On Their Way Home, Columbus Touched At The Acores;
And On The Fourth Of March 1493, Entered The Port Of Lisbon.
This
discovery gave much discontent to the king of Portugal.
Immediately on
his arrival, Columbus went into Castile, where he informed the king of
his discoveries and of the dissatisfaction of the king of Portugal. On
this he and his queen Isabella sent word of the recent discovery to Pope
Alexander VI, at which information he and all the Italians were much
astonished, as they marvelled that there should be any land besides what
had been known to the Romans. Alexander made a grant of all these
countries to the crowns of Castile and Leon, under condition that they
should labour to extirpate idolatry, and establish the holy faith of
Christ among the natives.
On the report of this discovery, so universal a desire of travelling
arose among the Spaniards, that they were ready as it were to leap into
the sea, that they might swim if possible to the newly discovered islands.
After receiving the authority of the Pope, King Ferdinando sent Columbus
a second time to the newly-discovered country, of which he made him
admiral, giving him many other honours, and a particular coat of arms,
having this motto,
For Castile and for Leon
A new world discovered Colon[A].
[A] Gomara, I. 1. c. 15.
Columbus set out on his second voyage to the Antilles on the 25th October
1493, taking his course from Cadiz, with seventeen ships and fifteen
hundred men, accompanied by his brothers Bartholomew and Diego Columbus,
with many other knights, gentlemen of the law, and priests; having
chalices, crosses, and other rich religious ornaments, and with great
power and dignity from the Pope. The tenth day after commencing their
voyage, they reached the Canaries; and from thence, in twenty-five or
thirty days, they sailed to the Antilles, the first island they saw being
in 14 deg. N. due west from Cape de Verd in Africa. They called this island
Deseada[5], or the _desired island_, which is said to be 800 leagues from
the Canaries. They afterwards discovered many more islands, which they
called the Virgins, but which are named the Caribbee islands by the
natives, from a nation of that name, who are bold warriors, and excellent
marksmen with bows and arrows. They poison their arrows with the juice of
a certain herb, and whoever is wounded with these is sure to die, biting
himself like a mad dog. From thence they went to the principal island in
these parts, named Boriquen by the natives, and St John by the Spaniards;
and thence to Hispaniola, or Isabella, where they found all the men dead
whom they had left on returning from the former voyage. Columbus left
most of his people here to establish a colony, under the command of his
brothers; and went with two ships to continue his discovery of Cuba and
Jamaica. All these islands are between 16 and 20 degrees of northern
latitude[6]. While the admiral was sailing in quest of discoveries, his
brethren and those who were left in Hispaniola, were much incommoded by
an insurrection among the savages; and Columbus went back to Spain, to
give an account of his proceedings to the king and queen.
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