Lesson 4
1493–1500
In 1493 Columbus sailed again, this time with a much larger fleet: 17 ships and more than 1,200 men.
On the north coast of Hispaniola, his settlers built a town called La Isabela, with houses, storerooms, a church and a large house for Columbus. In March 1494, his men began searching the island's mountains for gold, guided by Taíno. They found only small amounts.
One of the men on this voyage was Michele de Cuneo, a nobleman from Savona, near Genoa, said to have been a childhood friend of Columbus. In 1495 he wrote a long letter home describing the voyage.
Cuneo described, matter-of-factly, robbery, kidnapping and sexual violence carried out by the men under Columbus's command. He also described capturing an Indigenous woman whom, he wrote, the Admiral gave to him, and then sexually assaulting her.
As recently as the early 1960s, Samuel Eliot Morison, one of the leading American historians of his day, introduced Cuneo's letter by calling him "a jolly dog" who liked to have a good time.
That tells us something about the voyage, and something about how the story was told for centuries afterward.
▶ Evidence Locker
1 of 3
A nobleman on the second voyage describes robbery, kidnapping and sexual violence by Columbus's men, including his own assault on a captive woman the Admiral gave him.
On March 24, 1495, Columbus marched against the caciques of the island with about 200 soldiers, 20 horses and 20 attack dogs. His ally was Guacanagarí, the cacique who had rescued the Santa María's cargo.
More than 1,500 Taíno were captured to be shipped to Spain and sold. Columbus sent about 500 Taíno to the slave market in Seville.
Columbus then demanded gold. Every Taíno aged 14 and older living near the gold mines had to deliver gold as tribute. The quota was enough gold dust to fill a small hawk's bell every three months.
There was never much gold on Hispaniola. The quota could not be met.
In 1500, Columbus wrote a letter to Doña Juana de la Torre, who had been a nurse at the royal court. In it he described a trade in Indigenous women and girls on the island. Dealers, he wrote, were going about looking for girls, and girls of nine or ten were now in demand.
Columbus was complaining about the conduct of other settlers, not about himself. But this was the colony he governed.
▶ Evidence Locker
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Columbus describes dealers looking for girls on the island, with girls of nine or ten in demand.
On June 20, 1500, Queen Isabella ordered that the Indigenous people Columbus had sent to Andalusia to be sold were to be freed and returned to the Indies.
Complaints about Columbus's rule had been reaching Spain for some time, from his own settlers. They said he made them work with barely a mouthful to eat, and that he put down revolts with the same brutality he had shown the Indigenous people.
The monarchs sent an investigator, Francisco de Bobadilla.
When Bobadilla arrived at Santo Domingo in 1500, he found that Columbus had hanged five Spaniards. He took statements from 23 witnesses.
They described a government without trials. A man caught stealing grain had his nose and ears cut off and was sold as a slave. A woman who said publicly that Columbus came from a low-status family, the son of a weaver, was paraded naked on a mount, and on the order of Columbus's brother Bartholomew her tongue was cut out. Witnesses also said the Columbus brothers forbade the baptism of Indigenous people, so that they could still be used as slaves.
Some witnesses were Columbus's enemies. Others were close to him, and even they described abuses.
▶ Interactive
Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, 1500. Complaints about the Admiral's rule have reached Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. They have sent you, Francisco de Bobadilla, to find out what is happening in their colony.
Hear the witnesses. Read the Admiral's own defense. Weigh each account. Then decide what the Crown's investigator should do.
Folio 1 of 7 · Royal order
Queen Isabella has issued an order, dated June 20, 1500: the Indigenous people Columbus had sent to Andalusia to be sold as slaves are to be freed and handed to you, to be returned to the Indies.
How does this order shape your inquiry?
Folio 2 of 7 · Finding on arrival
When you land at Santo Domingo, you learn that Columbus has hanged Spaniards from his own colony.
Folio 3 of 7 · Witness testimony
Witnesses describe a man caught stealing grain. His nose and ears were cut off; he was chained and sold as a slave.
Folio 4 of 7 · Witness testimony
A woman said publicly that the Admiral came from a family of low status, the son of a weaver. On his brother Bartholomew's order she was paraded naked on a mount and her tongue was cut out. Witnesses say Columbus praised his brother for defending the family's honor.
Folio 5 of 7 · Complaints from settlers
Settlers complain that they were made to work with barely a mouthful to eat, and that revolts were put down with the same brutality the Admiral had shown the Indigenous people.
Folio 6 of 7 · Witness testimony
Witnesses say the Columbus brothers forbade the baptism of Indigenous people, so that they could still be used as slaves.
Folio 7 of 7 · The Admiral's defense
In a letter to Doña Juana de la Torre, a lady of the court, Columbus defends himself. He calls himself God's messenger to a new world. He says he should not be judged like the governor of a peaceful Spanish city, but like a captain who conquered a warlike people in a land with no towns or courts. And he says his work has made Spain rich.
Does his defense answer the charges?
Testimony is paraphrased from reports on the inquiry record, not quoted. Some witnesses were Columbus's enemies; others were close to him, and even they described abuses.
▶ Evidence Locker
3 of 3
23 witnesses describe hangings, mutilations and a government without trials.
Bobadilla had Columbus's brother Diego arrested, seized the Admiral's papers and took control of Santo Domingo. Columbus gave himself up. He was put in irons and sent back to Spain in chains, with his brothers.
In Spain, the monarchs restored his titles and honors. Bobadilla was recalled. But Hispaniola now had a new governor, Nicolás de Ovando.
For five centuries, the record of Bobadilla's inquiry was lost. Then the archivist Isabel Aguirre found it in Spain's General Archive of Simancas. The historian Consuelo Varela published it in 2006.
These accusations were not invented by modern critics. They were collected in 1500, by an official sent by the same king and queen who had paid for the voyages.
▶ Interactive
1. Columbus's conduct was only criticized by modern historians.
2. In 1500, Queen Isabella ordered that Indigenous people Columbus had sent to Spain for sale be freed and returned.
3. Columbus was sent back to Spain in chains in 1500.
4. The record of Bobadilla's inquiry has been public for centuries.
5. Hispaniola was rich in gold.
▶ Interactive
| Entry | Record |
|---|---|
| Ships on the second voyage | 17 |
| Men | More than 1,200 |
| Gold found in the mountains, 1494 | Small amounts |
| Taíno captured, 1495 | More than 1,500 |
| Taíno sent to the Seville slave market | About 500 |
| Spaniards hanged by Columbus | Five |
| Final entry | The Admiral sent home in chains |
When the gold did not come, what did the colony trade in instead?
Haiti
Haiti and the Dominican Republic were then one island under one colonial government. The war of 1495, the gold tribute and the slave raids fell on the whole island, including Guacanagarí's people in what is now northern Haiti.
▶ Chapter 4
After the inquiry of 1500, how much does Columbus deserve the title of hero?
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