I04 Field Columbian Museum. 



knows all about my letters of concessions and privileg'es, and I have 

 asked him to take j^'ood care of them. I wish you would see them. 

 The King and Queen, my soverei<^ns, wish to honor me now more 

 than ever. The Holy Trinity may keep your noble persons in its 

 keeping and increase the importance of your magnihcent office." 



Resigns himself "The Great Admiral of the Ocean Sea, and 

 Viceroy and Governor of the Islands and Mainland of Asia and the 

 Indies belonging to the King and Queen, my sovereigns, The Cap- 

 tain General of the Sea, and a member of their Council." 



Upon his return to vSpain in 1504, having heard nothing from the 

 Bank or from Oderigo about these documents, he writes an indignant 

 letter which he signs ' ' The Great Admiral of the Ocean, Viceroy and 

 Governor General of the Indies, etc." He says: 



"At about the same time of my departure from here, I sent to 

 you by Francisco de Ribarol a book containing copies of several let- 

 ters, and another in which all the grants and privileges given me 

 were also copied, the whole inclosed in a red morocco case, with a silver 

 lock. I also sent with the same man two letters to the St. George 

 gentlemen, in which I assigned to them one-tenth of my revenues, in 

 consideration of and compensation for the reduction made on the 

 duties on wheat and other supplies. To nothing of this have I had 

 any reply. Micer Francisco says that everything arrived safely. If 

 this is the case, the failure of the St. George gentlemen to answer my 

 letters is an act of discourtesy, for which the Treasury is by no means 

 better off. This is the reason why it is generally said that to serve 

 common people is to serve no one. 



"Another book of my privileges, equal to the one above men- 

 tioned, was left by me at Cadiz with Francisco Catanio, (who is the 

 bearer of this letter) with instructions to send it to you, in order that 

 you would keep it together with the other, in some safe place, at your 

 discretion." 



The letters and documents sent by Columbus to the Bank of St. 

 George were, however, duly entered upon the records of that institu- 

 tion, and the original may be seen in the handwriting of the chancellor 

 on pages 256 and 257 of the manual for 1503. After the bank went 

 into liquidation the precious documents, which are now referred to as 

 the Codice Diplomatico, were transferred to the custody of the city 

 authorities of Genoa, and are still preserved in what is called the 

 "Custodia," a marble shaft surmounted by a bust of Cohimbus. 

 There has recently been made, imder the direction of the city gov- 

 ernment of Genoa, a beautiful fac-simile of the entire" collection of 

 papers. 



The duplicate book which Columbus refers to as " My privileges 

 equal (or similar) to the one mentioned above," which was left with 

 Francisco Catanio with instructions to send it to Nicolo Oderigo in or- 



