In the year 1492, when Don Ferdinand king of Castile87 was engaged in the siege of Granada, he sent one Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, with three ships, for the discovery of Nova Spagna. This Columbus had first offered his service lot a western discovery to John king of Portugal, who refused to employ him. Being sufficiently furnished for his enterprize, Columbus set out from the town of Palos on the third of August 1492, having with him, as captains and pilots, Martin Alionzo Pinzon, Francis Martinez Pinzori, Vincent Yannes Pinzon, and Bartholomew Columbus his brother88 with an hundred and twenty other persons in the three ships. Some persons affirm, that this was the first voyage which was ever conducted by the observation of latitudes89. They took the Canaries in their way, whence shaping their course for Cipango, or towards Japan, they were much amazed to find the sea all full of weeds, and with great fear arrived at the Antilles on the tenth day of October; the first island they descried, called Guanahany by the natives, they named San Salvador. This island is in 25° N. latitude. After that they found many islands, which they called the Princes. The savages of those parts call these islands by the name of Lucaios, having indeed several names for them, and they stand on the north side of the line, almost under the tropic of Cancer. The island of St James, or Jamaica, lies between the 16th and 17th degrees of northern latitude90. Thence they went to the island which the natives call Cuba, named Ferdinando by the Spaniards, after the king, which is in 22 degrees; from whence they were conducted by the Indians to another island called Hayti, named Isabella by the Spaniards, in honour of the queen of Castile, and afterwards Hispaniola, or Little Spain.
In that island the admirals ship was wrecked, and Columbus caused a fort to be constructed of her timbers and planks, in which he left Roderigo de Arana with a garrison of thirty-eight men, to learn the language and customs of the country. Columbus then returned to Spain, carrying with him samples of gold and pearls, and other productions of the country, with ten Indians, six of whom died on the voyage; the rest were brought to Spain and baptized. On their way home, Columbus touched at the Açores; 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,
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° N. due west from Cape de Verd in Africa. They called this island Deseada92, 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 latitude93. 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.
In January 1494, a congress of ambassadors from Spain and Portugal was held at Tordesillas, for the settlement of all disputes between the two countries respecting the new discoveries. The plenipotentiaries from Spain were Don Henry Henriques, Don John de Cardenas, and the Doctor Maldonado; those from Portugal, Ruy de Sosa, his son Don John, and the doctor Ayres de Almada. After some conference, these plenipotentiaries divided the world between the two crowns, by a meridian line drawn from north to south, 300 leagues to the west of the islands of Cape Verd, all to the east of this line being appropriated to Portugal, and all to the west to Spain; leaving, however, the liberty of navigation equally to both94. In 1495, John II. King of Portugal, died, and was succeeded by his cousin Emanuel.
In the year 1496, a Venetian named John Cabota, or Gabota, went to England; and having acquired a knowledge of the new discoveries, and perceiving by the globe that the islands of the Antilles were almost in the same latitude with his own country, and lay much nearer to England than Spain and Portugal, he acquainted Henry VII. with this circumstance, and offered his services to make discoveries for the crown of England. Henry was much pleased with the proposal, and furnished him with two ships and three hundred men, with which he set sail in the spring of that year, and sailed west till he came in sight of land, in lat. 45°N. Whence he sailed northwards till he came into the latitude of 60 degrees, where the day is 18 hours long, and the night is very clear and bright. He there found the air very cold, with great islands of ice, and found no bottom with a line of 100 fathoms. From thence, finding the land turn eastwards, he coasted along it, discovering all the bay and river named Deseado95, to see if it passed on to the other side of the land. Cabot afterwards sailed down the coast to the lat. of 38°N. though some people allege that he reached Cape Florida, in 25°N.
In the year 1497, Columbus was again sent out on discovery, with six ships furnished by the crown of Spain, and two others fitted out at his own expence. Sending his brother before, he sailed from Cadiz, taking his son Don Diego along with him. It was then reported, that he meant to take the island of Madeira, because he distrusted the Frenchmen, and therefore sent three ships thither; others say, that his object was for the Canaries. However this may be, he went with four ships to the Cape de Verd islands, whence he ran along a parallel, finding great rains and calms, and the first land he came to in the Antilles was an island in nine degrees of north latitude, called Trinidada,96 which lies close to the main land. Here he entered the Gulf of Paria, and came out by the Bocca de Dragone, or Dragons-mouth. Holding his course westwards along the coast of Paria, he came to the islands called Los Testigos, or the Witnesses, beyond which is the island of Cubagua, where there is a great fishing for pearl-muscles, and where also there is a well of rock oil. Beyond that he came to the Frailes islands, named Roques, Aruba, and Curaзoa, and other small islands, along the coast of the main land, and to the point of land named Cabo de Vela, having discovered 200 leagues of coast. He thence crossed over the Caribbean Sea, directly north for Hispaniola, passing by the island Beata.
87
Ferdinand was hereditary king of Arragon; but, by marrying Isabella, queen of Castile, had united the several monarchies of Spain, under one government. Ferdinand had no share whatever in the honour of sending out Columbus, the sole charge being defrayed by his consort, Isabella, hereditary queen of Castile and Leon; and who had even to borrow money for the purpose. The contemptuous notice of
88
Galvano is here inaccurate: It will be seen in the sequel, that Bartholomew Columbus did not accompany his brother in this voyage, being then in England. –E.
89
It is certainly possible, that Columbus may have used that mode in his course to the Canaries: But as his run across the Atlantic was nearly on a parallel, he must have kept that part of his voyage by what is called dead reckoning, or by the log. –E.
90
The middle of Guanahana is in lat. 24° 30' N. The centre of Jamaica in 18° 10' N. The latitudes of Galvano are generally inaccurate; and he never pretends to assign any longitudes whatever. The series, likewise, in which he arranges the discoveries of Columbus is very inaccurate. –E.
92
Cape de Verd is in 14° 30' N. Deseada in 16° 30' N. a difference of two degrees of latitude. Dominica, in 15° 30' is the first land said to have been discovered by Columbus in his
94
The negociators of the two crowns, as here related, seem to have been ignorant that this loose division of the globe gave the whole reciprocally to each of the parties. –E.
95
The apparent object seems to have been in search of a passage to the East Indies by way of the north-west, a chimera long and anxiously sought after. It is needless to make any observations on these indistinct notices, as the voyage of Cabot will be afterwards given at full length. –E.
96
The centre of Trinidada is in 10° 30'N. its S.W. point in 10° 12', and the N.E. cape in 10° 45' N. –E.