovery it contained 

 1,800,000 Indians, not counting old people, women, and children; 

 they were the first Christians in the Indies ; today there is not one 

 Indian in all the island ; it was a just judgment of God. As for the 

 manner in which they were consumed and wasted away, it is de- 

 scribed in Gomara, folio 47, and other historians. 



99. The climate of this island is warm and damp ; it is summer 

 all the time ; the days and nights are of equal length, since it is 

 within the Tropics ; it is fertile and rich in produce. The regular or 

 everyday bread eaten on the island is cassava, made of a root called 

 yucca, like rutabagas. To make the bread or cassava, they grate the 

 yucca and squeeze out its juice, which is deadly poison, although 

 when cooked it is the chief food of the Indies. From the grated 

 yucca they make cakes as large as small shields, light in color and 

 texture ; it is the everyday bread of this island and the others and of 



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