HIS PLANS FOR DISCOVERY. COLUMBUS LEAVES LISBON,AND VISITS GENOA--VISITS GREAT SPANISH DUKES--FORSIX YEARS IS AT THE COURT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA-THE COUNCIL OF SALAMANCA--HIS PETITION IS AT LASTGRANTED --SQUADRON MADE READY.

　　It has been supposed that when Columbus left Lisbon he wasoppressed by debts. At a subsequent period, when King John wanted torecall him, he offered to protect him against any creditors. But on the otherhand, it is thought that at this time he visited Genoa, and made someprovision for the comfort of his father, who was now an old man.

　　Christopher Columbus, himself, according to the usual opinion regardinghis birth, was now almost fifty years old.

　　It is probable that at this time he urged on his countrymen, theGenoese, the importance of his great plan; and tried to interest them tomake the great endeavor, for the purpose of reaching the Indies by awestern route. As it proved, the discovery of the route by the Cape ofGood Hope was, commercially, a great injury to Genoa and the othermaritime cities of Italy. Before this time, the eastern trade of Europe cameby the ports of the eastern Mediterranean, and the Italian cities.

　　Columbus's offer to Genoa was therefore one which, if her statesmencould have foreseen the future, they would have considered eagerly.

　　But Genoa was greatly depressed at this period. In her wars with theTurks she had been, on the whole, not successful. She had lost Caffa, herstation in the Crimea, and her possessions in the Archipelago werethreatened. The government did not accept Columbus's proposals, and hewas obliged to return with them to Spain. He went first to distinguishednoblemen, in the South of Spain, who were of liberal and adventurousdisposition. One was the Duke of Medina Celi, and one the Duke ofMedina Sidonia. Each of these grandees entertained him at their courts,and heard his proposals.

　　The Duke of Medina Celi was so much interested in them, that at onetime he proposed to give Columbus the direction of four vessels which he had in the harbor of Cadiz. But, of a sudden, he changed his mind. Theenterprise was so vast, he said, that it should be under the direction of thecrown. And, without losing confidence in it, he gave to Columbus anintroduction to the king and queen, in which he cordially recommendedhim to their patronage.

　　This king and queen were King Ferdinand of Aragon, and QueenIsabella of Castile. The marriage of these two had united Spain. Theiraffection for each other made the union real, and the energy, courage andwisdom of both made their reign successful and glorious. Of all its gloriesthe greatest, as it has proved, was connected with the life and discoveriesof the sailor who was now to approach them. He had been disloyallytreated by Portugal, he had been dismissed by Genoa. He had notsucceeded with the great dukes. Now he was to press his adventure upon aking and queen who were engaged in a difficult war with the Moors, whostill held a considerable part of the peninsula of Spain.

　　The king and queen were residing at Cordova, a rich and beautiful city,which they had taken from the Moors. Under their rule Cordova had beenthe most important seat of learning in Europe. Here Columbus tarried atthe house of Alonso de Quintinilla, who became an ardent convert to histheory, and introduced him to important friends. By their agency,arrangements were made, in which Columbus should present his views tothe king. The time was not such as he could have wished. All Cordova wasalive with the preparation for a great campaign against the enemy. ButKing Ferdinand made arrangements to hear Columbus; it does not appearthat, at the first hearing, Isabella was present at the interview. ButFerdinand, although in the midst of his military cares, was intereste in theproposals made by Columbus. He liked the man. He was pleased by themodesty and dignity with which he brought forward his proposals.

　　Columbus spoke, as he tells us, as one specially appointed by God Himselfto carry out this discovery. The king did not, however, at once adopt thescheme, but gave out that a council of men of learning should be calledtogether to consider it.

　　Columbus himself says that he entered the service of the sovereignsJanuary 26, 1486. The council to which he was referred was held in the university city of Salamanca, in that year. It gave to him a full opportunityto explain his theory. It consisted of a fair representation of the learning ofthe time. But most of the men who met had formed their opinions on thesubjects involved, and were too old to change them. A part of them werepriests of the church, in the habit of looking to sacred Scripture as theironly authority, when the pope had given no instruction in detail. Of thesesome took literally expressions in the Old Testament, which they supposedto be fatal to the plans of Columbus. Such was the phrase in the 104thPsalm, that God stretches out the heavens like a curtain. The expression inthe book of Hebrews, that the heavens are extended as a tent, was alsoquoted, in the same view.

　　Quotations from the early Fathers of the church were more fatal to thenew plan than those from the Scripture.

　　On the other hand there were men who cordially supportedColumbus's wishes, and there were more when the congress parted thanwhen it met. Its sessions occupied a considerable part of the summer, but itwas not for years that it rendered any decision.

　　The king, queen and court, meanwhile, were occupied in war with theMoors. Columbus was once and again summoned to attend the court, andmore than once money was advanced to him to enable him to do so. Oncehe began new negotiations with King John, and from him he received aletter inviting him to return to Portugal. He received a similar letter fromKing Henry VII of England inviting him to his court. Nothing wasdetermined on in Spain. To this day, the people of that country are thoughtto have a habit of postponement to tomorrow of that which perplexes them.

　　In 1489, according to Ortiz de Zuniga, Columbus fought in battle in theking's army.

　　When, however, in the winter of 1490, it was announced that the armywas to take the field again, never to leave its camp till Grenada had fallen,Columbus felt that he must make one last endeavor. He insisted that hemust have an answer regarding his plans of discovery. The confessor ofthe queen, Fernando da Talavera, was commanded to obtain the definiteanswer of the men of learning. Alas! it was fatal to Columbus's hopes.

　　They said that it was not right that great princes should undertake such enterprises on grounds as weak as those which he relied upon.

　　The sovereigns themselves, however, were more favorable; so was aminority of the council of Salamanca. And the confessor was instructed totell him that their expenses in the war forbade them from sending him outas a discoverer, but that, when that was well over, they had hopes that theymight commission him. This was the end of five years of solicitation, inwhich he had put his trust in princes. Columbus regarded the answer, aswell he might, as only a courtly measure of refusal. And he retired indisgust from the court at Seville.

　　He determined to lay his plans before the King of France. He wastraveling with this purpose, with his son, Diego, now a boy of ten ortwelve years of age, when he arrived at night at the hospitable convent ofSaint Mary of Rabida, which has been made celebrated by that incident. Itis about three miles south of what was then the seaport of Palos, one of theactive ports of commercial Spain. The convent stands on level ground highabove the sea; but a steep road runs down to the shore of the ocean. Someof its windows and corridors look out upon the ocean on the west andsouth, and the inmates still show the room in which Columbus used towrite, and the inkstand which served his purposes while he lived there. Itis maintained as a monument of history by the Spanish government.

　　At the door of this convent he asked for bread and water for his boy.

　　The prior of the convent was named Juan Perez de Marchena. He wasattracted by the appearance of Columbus, still more by his conversation,and invited him to remain as their guest.

　　When he learned that his new friend was about to offer to France theadvantages of a discovery so great as that proposed, he begged him tomake one effort more at home. He sent for some friends, Fernandos, aphysician at Palos, and for the brothers Pinzon, who now appear for thefirst time in a story where their part is distinguished. Together they allpersuaded Columbus to send one messenger more to wait upon theirsovereigns. The man sent was Rodriguez, a pilot of Lepe, who foundaccess to the queen because Juan Perez, the prior, had formerly been herconfessor. She had confidence in him, as she had, indeed, in Columbus.

　　And in fourteen days the friendly pilot came back from Santa Fe with a kind letter from the queen to her friend, bidding him return at once tocourt. Perez de Marchena saddled his mule at once and before midnightwas on his way to see his royal mistress.

　　Santa Fe was half camp, half city. It had been built in what is calledthe Vega, the great fruitful plain which extends for many miles to thewestward of Grenada. The court and army were here as they pressed theirattack on that city. Perez de Marchena had ready access to Queen Isabella,and pressed his suit well. He was supported by one of her favorites, theMarquesa de Moya. In reply to their solicitations, she asked thatColumbus should return to her, and ordered that twenty thousandmaravedis should be sent to him for his traveling expenses.

　　This sum was immediately sent by Perez to his friend. Columbusbought a mule, exchanged his worn clothes for better ones, and started, ashe was bidden, for the camp.

　　He arrived there just after the great victory, by which the king andqueen had obtained their wish--had taken the noble city of Grenada andended Moorish rule in Spain. King, queen, court and army were preparingto enter the Alhambra in triumph. Whoever tries to imagine the scene, inwhich the great procession entered through the gates, so long sealed, or ofthe moment when the royal banner of Spain was first flying out upon theTower of the Vela, must remember that Columbus, elate, at last, withhopes for his own great discovery, saw the triumph and joined in thedisplay.

　　But his success was not immediate, even now. Fernando de Talavera,who had had the direction of the wise council of Salamanca, was nowArchbishop of Grenada, whose see had been conferred on him after thevictory. He was not the friend of Columbus. And when, at what seemedthe final interview with king and queen, he heard Columbus claim theright to one-tenth of all the profits of the enterprise, he protested againstsuch lavish recompense of an adventurer. He was now the confessor ofIsabella, as Juan Perez, the friendly prior, had been before. Columbus,however, was proud and firm. He would not yield to the terms prepared bythe archbishop. He preferred to break off the negotiation, and again retiredfrom court. He determined, as he had before, to lay his plans before the King of France.

　　Spain would have lost the honor and the reward of the great discovery,as Portugal and Genoa had lost them, but for Luis de St. Angel, and thequeen herself. St. Angel had been the friend of Columbus. He was animportant officer, the treasurer of the church revenues of Aragon. He nowinsisted upon an audience from the queen. It would seem that Ferdinand,though King of Aragon, was not present. St. Angel spoke eloquently. Thefriendly Marchioness of Moya spoke eagerly and persuasively. Isabellawas at last fired with zeal. Columbus should go, and the enterprise shouldbe hers.

　　It is here that the incident belongs, represented in the statue by Mr.

　　Mead, and that of Miss Hosmer. The sum required for the discovery of aworld was only three thousand crowns. Two vessels were all thatColumbus asked for, with the pay of their crews. But where were threethousand crowns? The treasury was empty, and the king was now averse toany action. It was at this moment that Isabella said, "The enterprise ismine, for the Crown of Castile. I pledge my jewels for the funds."The funds were in fact advanced by St. Angel, from the ecclesiasticalrevenues under his control. They were repaid from the gold brought in thefirst voyage. But, always afterward, Isabella regarded the Indies as aCastilian possession. The most important officers in its administration,indeed most of the emigrants, were always from Castile.

　　Columbus, meanwhile, was on his way back to Palos, on his mule,alone. But at a bridge, still pointed out, a royal courier overtook him,bidding him return. The spot has been made the scene of more than onepicture, which represents the crisis, in which the despair of one momentchanged to the glad hope which was to lead to certainty.

　　He returned to Isabella for the last time, before that great return inwhich he came as a conqueror, to display to her the riches of the NewWorld. The king yielded a slow and doubtful assent. Isabella took theenterprise in her own hands. She and Columbus agreed at once, andarticles were drawn up which gave him the place of admiral for life on alllands he might discover; gave him one-tenth of all pearls, precious stones,gold, silver, spices and other merchandise to be obtained in his admiralty, and gave him the right to nominate three candidates from whom thegovernor of each province should be selected by the crown. He was to bethe judge of all disputes arising from such traffic as was proposed; and hewas to have one-eighth part of the profit, and bear one-eighth part of thecost of it.

　　With this glad news he returned at once to Palos. The Pinzons, whohad been such loyal friends, were to take part in the enterprise. He carriedwith him a royal order, commanding the people of Palos to fit out twocaravels within ten days, and to place them and their crews at the disposalof Columbus. The third vessel proposed was to be fitted out by him andhis friends. The crews were to be paid four months' wages in advance, andColumbus was to have full command, to do what he chose, if he did notinterfere with the Portuguese discoveries.

　　On the 23rd of May, Columbus went to the church of San Giorgio inPalos, with his friend, the prior of St. Mary's convent, and other importantpeople, and the royal order was read with great solemnity:

　　But it excited at first only indignation or dismay. The expedition wasmost unpopular. Sailors refused to enlist, and the authorities, who hadalready offended the crown, so that they had to furnish these vessels, as itwere, as a fine, refused to do what they were bidden. Other orders fromCourt were necessary. But it seems to have been the courage anddetermination of the Pinzons which carried the preparations through. Afterweeks had been lost, Martin Alonso Pinzon and his brothers said theywould go in person on the expedition. They were well-known merchantsand seamen, and were much respected. Sailors were impressed, by theroyal authority, and the needful stores were taken in the same way. Itseems now strange that so much difficulty should have surrounded anexpedition in itself so small. But the plan met then all the superstition,terror and other prejudice of the time.

　　All that Columbus asked or needed was three small vessels and theirstores and crews. The largest ships engaged were little larger than the largeyachts, whose races every summer delight the people of America. TheGallega and the Pinta were the two largest. They were called caravels, aname then given to the smallest three-masted vessels. Columbus once uses it for a vessel of forty tons; but it generally applied in Portuguese orSpanish use to a vessel, ranging one hundred and twenty to one hundredand forty Spanish "toneles." This word represents a capacity about one-tenth larger than that expressed by our English "ton."The reader should remember that most of the commerce of the timewas the coasting commerce of the Mediterranean, and that it was not wellthat the ships should draw much water. The fleet of Columbus, as it sailed,consisted of the Gallega (the Galician), of which he changed the name tothe Santa Maria, and of the Pinta and the Nina. Of these the first two wereof a tonnage which we should rate as about one hundred and thirty tons.

　　The Nina was much smaller, not more than fifty tons. One writer says thatthey were all without full decks, that is, that such decks as they had did notextend from stem to stern. But the other authorities speak as if the Ninaonly was an open vessel, and the two larger were decked. Columbushimself took command of the Santa Maria, Martin Alonso Pinzon of thePinta, and his brothers, Francis Martin and Vicente Yanez, of the Nina.

　　The whole company in all three ships numbered one hundred and twentymen.

　　Mr. Harrisse shows that the expense to the crown amounted to1,140,000 maravedis. This, as he counts it, is about sixty-four thousanddollars of our money. To this Columbus was to add one-eighth of the cost.

　　His friends, the Pinzons, seem to have advanced this, and to have beenafterwards repaid. Las Casas and Herrera both say that the sum thus addedwas much more than one-eighth of the cost and amounted to half a millionmaravedis.