Chap. III. Christophe 
be punidied, and full Satisfaftion given him. After- 
Avards they ordered his Bufmefs hioiild be expedited 
immediately, the Refult thereof was, That a Governor 
Ihoiild be fent to Hifpanicla^ who was to right the Ad- 
miral and his Brothers •, and Bovadilla Ihould be obliged 
to reftore all he had taken from them ; and that the Ad- 
miral fhould be , allowed all that belonged to him, ac- 
cording to the Articles their Majefties had granted him 
and that the Rebels fhould be proceeded againft, and pu- 
nifhed according to their Offences. Don Nicholas de Ohando 
Was fent with thefe Powers-, he was a wife and judicious 
Man, but, as afterwards appeared, partial, craftily con- 
cealing his Paffions, giving Credit to malicious Perfons, 
and therefore afting cruelly and revengfully. 
But to return to the Admiral j as their Majefties were 
pleafed to fend Ohando to Hifpaniola, fo they thought it 
proper to fend the Admiral upon fome Voyage that 
might turn to his Advantage, and keep him employed 
till the faid Ohando could pacify and reduce the Ifland 
Hifpaniola-, becaufe they did not mean to keep him fo 
long out of his Office, without any juft Occafion ; the 
Informations fent by Bovadilla^ plainly appearing to be 
full of Malice, and not containing any thing for v/hich 
he ought to forfeit his Rights. But there being fome 
Delay in the Execution of this Defign, and ill Men en- 
deavouring to prevail that a new Information might be 
expefted, the Admiral refolved to fpeak to their Ma- 
jefties, and beg of them that they would defend him 
againft all Dangers, which he afterwards repeated by Let- 
ters j and this procured him, firft of all, a very favour- 
able Anfwer, and very foon afterwards as favourable 
Grants and Conceffions as he could poffibly defire ; which 
made him, in fome Meafure, forget all that he had fuf- 
fered, and refolve once more to expofe his Life in an- 
other Voyage to the Indies^ for the prefeding his Defign, 
which probably after fuchtlfage no other Man would have 
done. 
12. The Continent of America had never been touched 
upon, or known before this Voyage ; and, to the Honour 
of the Admiral, it m.uft be confefled, that he difcovered 
it by Skill, and not by Chance; and failed diredly in 
fearch of it from Spain, and not from the Indies. That 
he was indifputably the firft Difcoverer, appears from 
hence, that te'was at the Ifiand of Margarita on the firft 
of Auguft, i’498, whereas Alonfo Hojeda, and Americas 
Vefpucius (Bidi not from Cadiz till the 20th of May, 
1499. But if the Admiral had been hindered from ma- 
king this Difcovery, they could not, with any Propriety, 
have claimed the Merit or Title of Difcoverers, from what 
they performed in that Voyage, fmce they made ufe of the 
Admiral’s Drafts and Projefts, which by their Catholic 
Majefties Commands, he had put into the Hands of the 
Biffiop of Burgos, for their Service ; and which, without 
their Majefties Knowledge, he communicated to thefe Men, 
out of pure Hatred to the Admiral, and that he might, 
if it was poffible, rob him of his Credit and Reputation, 
as he had already deprived him of a great Part of his 
Intereft at Court. The Licences that he gave thefe Men 
were clandeftine, and it was no fooner known that they 
had obtained them, than others refolved to make ufe of 
the fame Intereft, in order to obtain Shares in the Riches 
of the new World. 
Amongft others, fome Inhabitants of the City of Se- 
ville formed a Company for this Purpofe, and the princi- 
pal Man amongft them, at leaft in Point of Capacity, 
was one Peter Alonfo Nino, an Inhabitant of Palos, who 
was with the Admiral when Pasia was difcovered, and 
Chrifiopher Guerra of Seville. Peter Alonfo Nino having 
obtained the King’s Licence, upon Condition that he 
fhould not come to an Anchor, nor land any where with- 
in fifty Leagues of what the Admiral had difcovered, 
being himfelf unable to fit out a Ship, propofed it 
to Lewis Guerra of Seville to defray the Expence ; and 
the Samples of Gold and Pearls the Admiral had fent, 
having ftirred up the Avarice of many, Guerra accepted 
of the Offer, provided that his Brother Chrifiopher ffiould 
go as Captain ; and accordingly they fet fail not long after 
Alonfo de Hojeda. They failed two or 300 Leagues to the 
Southward, difcovered Land, aiid, keeping down the 
VoL. II. Numb. 72. 
R COLUMBU s. 3 7 
) 
Coaft, arrived at the Province of Paria a few Days after 
Hojeda, where, finding the Indians peaceably difpofed, 
they, contrary to their Inftrudlions, cut Brazil Vvood; 
and holding bn their Courfe, came to that which Hojeda 
had called the Bay of Pearls, formed by the Ifiand Mar- 
garita, where they bartered for many Pearls. 
The People of this Country went aboard the Ships 
without any Fear, carrying Necklaces of Pearls, and fome 
of them in their Nofes and Ears; the Spaniards drove a 
great Trade with Hawks-bells, Bracelets, Pings, and fe- 
veral Trifles made of Tin, which they took, and for them 
very freely gave their Pearls ; having got a confiderable 
Quantity of them, they paffed by Coro, near the Pro- 
vince now called Venezuela, 1 30 Leagues below Paria and 
the Dragon^ s Mouth ; and anchored in a Bay where they 
were very well received by fifty Men, who came from a 
Place a League off; and very earneftly preffed them to 
anchor at their 'IVvvn. The Spaniards gave them fome 
of their Toys, and the Indians taking off all the Pearls 
they had about their Necks and Arms, in the Space of 
an Hour gave them as inany as weighed fifteen Ounces. 
The next Day they came to anchor before the Town 
called Curiana, where the Indians intreated them to go 
afhore, but the Spaniards being no more than thirty-three • 
durft not venture, and made Signs to them to come 
aboard, which they did in their Canoes, carrying Pearls 
to exchange for fome Spanifio Toys. 
At length, being convinced of their Sincerity, the Spa- 
niards went affiore, and being courteoufly entertained, 
ftayed there twenty Days : They plentifully fuppiied them 
with Venifon, Rabbits, Geefe, Ducks, Parrots, Fifh, 
Bread made of Maize, Indian Wheat, and otlier things, 
and brought them all the Game they would afk for. By 
feeing ifo many Deer they concluded that this muft be the 
Continent. They perceived that they kept Markets 6r 
Fairs, and" that they made ufe of Jars, Diffies, or Por- 
ringers, befides other Veffels of feveral Shapes, and that 
in their Pearl Necklaces they had Frogs and other Crea- 
tures piade of Gold ; and on afking v/here it was gather- 
ed, they anfwered, fix Days Journey ffom thence ; they 
refolved to fail thither, and that was the Province of 
Curiana Caiichcito, where the People came aboard in their 
Canoes, without any Jealoufy. They carried fome 
wrought and unwrought Gold, which they bartered away, 
but would not part with the Pearls, they had like thofe 
of Curiana ; however, they gave them A^-ery fine Monkies 
and moft beautiful Parrots of feveral Colours. 
Departing hence, they proceeded further, where above 
five thoufand naked Men came out with Bows and Ar- 
rows to hinder their landing, and though they endea- 
voured to appeafe them by fhewing Hawks-Bells and 
other things, they could not prevail, and therefore re- 
turned to Curiana, and were received with the fame Sa- 
tisfadtion as before, and earneftly entreated for Pins and 
Needles; for whereas, at firft, they had underftood they were 
to few, and tack things togethca*, and therefore faid they 
had no ufe for them, going naked, the Spaniards fhew- 
ed them that they were ufed for drawing Thorns out of 
their Feet, there being many in that Part, at which they 
fmiled, and aficed for them. All that Country lies in 
feven or eight Degrees Latitude, and is not at all cold 
in November and December. The Indians were highly 
pleafed, thinking they had cheated the Spaniards, who 
carried away above 150 Marks, or 1200 Ounces of 
Pearls, and fome of them as large as fmall Hatle-nuts, 
very beautiful and well coloured ; but they were ill bored, 
the Indians having no Iron. The Spaniards thought fit 
to return home, and fo came back to Paria and the 
Dragon’s Mouth. Two Months after they left Curiana 
they arrived, in Galicia, on the 6th of Vfiruary, 1 500, 
.where Ferdinand de la Vega, Lord of Grajali was then Go- 
vernor ; before whom Peter Alonfo Nino ahd Chrifiopher 
Guerra were accufed, by their own Ships Crew, of having 
concealed Pearls, and defrauded the King of his fifth Part, 
v/hich was the Duty. 
The Noife that this Voyage made, and the great Rich- 
es which the Adventurers gained thereby, promoted the 
Spirit of Difcovery, but more efpecially among fuch as 
had been acquainted with the Propofals made by the Ad- 
L miral. 
« 
