COLUMBUS. 



scheme suggested by Columbus, pointed out the course 

 of sailing on a chart which he sent to the navigator, 

 urged him strongly to secure the proper means in or- 

 der to the execution of his purpose, and concluded by 

 saying " that the voyage laid down, was not only pos- 

 sible, but true, certain, honourable, advantageous, and 

 most glorious among Christians." 



The next step of Columbus was to engage some of die 

 European powers in the accomplishment of his object. 

 But the difficulties which he experienced while solicit- 

 ing at the courts of kings, the patronage which he at 

 length obtained, the progress of the voyage, and the ac- 

 tual discovery of the American continent, have already 

 been treated of in another part; of this work. See Ame- 

 rica. It remains, therefore, only to add a few parti- 

 culars relative to the subsequent history of the Geno- 

 ese navigator. 



During his return from the countries which he had 

 visited, a severe tempest overtook the fleet, so that the 

 life of the admiral was exposed to extreme danger. 

 The wind, which had for many days been moderate, 

 as well as favourable, now suddenly rose in great vio- 

 lence, and blew with the fury of a hurricane, while 

 every thing which naval skill or long experience could 

 suggest, was anxiously tried, in order to save the sliips. 

 The mind of Columbus, too, was harassed with the 

 fear, lest all knowledge and memory of his discoveries 

 should be for ever lost, and the human race be deprived 

 of the advantages which he had no doubt would result 

 from an intercourse with the inhabitants of the western 

 world. Nor was he without a reasonable concern for 

 his own reputation, dreading it as the worst evil that 

 could befal him, to be handed down to posterity in the 

 character of a bold but visionary projector, whose time 

 had been spent, and whose life had been thrown away, 

 in the pursuit of unattainable objects. The fury of 

 the storm increased, and no hope of safety seemed to 

 remain. In these circumstances, Columbus bethought 

 himself of an expedient, most proper in itself, and 

 every way advisable, as it must appear when once point- 

 ed out, but which perhaps would not readily have oc- 

 curred to any one possessed of less composure and pre- 

 sence of mind. He instantly retired to his cabin, and 

 wrote upon parchment a short account of his voyage 

 and of his success. This writing he folded up and 

 sealed, addressing it to their Majesties the King and 

 Queen of Spain; and having ordered a large cask to be 

 brought to him, he wrapt the parchment in oiled cloth, 

 surrounded it on all sides with wax, and inclosed it in 

 the cask : and carefully stopping up this last, he threw 

 the whole into the sea. Nor was he satisfied with one 

 packet of the kind which we have just described ; he 

 immediately prepared another similar to the first, and 

 attached it to the poop of the vessel, that, as he ex- 

 presses it himself " when the ship sunk, the cask might 

 float upon the water, and take its chance of being- 

 found." Life of Columbus, Churchill's Voyages, vol. ii. 

 Happily, however, the storm at length abated; and 

 not many days after, Columbus entered the port of 

 Palos, from which he had sailed about seven months 

 before, amidst the acclamations and the wonder of the 

 multitude, who had perceived the vessel at a distance, 

 and who waited his approach. 



The commission under which Columbus agreed to 

 undertake the voyage of discovery, invested him Avith 

 high powers, and secured to him many important pri- 

 vileges. From the beginning he had stipulated, " Tl?at 

 he should be admiral on the ocean of all the seas and 

 lands which he might discover, with all the allowances, 



4 



privileges, and prerogatives enjoyed by the admirals of Columbia 

 Castile and Leon, in their several seas : That all civil 

 employments, as well of government as in the admini- 

 stration of justice, should be entirely at his disposal, in 

 all the islands and continents which he was to discover : 

 That all governments should be given to one of three 

 persons to be named by him ; and that he should ap- 

 point judges in all parts of Spain trading to the Indies, 

 to decide upon all causes relating to that trade and to 

 those parts." These conditions, and others, which our 

 limits prevent us from stating, were the more readily 

 agreed to by Ferdinand and Isabella, while the schema 

 of Columbus remained as a matter of speculation, and 

 before the discovery of the western continent was ac- 

 tually made. But no sooner was it ascertained, that 

 countries hitherto unknown had really been visited, find 

 occupied in the name of the Spanish monarchy, than it 

 was perceived that the commission was too ample, and 

 the powers and privileges too many and great. Such 

 a commission, however, had been granted, and it could 

 not openly or immediately be revoked. The mind of 

 Ferdinand, though cultivated in some degree, was nei- 

 ther strong nor comprehensive. His temper was sus- 

 picious and peevish ; and unfortunately, his ear was 

 open to the insinuations of the enemies of Columbus. 

 Less gold had been obtained from the countries newly 

 occupied, than the avarice of the monarch had led him 

 to expect. Indeed the conquests actually made, had 

 never defrayed the expense of securing and maintain- 

 ing them. Disturbances likewise had arisen in the co- 

 lony of Hispaniola ; and though these disturbances had 

 been quelled by the presence of Columbus and by 

 powerful aid from Europe, still the very existence of 

 such disturbances, lessened, in the mind of Ferdinand, 

 the hope of undeviating prosperity, which he had uni- 

 versally permitted himself to entertain, and rendered 

 his temper yet more suspicious and fretful. Complaints 

 of the misrule of Columbus were daily brought to him ; 

 and in the moment of irritation, this capricious monarch, 

 granted a commission to Francis de Bovadilla, a knight 

 of the order of Calatrava, empowering him to proceed 

 to Hispaniola, to inquire into the conduct of the ad- 

 miral, and upon finding him guilty, or even upon find- 

 ing any plausible reason for a charge against him, to 

 take upon himself the government of the island. The 

 result was exactly what might have been expected, from 

 a commission so utterly preposterous and unjust. Ma- 

 terials for a charge against Columbus were collected ; 

 every sort of information, even from persons the most 

 infamous, was greedily received, and the admiral, now 

 advanced in years but still unbroken in spirit, was load- 

 ed with irons, and hurried on board a ship. The charge 

 was then drawn up according to the forms of law ; and 

 the discoverer of the western world Avas sent to Europe, 

 in order to be tried for his offences, real or supposed, by 

 the government at home. 



It is not easy to read the account of this infamous 

 proceeding with any measure of patience. It was not be- 

 lieved, even by the tyrannical Bovadilla himself, that Co- 

 lumbus had abused, in any one respect, the authority or 

 the privileges of the situation in which his sovereign had 

 placed him. His life, as a subject of the Spanish crown, 

 Avas that of uniform obedience and unwearied activity. 

 And his whole conduct Avas such as to gain, not only 

 the esteem, but the enthusiastic admiration and praise 

 of every one who had the opportunity and the means 

 of becoming acquainted with it. In consequence of 

 this opinion and belief, Alonzo de Vallejo, the captain 

 of the vessel on board of which Columbus Avas confined, 



