Evidevce of Land wed of Greenland. 217 



unexplored lands and savage races west of Greenland was known 

 to the church, the}^ are equally strong proof that Columbus re- 

 ceived no information or encouragement from them, particularly 

 as he never expected or desired to discover new lands, but sought a 

 shorter passage to the lands of opulence described b}'- Marco Polo. 

 The remaining letters from the Vatican files relating to the 

 early history of America, are of interest, and historical value. 



991. Letter of Pope Alexander VI to Ferdinand and Isabella, 

 dated May 3, 1493, congratulating them upon the triumph of 

 Columbus and granting to them full sovereignty over all lands 

 discovered by him. 



(Translation.) 



Alexander, etc., to his most dear son and daughter in Christ, the 

 illustrious Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Castile 

 and Leon, Aragon, Sicily and Granada, health, etc.: 

 Among the works which are pleasing to the divine Majesty 

 and dear to our hearts, none is so important as that of the ex- 

 altation and diffusion of the Christian religion and Catholic 

 faith, more especially in these our times, the salvation of souls, 

 and the repression and conversion of barbarous nations. Where- 

 fore, when, by favor of God's clemency and despite our inade- 

 quate merits, we were elevated to this holy see of Peter, knowing 

 that you, like true Catholic kings and princes, as we have ever 

 known you to be, and as your famous achievements now prove, 

 not only ardently desired the same end, but strove to attain it 

 with all zeal and diligence, allowing youteelves to be deterred 

 by no labors, expenses, dangers, nor even the effusions of your 

 own blood, and being, nioreover, aware that you had for a long 

 time dedicated all your thoughts and efforts thereunto, as is 

 shown by the recovery of Granada from the Saracen yoke, accom- 

 plished by 3^ou in these daj^s, to such great glory of God's name, 

 we with reason concluded to grant you spontaneously and a[)prov- 

 ingly whatsoever would enable you to promote, with ever increas- 

 ing zeal for God's glory and the propagation of Christianity, an 

 aim so holy, so laudable and so pleasing to the immortal God. 



We have indeed heard that you, who had long been deter- 

 mined to search for and find certain remote and unknown con- 



23— Nat. Geog. Mag , vol. V, 1S93. 



