which, by his services and sufferings, he was entitled to enjoy: he took therefore the resolution of returning to Spain, in order to lay before his sovereign a full account of all his transactions. He committed the administration of affairs to Bartholomew, his brother, and appointed Francis Roldan chief justice, with extensive powers.

A. D.

1496.

The

Columbus, after experiencing great difficulties, arrived in Spain, and appeared at court with the modest but determined confidence of a man conscious not only of his own integrity, but of having performed great services. Ferdinand and Isabella, who in his absence had lent a too favourable ear to frivolous accusations, received him with such distinguished marks of respect as covered his enemies with shame. gold, the pearls, the cotton, and other commodities of value which Columbus produced, seemed fully to refute what the malcontents had propagated with respect to the poverty of the country. By reducing the Indians to obedience, and imposing on them a regular tax, he had secured a large accession of new subjects, and the establishment of a revenue that promised to be considerable. By the mines which he had found, a source of wealth still more copious was opened. Great as these advantages were, the admiral represented them only as preludes to future acquisitions, and as the earnest of more important discoveries, to which those he had already made would conduct him with ease and certainty.

Every preparation that Columbus required was now made for a new expedition. A suitable number of women was to be chosen to accompany the new settlers; and it was agreed that persons convicted of certain crimes should hereafter be con

demned

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A. D.

1498.

demned to work in the mines which were to be opened in the New World. Though the royal approbation was obtained to every measure and regulation that Columbus proposed, yet his endeavour? to carry them into execution were long retarded, and almost two years were spent before a small squadron was equipped, of which he was to take the command. This squadron consisted of only six ships, but indifferently provided for a long and dangerous navigation. He set sail May the 30th, and no remarkable occurrence happened till they arrived within five degrees of the line, which was on the 19th of July. There they were becalmed; and the heat being so excessive, many of their casks burst, the liquor in others soured, and their provisions became corrupted. The Spaniards now were afraid that the ships would take fire; but their fears were relieved by a seasonable and very heavy fall of rain. On the first of August they discovered the island of Trinidad, which lies on the coast of Guiana, near the mouth of the Orinico. In this river, which rolls towards the ocean with impetuous force, Columbus was entangled before he was aware. With the utmost difficulty he escaped through a narrow strait; and as soon as the consternation which this occasioned subsided, he discerned in it a source of comfort and hope. He concluded, that such a vast body of water, as this river contained, could not be supplied by an island, and consequently that he was now arrived at that continent which it had long been the object of his wishes to discover. He landed, and found the people resemble those of Hispaniola in their appearance and manner of life. They wore, as ornaments, small plates of gold, and pearls of considerable

A

value. The admiral was so delighted with the beauty and fertility of the country, that he imagined it to be the Paradise described in scripture. Thus Columbus had the glory not only of discovering to mankind the existence of a new world, but made considerable progress to a perfect knowledge of it; and was the first man who conducted the Spaniards to that vast continent which has been the chief seat of their empire, and the source of their treasures in this quarter of the globe. The condition of his ships made it necessary for him to bear away for Hispaniola, and in his way thither he discovered the islands of Cubugua and Margarita, which afterwards became remarkable for their pearl fishery.

During his absence, Columbus found that many revolutions had happened at Hispaniola; and on his arrival the colony was in a very distracted state, owing to the rebellion of Roldan, whom he had left as chief justice. By a seasonable proclamation, offering free pardon to such as should return to their duty, he restored the appearance of order, regular government, and tranquillity.

It was at this period that the Portuguese, excited by what had been done by Columbus, undertook a voyage, with a view of finding a passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. The command of this expedition was given to Vasco de Gama, who set sail from Lisbon on the 9th of July, reached the Cape on the 20th of November, and arrived at Calicut, on 1497. the coast of Malabar, on the 22d of May following. As, however, he did not possess sufficient force to attempt a settlement, he hastened back to Portugal, with an account of his success, in performing a voyage, the longest as well as the most

A. D.

most difficult that had ever been attempted since the invention of navigation. He landed at Lisbon on the 14th of September, after an absence of two years two months and five days.

This spirit of enterprise, though but A. D. newly awakened in Spain, began soon to 1499. operate extensively. All attempts towards

discovery made in that kingdom had hitherto been made by Columbus alone, and at the expence of the sovereign. But now privaté adventurers, allured by the descriptions he gave of the regions which he had visited, offered to fit out squadrons at their own risk, and to go in quest of new countries. The Spanish court seized with joy an opportunity of rendering the efforts of projectors instrumental in promoting designs of certain advantage to the public, though of doubtful success with respect to themselves. One of the first propositions of this kind was made by Alonso de Ojeda, a gallant officer, who had accompanied Columbus in his second voyage. Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, accompanied him in his voyage. In what station he served is uncertain; but soon after his return he transmitted an account of his adventures and discoveries to one of his countrymen, in which he had the address so to frame his narrative, as to make it appear that he had the glory of having first discovered the continent in the New World. Amerigo's account was drawn up with elegance; it contained an amusing history of his voyage; and as it was the first description that was published, it circulated with rapidity, and was read with admiration. The country of which Amerigo was supposed to be the discoverer came gradually to be called by his name. The caprice of mankind has perpetuated the error. By the universal consent

of

of all nations, AMERICA is the name bestowed on this new quarter of the globe. The bold pretensions of the fortunate impostor have robbed the discoverer of the New World of a distinction which belonged to him. The name of Amerigo has supplanted that of Columbus; and mankind may regret an act of injustice which, having received the sanction of time, it is now too late to redress.

A. D.

1500.

While the Spaniards and Portuguese, by successive voyages, were daily acquiring more enlarged ideas of the extent and opulence of that part of the globe which Columbus had made known to them, he himself was struggling with every distress in which the envy and malevolence of the people under his command, or the ingratitude of the court that he served, could involve him. A commission was at length appointed to repair to Hispaniola to inquire into the conduct of Columbus. By such a court it was impossible that this great man should escape. He underwent a mock trial, was condemned, and sent home loaded with chains. Conscious of his own integrity, he endured the insult with composure and dignity. The voyage to Spain was extremely short. When he entered the royal presence, Columbus threw himself at the feet of his sovereigns. For some time he remained silent; the various passions that agitated his mind suppressing his power of utterance. At length he recovered himself, and vindicated his conduct in a long discourse, producing satisfactory proofs of his own integrity and honour. Ferdinand received him with decent civility, and Isabella with tenderness and respect. They both expressed their sorrow for what had happened, disavowed their knowledge of it, and joined in promising him protection and future favour. But

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though