Laurence Bergreen - Columbus: The Four Voyages

Table of Contents

TO MY MOTHER
and
IN MEMORY OF MY FATHER AND BROTHER

A BATTERD, wreckd old man,
Thrown on this savage shore, far, far from home,
Pent by the sea, and dark rebellious brows, twelve dreary months,
Sore, stiff with many toils, sickend, and nigh to death,
I take my way along the islands edge,
Venting a heavy heart....

Steersman unseen! henceforth the helms are Thine;
Take Thou command(what to my petty skill Thy navigation?)
My hands, my limbs grow nerveless;
My brain feels rackd, bewilderd; Let the old timbers partI will not
part!
I will cling fast to Thee, O God, though the waves buffet me;
Thee, Thee, at least, I know.

Is it the prophets thought I speak, or am I raving?
What do I know of life? what of myself?
I know not even my own work, past or present;
Dim, ever-shifting guesses of it spread before me,
Of newer, better worlds, their mighty parturition,
Mocking, perplexing me.

And these things I see suddenlywhat mean they?
As if some miracle, some hand divine unseald my eyes,
Shadowy, vast shapes, smile through the air and sky,
And on the distant waves sail countless ships,
And anthems in new tongues I hear saluting me.

from Prayer of Columbus, Walt Whitman, 1871

Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea
Bartholomew Columbus, his brother, the Adelantado (Advancer)
Diego Columbus, his brother
Felipa Moiz, his wife

Diego Columbus, his son with Felipa Moiz
Ferdinand Columbus, his son with Beatriz de Arana

Ferdinand II of Aragon, king of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Juan Rodrguez de Fonseca, bishop and chaplain to Isabella

Joo II of Portugal, the Perfect Prince
Manuel I of Portugal

Vicente Yez Pinzn, sailor of Palos, Spain
Martn Alonso Pinzn, brother of Vicente
Francisco Martn Pinzn, brother of Vicente
Diego Alvarez Chanca, physician, friend of Columbus
Juan de la Cosa, cartographer
Father Ramon Pan, priest, emissary to the Tanos
Antonio de Torres, associate of Columbus

Luis de Torres, translator on the first voyage

Guacanagar, Tano cacique
Guarionex, cacique
Caonab, Carib cacique
Anacaona, Caonabs wife, executed by the Spanish
The Quibin, cacique

Alonso de Ojeda, Columbuss lieutenant and rival
Amerigo Vespucci, Florentine bureaucrat and explorer
Francisco Roldn, mutineer on the third voyage
Francisco de Bobadilla, judicial investigator
Nicols de Ovando, governor of Hispaniola
Francisco Porras, mutineer on the fourth voyage
Diego Mndez, leader of rescue mission on the fourth voyage

Bartolom de Las Casas, soldier, friar, chronicler

I sailed to the West southwest, and we took more water aboard than at any other time on the voyage, wrote Christopher Columbus in his logbook on Thursday, October 11, 1492, on the verge of the defining moment of discovery. It occurred not a moment too soon, because the fearful and unruly crews of his three ships were about to mutiny. Overcome with doubt himself, he had tried to remind the rebels of their sworn duty, telling them that, for better or worse, they must complete the enterprise on which the Catholic SovereignsIsabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, who jointly ruled Spainhad sent them. He could not risk offending his royal patrons, whom he lobbied for ten years to obtain this commission, and so he insisted, I started out to find the Indies and will continue until I have accomplished that mission, with the help of Our Lord. And they had better follow his lead or risk a cruel punishment.

Suddenly it seemed as if his prayers had been answered: I saw several things that were indications of land. For one thing, A large flock of sea birds flew overhead. And for another, a slender reed floated past his flagship, Santa Mara, and it was green, indicating it had grown nearby. Pintas crew noticed the same thing, as well as a manmade plank, carved by an unknown hand, perhaps with an iron tool. Those aboard Nia spotted a stick, equally indicative that they were approaching land. He encouraged the crew to give thanks rather than mutiny at this critical moment, doubled the number of lookouts, and promised a generous reward to the first sailor to spot terra firma.

And then, for hours, nothing.

Around ten oclock that night, Columbus anxiously patrolled the highest deck, the stern castle. In the gloom, he thought he saw something resembling a little wax candle bobbing up and down. Perhaps it was a torch belonging to fishermen abroad at night, or perhaps it belonged to someone on land, going from house to house. Perhaps it was nothing more than a phantom sighting, common at sea, even for expert eyes. He summoned a couple of officers; one agreed with his assessment, the other scoffed. No one else saw anything, and Columbus did not trust his own instincts. As he knew from experience, life at sea often presented stark choices. If he succeeded in his quest to discover the basis of a Spanish empire thousands of miles from home, he would be on his way to fulfilling his pledge to his royal sponsors and attaining heroic status and unimaginable wealth. After all the doubts and trials he had endured, his accomplishment would be vindication of the headiest sort. But if he failed, he would face mutiny by his obstreperous crew, permanent disgrace, and the prospect of death in a lonely patch of ocean far from home.

Throughout the first voyage, Columbus kept a detailed record of his thoughts and actions, in which he sought to justify himself to his Sovereigns, to his Lord, and to himself. He believed that history would be listening. In his record, he began by explaining the premise of the voyage in terms of Reconquista, the reclaiming of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslims who had occupied it for centuries. For Columbus, the success of this military campaign made his voyage possible, and, given his mystical bent, inevitable.

Addressing the most Christian and very Exalted, Excellent and mighty Princes, King and Queen of the Spains and of the Islands of the Sea, our Lord and Lady, in the present year 1492his Sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, in other wordshe reminisced about their war against the Moors (Muslims), especially their memorable retaking of the the very great City of Granadathe former Moorish stronghold. Columbus was there, or so he claimed. He saw the Royal Standards of Your Highnesses appear on the towers of Alhambra, the former seat of Moorish rule. He even saw the Moorish King come forth to the gates of the city and kiss the Royal Hands of Your Highnesses. Even then, Columbus reminded them, he was thinking of his grand design to establish trade with the fabled Grand Khan in the east, the King of Kings. And it so happened, according to his epic recitation of events, that the Sovereigns, avowed enemies of all idolatries and heresies, resolved to send himChristopher Columbusto India in order to convert those in distant lands to our Holy Faiththe