Four Expeditions of Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus
Where Christopher Columbus sailed and why, you will learn from this article.
Purpose of Christopher Columbus' journey
The navigator is the most mysterious person of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries and travels. His life is full of mysteries, dark spots, inexplicable coincidences and deeds. And all because mankind became interested in the navigator 150 years after his death - important documents have already been lost, and Columbus's life remained fanned with speculation and gossip. Plus, Columbus himself hid his origin (for unknown reasons), the motives of his actions and thoughts. The only thing that is known is 1451 - the year of his birth and the place of birth - the Republic of Genoa.
He made 4 expeditions, which were supplied by the Spanish king:
The first expedition - 1492-1493.
The second expedition - 1493-1496.
The third expedition - 1498 - 1500.
The fourth expedition - 1502 - 1504.
During four expeditions, the navigator discovered many new territories and two seas - Sargasso and Caribbean.
Having married in 1482 the daughter of a noble sailor from Italy, he and his wife went to the island of Porto Santo, to the estate of his father-in-law. In his house, Columbus found many nautical charts and received the first information about the lands and islands that lie on the western side of Europe. Walking along the shore of the island, he noticed that the water was coming to the shore, trunks of unknown wood and corpses of the then unfamiliar human race. Then he did not suspect the existence of the mainland, which the Europeans did not yet know about. Later, from the treatises of Pliny, Seneca and Aristotle, he learned about India, the new land. And the navigator caught fire with a new idea and goal - Christopher Columbus was looking for a way to India without going around Africa.
He drew up a project to find a new, direct route to the land of spices, and in 1483 he turned to King John of Portugal with it. Having not received the desired result, Columbus left for Spain, where 7 years later he signed an agreement with the crown to prepare the expedition. It happened on April 17, 1492.
Once Christopher Columbus uttered a sacramental phrase: "The world is small", which became, in fact, the leitmotif of his whole life. In a little more than 50 years of his life, this greatest navigator managed to make as many discoveries and bring untold wealth to the whole of Europe, as it is impossible to do even in a few centuries. Whatever he did, and as soon as the navigator did not beg the Catholic kings, in order to achieve his main life goal - to make an expedition to the shores of the New World. In total, during his life, Columbus managed to make four voyages to the shores of America.
Columbus made his first sea voyage in 1492-1493. So, three ships under the names "Santa Maria", "Nina" and "Pinta", the total crew of which was 90 people, set sail in 1492, on August 3, from the port in Palos. The route was laid as follows: after the Canary Islands, the expedition went west across the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of which the Sargasso Sea was discovered, and then landed on one of the islands belonging to the Bahamas archipelago. Columbus christened it San Salvador, and it happened on October 12 in 1492, which is considered the official date of the discovery of America. Remarkably, for a long time there was an opinion that San Salvador is the current Watling. However, in 1986, the geographer J. Judge, an American, made a computer model of the expedition, which showed that Columbus was the first to see Samana Island, located at a distance of 120 km southeast of Watling Island.
From October 14 to October 24 of the same year, Columbus explored other Bahamas, but from October 28 to December 5, he discovered the territories of the northeast of the Cuban coast. December 6 was marked by a landing on the island of Haiti, after which the expedition proceeded along the northern coast. However, on the night of December 24-25, the Santa Maria collided with a reef, but the flagship crew managed to escape, and the expedition was forced to turn to the coast of Spain.
March 15, 1493 "Nina", the crew of which was led by Columbus, and "Pinta" return to Castile. The navigator brings with him trophies, among which are the natives, whom the Europeans called the Indians, gold, unfamiliar vegetation, vegetables and fruits, and the plumage of some birds. Remarkably, Columbus was the first to use Indian hammocks instead of sailor bunks. The first expedition caused such a powerful response that the so-called "papal meridian" was laid, which determined in which direction Spain would open new lands, and in which direction - Portugal.
The second expedition took longer than the first - from September 25, 1493 to June 11, 1496, and it started from Cadiz. This time, 17 ships entered the flotilla, and their crew, according to various sources, numbered from 1.5 to 2.5 thousand people, including colonists who decided to try their luck on open lands. In addition to, in fact, people, the ships were loaded with livestock, seeds and seedlings, tools - everything that was necessary to create a public settlement. During this expedition, the colonists conquered Hispaniola, laid the city of Santo Domingo. The journey was marked by the discovery of the Virgin and Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, in addition, the expedition continued to explore Cuba. Remarkably, Columbus continued to be sure that he was exploring western India, but not the territories of the new continent.
The third expedition started on May 30, 1498. This time it consisted of 6 ships with 300 crew members. It was marked by the discovery of the island of Trinidad, the exploration of the Orinoco Delta and several other lands. On August 20, 1499, Christopher Columbus returned to Hispaniola, where things were going badly. Remarkably, in 1498, Vasco de Gama discovered the real India, from where he returned with irrefutable evidence - spices, and Columbus was declared a deceiver. So, in 1499, Columbus was deprived of the monopoly right to discover new territories, he himself was arrested and taken to Castile. He was saved from imprisonment only by the patronage of major financiers who had influence on the royal couple.
The fourth and last voyage of Columbus
The last expedition was undertaken on May 9, 1502. This time the traveler was exploring the mainland of Central America, namely: Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. By the way, this expedition was marked by the first acquaintance with the Mayan tribe. The purpose of this voyage was to search for the South Sea, that is, the Pacific Ocean, but the attempts were unsuccessful, and Columbus had to return to Castile in October 1504.
In general, the importance of the expeditions of Columbus cannot be overestimated, but his contemporaries treated them very negligently, realizing their value only after half a century after the death of the navigators, when ships began to bring huge amounts of gold and silver from Peru and Mexico. For reference, the royal treasury, when recalculated, spent only 10 kg of gold on the equipment of the first voyage, but she received many times more - 3 million kilograms of the treasured yellow metal.
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The Middle Ages is rich in biographies of people with amazing destinies. In that harsh time, everything was possible: beggars became dukes and kings, apprentices created masterpieces of art, and dreamers discovered new worlds. For some, everything was easy and effortless, and for some, on the way to the top, they had to overcome all imaginable and unimaginable obstacles...
Few people today know that the greatest of medieval navigators, the legendary Christopher Columbus may well deservedly and reasonably be called one of the biggest losers of the Age of Discovery and the Middle Ages in general.
Why is that? It is enough to read at least a little bit into his biography to understand everything.
The most interesting for you!
Italian in the service of the Spanish crown
Let's start with the fact that Columbus is not a Spaniard or even a Portuguese, as many people think. He is an ardent son of Italy, from Genoa. It was there that he was born somewhere between August 26 and October 31, 1451 (and 29 years later, another famous navigator Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal). It is generally accepted that Christopher Columbus grew up in a poor family. But in general, not much is known about his childhood and youth. In general, it is amazing that in the biography of a person so famous even in his era, there are a lot of “blank spots”.
Since the future discoverer grew up near the sea, from childhood he raved about the profession of a sailor. By the way, from childhood he dreamed of the sea and Admiral Nelson is one of the most famous personalities in England. This did not stop Columbus from studying a little at the University of Pavia, after which he entered the service of the Genoese fleet around 1465. It is known that some time after that he was seriously wounded and temporarily left the sea. By the way, further Columbus sailed exclusively under the Spanish and Portuguese flags, and turned out to be unclaimed at home.
In 1470, Christopher married Doña Felipe Monis de Palestrello, who was the daughter of a prominent navigator of those times. He managed to live quietly almost without the sea until 1472 in Genoa. From 1472 he showed up in Savona, lived there for a while and moved to Portugal in 1476, and again began to actively participate in sea trading expeditions.
Until 1485, Columbus sailed on Portuguese ships, living either in Lisbon, or in Madeira, or in Porto Santo. At this time, he was mainly engaged in trade, raising his educational level and compiling maps. In 1483, he already had a ready-made project for a new sea trade route to India and Japan, with which the navigator went to the Portuguese king.
But the time of Columbus had not yet come, or he could not properly argue the need to equip the expedition, or for some other reason, but the monarch, after two years of deliberation, rejected this enterprise, and even put the impudent sailor in disgrace.
Columbus left him, going to the Spanish service, where a few years later, through a series of complex and subtle intrigues, he still managed to persuade the king to finance the expedition.
The birth of a great project
No one can say exactly when the project for the western sea route to India was drawn up. Scientists have proven that in their calculations, Columbus was based on ancient knowledge about the sphericity of the Earth, and also studied the calculations and maps of scientists of the 15th century. Presumably, the very idea of sphericity and the possibility of such a voyage in 1474 was suggested by the geographer Paolo Toscanelli, which is confirmed by his letter to Columbus. The navigator began to make his own calculations and decided that if you sail through the Canary Islands, then from them to Japan should not be more than five thousand kilometers.
The improvement of the Columbus project was also facilitated by a visit to England, Ireland and Iceland in 1477, where he collected rumors and data from the Icelanders that there were vast lands in the west. He perfected his seafaring skills on long trips in 1481, when he sailed to Guinea, being the captain of one of the ships in the Diogo de Azambuja expedition sent to build the fortress of São Jorge da Mina. Apparently, it was after this voyage that Columbus had not only a firm conviction about the possibility of success of his project, but also a good evidence base was collected in his favor. It only remained to learn how to persuade those in power to finance ...
It should be noted that he made the first proposal to organize an expedition to the authorities and merchants of his native Genoa after about 1476, but then he was still too young and could provide very little evidence for his thoughts to be taken seriously. But Genoa, modest at all times, eclipsed by Venice and Rome, could become the center of the world instead of Spain for several centuries, by the time of Columbus's expedition the former weak and rather poor country.
In 1485, the project of sailing to India was rejected by the Portuguese king João II, so categorically that Columbus and his family were forced to urgently flee to Spain. Oddly enough, it was this flight that became fateful for Columbus, because he found his first refuge in the monastery of Santa Maria da Rabida, whose rector, Juan Perez de Marchena, was a close acquaintance of Hernando de Talavera, the queen's confessor. It was through him that it was possible to convey to the reigning lady a letter with the ideas of Columbus. The royal couple at that time lived in Cordoba, preparing the country and the army for war with Granada, but the grain was sown.
Already in 1486, Columbus managed to ignite with his project the fantasy of the rich and influential Duke of Medina Seli, who, moreover, introduced the essentially poor navigator into the circle of royal financial advisers, bankers and merchants. But the most useful was the acquaintance with his uncle, the Spanish Cardinal Mendoza. This one has already taken up the project in all seriousness, having gathered by his authority a commission of theologians, lawyers and courtiers. The commission worked for four whole years and did not give anything, since here Columbus let down his character - secretive and distrustful.
In any case, from 1487 to 1492, Columbus did not so much swim as travel around Spain after the Royal couple. In 1488, he received an invitation from the Portuguese king to return to Portugal, but it was too late - Columbus felt that here, in Spain, he would definitely achieve something. However, he sent letters with his proposals to all the influential courts of Europe, but received a response only from the English King Henry VII, who in 1488 expressed his support to the navigator, but did not offer anything specific. Who knows, perhaps if Henry VIII, the son of Henry VII, was on the throne at that time, Christopher Columbus would have gone on an expedition under the flag of England. Henry VIII was very fond of the fleet, which only cost him the creation of huge ships by those standards Great Harry and Mary Rose!
The Spaniards wanted to organize an expedition, but the country was in a protracted war and it was not possible to allocate funds for swimming. In 1491, Columbus in Seville again personally met with Ferdinand and Isabella, but to no avail - they did not give money and help. In January 1492, Granada fell, Spain ended the war, and Columbus had the opportunity to organize an expedition almost immediately, but his character let him down again! The requirements of the sailor were exorbitant: the appointment of viceroy of all new lands, the title of "chief admiral of the sea-ocean" and a lot of money. The king refused.
The situation was saved by Queen Isabella, who dissuaded Columbus from emigrating to France and threatened to pawn her family jewels to organize the expedition. As a result, an enterprise was drawn up, according to which one ship was given by the state, one by Columbus himself, and one by Martin Alonso Pinson, who equipped the Pint. In addition, this magnate lent money to Columbus, who, according to the agreement, was supposed to take on an eighth of the expenses of the expedition.
On April 30, 1492, the king officially granted Christopher Columbus the title of "don", making him a nobleman, and also confirmed all the requirements of a daring sailor, up to the title of viceroy of all newly discovered lands and his inheritance.
Expeditions of Christopher Columbus
The first expedition of Columbus took place on August 3, 1492 and was small - about 90 people on three ships - Santa Maria, Pinte and Nina, set off from Palos. Having reached the Canary Islands, she turned west, crossed the Atlantic along a small diagonal, opening the Sargasso Sea along the way. The first land he saw was one of the islands of the Bahamas, called San Salvador. Columbus landed on it October 12, 1492 and this day became the official date of the discovery of America.
It is noteworthy that until 1986, geographers and historians did not know exactly which of the islands Columbus discovered first, until the geographer J. Judge proved that it was Samana Island. In the following days, Columbus discovered a number of the Bahamas, and on October 28, washed up on the coast of Cuba. Already on December 6, he saw Haiti and moved along the northern coast. There, on December 25, the Santa Maria landed on a reef, although the crew was saved.
It was after the crash of the Santa Maria, when the sailors had to make room on the remaining ships, that Columbus ordered hammocks to be installed for the sailors instead of beds, having peeped this idea from the natives. So it was possible to compactly accommodate more people, and the method itself took root so much that it went into oblivion only a century ago.
In March 1493, the remaining ships returned to Castile. They brought some gold, some natives, strange plants and bird feathers. Columbus claimed to have discovered the western Indies. After reading about Cook's first expedition, the inquisitive can compare the successes of Columbus and James Cook in the stages of their early careers. The difference between these expeditions is 275 years!
The second expedition set off in the same 1493. Columbus headed it already in the rank of admiral and viceroy of all open lands. It was a grand undertaking, which involved 17 large courts and more than 2,000 people, including priests and officials, as well as lawyers, artisans and soldiers. In November 1493, Dominica, Guadeloupe and the Antilles were discovered. In 1494, the expedition explored the islands of Haiti, Cuba, Youthud and Jamaica, but very little gold was found there.
In the spring of 1496, Columbus set off for home, completing his journey on June 11. This expedition opened the way for colonization, after which settlers, priests and criminals began to be sent to new lands, who turned out to be the cheapest way to settle new colonies.
The third expedition of Columbus began in 1498. It consisted of only six courts and was exclusively research. On July 31, he discovered Trinidad, found the Gulf of Paria, discovered the mouth of the Orinoco and the Peninsula of Paria, finally reaching the continent. Climbing a little further than Columbus, the conquerors Hernan Cortes and Claudio Pizarro invaded the rich lands of South America. On August 15, Margarita Island was discovered, after which the navigator arrived in Haiti, where the Spanish colony was already operating.
In 1500, Columbus was arrested on a denunciation and sent to Castile. However, he did not sit there for very long, but he kept his shackles for life. Having received freedom, Columbus was nevertheless deprived of most of the privileges and most of the wealth. So, he no longer became vice-emperor, and this was the main disappointment of the final part of the navigator's life. From the third expedition, Columbus was disappointed, but survived, but the third expedition of Cook was the last for the traveler.
The fourth expedition began in 1502 and was carried out on only four ships. On June 15, he went traverse Martinique, and on July 30 he entered the Gulf of Honduras, where he first came into contact with representatives of the Mayan state. In 1502-1503, Columbus carefully explored the shores of Central America in search of the coveted passage to the west, because the fabulous wealth of America had not yet been discovered and everyone was eager to get to India. On June 25, 1503, Columbus crashed near Jamaica and was rescued only a year later. The navigator came to Castile on November 7, 1504, seriously ill and upset by failures. This was the end of his epic. Not finding the coveted passage to India, left without rights and money, Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid on May 20, 1506. His merits were appreciated much later, centuries later, and for his era he remained just one of the sailors going to distant lands.
Character of Christopher Columbus
Great people do not have a simple character. The same can be said about Columbus, and this is what largely caused his collapse at the end of his life. Christopher Columbus was a passionate dreamer, a fan of his idea and purpose, which he served all his life. At the same time, historians and contemporaries characterize him as a greedy, immoderately domineering person who all his life dreamed of being superior to others. Immoderate desires did not allow him to remain at the top of wealth and nobility, but nevertheless he lived an outstanding life, having committed outstanding deeds!
Tragedy of Christopher Columbus
If you look deeper, you can understand that Columbus was dying an unfortunate man. He did not get to fabulously rich India, and it was precisely this, and not the discovery of a new continent, that was his goal and dream. He did not even understand what he had discovered, and for the first time the continents he saw received the name of a completely different person - Amerigo Vespucci, who simply slightly extended the paths beaten by Columbus. In fact, the Normans discovered America several centuries before him, so that here the navigator did not become the first. He achieved a lot, and at the same time achieved nothing. And this is his tragedy.
Named after Columbus...
Columbus forever remained in the history and geography of all continents and most countries. In addition to streets, numerous monuments, squares and even an asteroid, an entire state in South America, the highest mountain in Colombia, a federal district in the USA and a province in Canada, a city and province in Panama in the Panama Canal zone Colon, a department in Honduras and many others are named after him. , less significant geographical objects.
What did the discoveries of Columbus give to the world?
First of all, it should be noted that it was Columbus who showed the way to those people who, within a century after him, destroyed the original cultures of South and Central America, turning the history of the continents in a different direction.
Discoveries gave Europe an influx of a huge mass of gold and silver, thanks to which the center of civilization moved there from the East. Europe began to develop, its industry and science grew, its population and its quality of life grew, not only due to the flow of gold, which fell significantly in price, but also due to the import of new fertile crops from America.
Initially, the American continent was inhabited by tribes that arrived from Asia. However, in the 13th-15th century, with the active development of culture and industry, civilized Europe set off in search and development of new lands. What happened to America at the end of the 15th century?
Christopher Columbus is a famous Spanish navigator. It was his first expedition that marked the beginning of active travel to the "New World" and the development of this territory. The "New World" then considered the lands that are now called South and North America.
In 1488, Portugal had a monopoly on the waters of the Atlantic coast of Africa. Spain was forced to look for another sea route to trade with India and gain access to gold, silver and spices. This is what prompted the rulers of Spain to agree to the expedition of Columbus.
Columbus is looking for a new route to India
Columbus made only four expeditions to the shores of the so-called "India". However, by the fourth expedition, he knew that he had not found India. So, back to Columbus' first voyage.
Columbus' first voyage to America
The first expedition consisted of only three ships. Columbus had to get two ships himself. The first ship was given by his fellow navigator Pinson. He also gave Columbus a loan so that Christopher could equip a second ship. About a hundred crew members also went on a trip.
The voyage lasted from August 1492 to March 1493. In October, they sailed to the land, which they mistakenly considered the surrounding islands of Asia, that is, it could be the western territories of China, India or Japan. In fact, it was the discovery by Europeans of the Bahamas, Haiti and Cuba. Here, on these islands, local residents presented Columbus with dry leaves, i.e. tobacco, as a gift. Also, the locals walked naked around the island and wore various gold jewelry. Columbus tried to find out from them where they got the gold and only after he took several natives prisoner did he find out the way where they take them. So Columbus made attempts to find gold, but found only more and more new lands. He was happy that he opened a new path to "Western India", but there were no developed cities and untold wealth there. When returning home, Christopher took with him the locals (whom he called Indians) as proof of success.
When did the colonization of America begin?
Shortly after returning to Spain with gifts and "Indians", the Spaniards soon decide to send the sailor on the road again. Thus began the second expedition of Columbus.
Second Voyage of Columbus
September 1493 - June 1496 The purpose of this trip was to organize new colonies, so as many as 17 ships entered the flotilla. Among the sailors there were priests, and nobles, officials and courtiers. They brought pets, raw materials, food with them. As a result of the expedition, Columbus paved a more convenient route to "Western India", the island of Hispaniola (Haiti) was completely conquered, and the extermination of the local population began.
Columbus still believed that he was in Western India. On the second trip, islands were also discovered, including Jamaica and Puerto Rico. On Hispaniola, the Spaniards found gold deposits in the depths of the island and began to mine it, with the help of the enslavement of local residents. There were uprisings of workers, but the unarmed locals were doomed. They died as a result of the suppression of riots, diseases brought from Europe, hunger. The rest of the local population was subjected to tribute and enslaved.
The Spanish rulers were not satisfied with the income that the new lands brought, and therefore they allowed everyone to move to new lands, and they broke the contract with Columbus, that is, they deprived him of the right to manage new lands. As a result, Columbus decides to travel to Spain, where he negotiates with the kings about the return of his privileges, and that prisoners will stay in the new lands, who will work and develop territories, and Spain will be freed from unwanted elements of society.
third journey
On the third expedition, Columbus went with six ships, 600 people also included prisoners from Spanish prisons. Columbus this time decided to pave the way closer to the equator in order to find new lands rich in gold, since the current colonies provided modest incomes, which did not suit the Spanish kings. But due to illness, Columbus was forced to go to Hispaniola (Haiti). There, a rebellion was waiting for him again, Columbus had to allocate land to the local residents in order to suppress the rebellion and give slaves to help each rebel.
Then, unexpectedly, news came - the famous navigator Vasco da Gama opened a real way to India. He arrived from there with treats, spices, and declared Columbus a deceiver. As a result, the Spanish kings ordered the deceiver to be arrested and returned to Spain. But soon, the charges are dropped from him and sent on the last expedition.
Fourth expedition
Columbus believed that there was a path from new lands to a source of spices. And he wanted to find him. As a result of the last expedition, he discovered islands near South America, Costa Rica and others, but never got to the Pacific Ocean, as he learned from local residents that there were already Europeans here. Columbus returned to Spain.
Since Columbus no longer had a monopoly on discovering new lands, other Spaniards traveled on their way to explore and colonize new territories. An era began when the impoverished Spanish or Portuguese knights (conquistadors) traveled away from their native lands in search of adventure and wealth.
Who first colonized America?
The Spanish conquistadors at the beginning tried to develop new lands in North Africa, but the local population put up strong resistance, so the discovery of the New World came in handy. It was thanks to the discovery of new colonies in North and South America that Spain was considered the main super-hard of Europe and the mistress of the seas.
In history and literature, the period of the conquest of American lands is perceived differently. On the one hand, the Spaniards are considered as enlighteners who brought culture, religion, and art with them. On the other hand, it was a gross enslavement and destruction of the local population. Actually, it was both. Modern countries differently assess the contribution of the Spaniards to the history of their country. For example, in Venezuela, in 2004, a monument to Columbus was demolished, as they considered him the ancestor of the extermination of the local indigenous population.
Departed from Cadiz on September 25, 1493. Instead of the insignificant flotilla which he had at his disposal in the preceding year, he had seventeen vessels under his command; 1,200 people sailed with him on the second voyage, among which were miners, artisans, and farmers, but hidalgos (representatives of the nobility) were especially numerous. The expedition set off with the goal of not only making new discoveries, but also establishing colonies, getting gold from newly discovered lands, and converting local pagans to Christianity. Columbus took with him his brother Diego and twelve persons of the clergy, among whom was the papal vicar, the Benedictine monk Bernardo Boyle.
Portrait of Christopher Columbus. Artist S. del Piombo, 1519
The whole year of the second trip was devoted to research and new discoveries. Columbus discovered and visited the island of Dominica (November 3, 1493), Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico (during the same month). On November 27, he arrived at Fort Navidad, which he had previously founded in Haiti, and now ravaged by the natives. Alonso Ojeda began to explore the interior of Hispaniola (Haiti), searched for gold there and began to develop mines. Columbus, carried away by curiosity, again sailed along the coast of Cuba; he so wanted to be sure that these were the shores of the Asian continent that he made his sailors swear before the royal notary that it really was not an island, but a continent. If he had time to stock up on enough provisions, he intended to continue sailing along the coast to the Red Sea and return from the second trip to Spain by the Mediterranean Sea, or else to round the southern tip of Africa to amaze the Portuguese with surprise. On his way back he saw Jamaica and finally arrived on September 4, 1494 at Isabella Island.
Everything was in bad shape. The colonists, who belonged to the number of adventurers who were not accustomed to obey their superiors, constantly sent new complaints to Spain. The natives, who were subjected to various forms of violence and forced to work in the mines, rebelled against the conquerors. With the help of Ojeda, Columbus soon restored order there, but this brilliant navigator was such a bad administrator that he incurred general hatred. He was accused of rough treatment, of arrogance, and especially of the fact that he was not a Spaniard, but a Genoese. Fortunately for Columbus, his brother Bartolomeo came to his aid, an energetic, intelligent, brave and very experienced man in everything related to navigation. Columbus appointed him adelantado, that is, a territorial governor, but this governor was also a native of Genoa. Even the persons of the clergy were so frightened by the strange antics of the admiral, who had fallen into religious hypochondria, that they refused to help him. In Spain, only denunciations were received about the incapacity of Columbus and his despotism.
Spanish monarchs Ferdinand And Isabel finally they were forced to send a commissioner to investigate the case (August October 1495); this commissioner, Juan Aguado, became convinced of the miserable condition of the colony, and in this sense wrote his report to the king. Columbus, wishing to prevent the danger that threatened him, decided to go to Spain with Aguado (in March 1496). He could no longer count on the same enthusiastic reception that he received after his return from the first expedition. However, after the second trip, he was kindly received at court. He was again confirmed in all his honorable offices, and he was again granted all the former privileges; he even petitioned for the confirmation of his brother in the rank of "adelantado".
