134 



COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER. 



the head of a distinguished family of navigators. 

 Pinzon was so earnest in his faith and interest 

 that he offered to pay Coluinbus's expenses if he 

 would once more apply at court. This so 

 strengthened the views of the prior that he 

 wrote a letter to Isabella, and obtained the prom- 

 ise of Columbus to await its answer at the con- 

 vent. The answer invited the former father con- 

 fessor to attend her at Santa Pe, the camp city 

 that had been built in the Vega before Granada, 

 which capital they were then besieging, and the 

 friar lost not a moment in complying with the 

 request. The result of the visit was that Colum- 

 bus, furnished with money by the Queen, once 

 more set out to seek an audience at court. He 

 reached his destination in time to witness the 

 surrender of the last of the Moorish kings, and 

 amid the ceremonies and revelry of rejoicing he 

 was forgotten. A Spanish writer gives us the 

 picture : " A man obscure and but little known 

 followed at this time the court. Confounded in 

 the crowd of importunate applicants, feeding his 

 imagination in the corners of antechambers 

 with the pompous project of discovering a world, 

 melancholy and dejected amid the general rejoic- 

 ing, he beheld with indifference, and almost with 

 contempt, the conclusion of a conquest which 

 swelled all bosoms with jubilee, and seemed to 

 have reached the utmost bounds of desire. That 

 man was Christopher Columbus." 



When the festivities were at an end, Talavera, 

 now Arehbishop of Granada, was appointed to 

 negotiate with Columbus the terms on which he 

 should be sent forth. What was his amazement 

 to hear the needy adventurer claim that, as the 

 first step, he should be made admiral and vice- 

 roy of the countries he should discover, and be 

 given one tenth of all gains whether by trade or 

 conquest. To the torrent of ridicule at his pre- 

 tensions, and the sneer that he would at least 

 gain a title and lose nothing, he replied that he 

 would furnish one eighth of the cost on receiv- 

 ing promise of one eighth of the profits. His 

 terms were promptly rejected by Talavera, and 

 the powerful prelate had no difficulty in convinc- 

 ing the Queen that to bestow such honor on a 

 nameless stranger would make him too power- 

 ful if successful, and render the sovereigns absurd 

 in case of his failure. Terms deemed more suit- 

 able were offered to Columbus, but he refused 

 them with equal determination. He mounted 

 his horse and in February, 1492, once more set 

 out for France, intending to make a brief stay at 

 Cordova. No sooner did the news go out that 

 Columbus had departed, than the men of influ- 

 ence and intelligence who had early espoused his 

 cause and longed for its accomplishment, came 

 to court and begged for his recall. Luis de 

 Sant-angel, receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues 

 of Arragon, especially pleaded his cause with elo- 

 quence, warmly seconded by the Marchioness of 

 Moya. 



Although the so-called calm judgment of 

 history has professed to set aside as untrue the 

 incident of Isabella's warm-hearted offer of her 

 jewels to pay the cost of the expedition, when for 

 the first time she realized the greatness of the 

 enterprise and the cold attitude of Ferdinand 

 regarding it, it remains undenied that she as- 

 sumed the charges for her own Kingdom of 

 Castile, and her private coffers if necessary, 



which Sant-angel immediately assured her 

 would not be needed. She sent a swift messen- 

 ger to recall Columbus, and it was well that she 

 sent an eloquent one, for Columbus at first re- 

 fused to go back, and was only persuaded on learn- 

 ing that the Queen had given positive assurance. 

 On his return he was well received, and in due 

 time articles containing the following agree- 

 ments were signed by both parties : 



1. That Columbus was to have, for himself 

 during his life, and his heirs and successors for- 

 ever, the office of admiral in all the lands and 

 continents which he might discover or acquire 

 in the ocean sea, with similar honors and pre- 

 rogatives to those enjoyed by the High Admiral 

 of Castile in his district. 



2. That he should be viceroy and governor- 

 general over all the said lands and continents, 

 with the privilege of nominating 3 candidates- 

 for the government of each island or province, 

 one of whom should be selected by the sover- 

 eigns. 



3. That he should be entitled to reserve for 

 himself one tenth of all pearls, precious stones, 

 gold, silver, spices, and all other articles and mer- 

 chandises, in whatever manner found, bought, 

 bartered, or gained within his admiralty, the 

 costs being first deducted. 



4. That he, or his lieutenant, should be the 

 sole judge in all causes and disputes arising out 

 of traffic between those countries and Spain, pro- 

 vided the High Admiral of Castile had similar 

 jurisdiction in his district. 



5. That he might then, and at all after times, 

 contribute an eighth part of the expense in fitting 

 out vessels to sail on this enterprise, and receive 

 an eighth part of the profits. 



Later, on April 30, 1492, Columbus was also 

 given a letter of privilege, in which the dignities 

 and prerogatives of viceroy and governor were 

 made hereditary in his family, and he and his 

 heirs were allowed to entitle themselves Don. 



The seaport city of Palos, as punishment for 

 some offense, had been ordered to furnish the 

 Crown with 2 armed caravels. These ships the 

 town was required to furnish within ten days, 

 and to place them, with their crews, at the serv- 

 ice of Columbus. He also set about procuring 

 his vessel. All were to obey him implicitly, the 

 only condition being that neither he nor" they 

 should go to St. George la Unia, nor any other 

 Portuguese possession. All were commanded to 

 furnish supplies at reasonable prices, and to any 

 criminal willing to embark suspension of sen- 

 tence was granted during the voyage and for two 

 months after his return. At the same time the 

 Queen appointed Diego Columbus page to her 

 son Juan, the heir-apparent. 



A third time Columbus appeared before the 

 convent gate of La Rabida, and thence the pri- 

 or accompanied him to Palos. Here a new dis- 

 couragement awaited Columbus. Such dread of 

 the unknown ocean prevailed among seafaring 

 men that not one could be induced to volun- 

 teer, even though it should be an escape from 

 prison. Weeks passed, in which the utmost in- 

 fluence of Columbus produced no result toward 

 getting vessels or men for the expedition. Then 

 came a royal mandate ordering the magistrates 

 to press into service the vessels of any Spanish 

 subject they might think most available, and 



