testy and irritable, through vexations and disappointments, he gave great offence, and caused much contention on the island, by positive and strong-handed measures, in respect to the distributions of the Indians."* "Many calumnies having been sent home to Spain by Pasamonte and other enemies of Don Diego Columbus, and various measures being taken by government, which he conceived derogatory to his dignity and injurious to his privileges, he requested and obtained permission to repair to court, that he might explain and vindicate his conduct. He departed, accordingly, on April 9th, 1515, leaving the Adelantado with the vice-queen Doña Maria. He was received with great honour by the king; and he merited such a reception. He had succeeded in every enterprise he had undertaken or directed. The pearl fishery had been successfully established on the coast of Cubagua; the islands of Cuba and of Jamaica had been subjected and brought under cultivation without bloodshed; his conduct as governor had been upright; and he had only excited the representations made against him, by endeavouring to lessen the oppression of the natives. The king ordered that all processes against him in the court of appeal and elsewhere, for damages done to individuals in regulating the repartimientos, should be discontinued, and the cases sent to himself for consideration. But with all these favours, as the admiral claimed a share of the profits of the provinces of Castilla del Oro, saying that it was discovered by his father, as the names of its places, such as Nombre de Dios, Porto Bello and El Retrete, plainly proved, the king ordered that interrogatories should be made among the mariners who had sailed with Christopher Columbus, in the hope of proving that he had not discovered the coast of Darien or the gulf of Uraba. Thus,' adds Herrera, 'Don Diego was always involved in litiga * Voyages of Companions of Columbus, p. 319 to 321. tions with the fiscal, so that he might truly say that he was heir to the troubles of his father."* "Not long after the departure of Don Diego from San Domingo, his uncle, Don Bartholomew, ended his active and laborious life. No particulars are given of his death, nor is there mention made of his age, which must have been advanced. King Ferdinand is said to have expressed great concern at the event, for he had a high opinion of the character and talents of the Adelantado: 'a man,' says Herrera, of not less worth than his brother, the admiral, and who, if he had been employed, would have given great proofs of it; for he was an excellent seaman, valiant, and of great heart.' Charlevoix attributes the inaction in which Don Bartholomew had been suffered to remain for several years, to the jealousy and parsimony of the king. He found the house already too powerful; and the Adelantado, had he discovered Mexico, was a man to make as good conditions as had been made by the admiral his brother. It was said, observed Herrera, that the king rather preferred to employ him in his European affairs, though it could only have been to divert him from other objects. On his death the king resumed to himself the island of Mona, which he had given to him for life, and transferred his repartimiento of two hundred Indians to the vice-queen Doña Maria. "While the Admiral Don Diego was pressing for an audience in his vindication at court, King Ferdinand died on the 23d January 1516. His grandson and successor, Prince Charles, afterwards the Emperor Charles V., was in Flanders." At this period Sebastian Cabot was in Spain. "Cabot," says Peter Martyr, "is my very friend *Herrera, Decad. 2, L. 2, cap. 7. † Idem. Decad. 1, L. 10, c. 16. Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 5. Irving's Columbus, vol. 2, p. 219, 20, Appendix No. 2. whom I use familiarly, and delight to have him sometimes keep me company in my own house." An expedition had, in 1515, been appointed to proceed under the command of Cabot the ensuing March, but the death of Ferdinand seems to have put an end to it, and Cabot then went to England.* * About the eighth year of the reign of Henry the Eighth, (in 1516 or 1517,) Cabot made a voyage with Sir Thomas Pert, which, Mr. Biddle argues, was in search of a northwest passage. It has usually been supposed to be to Brazil, Hispaniola and Porto Rico. There is a notice of it in the third volume of Hakluyt, and also in Purchas's Pilgrims. In 1518, Cabot resumed the office of chief pilot of Spain, and again became a resident of Seville. *Third vol. of Hakluyt, p. 8, 9. Biddle's Memoir of Cabot, p. 100, 101, 102. Biddle's Memoir, p. 102. P. 498. § Biddle's Memoir, p. 119. CHAPTER XXX. Of the reconciliation between Pedrarias and Vasco Nuñez; a marriage agreed upon between Nuñez and the eldest daughter of Pedrarias, to take place on her arrival from Spain; authority to Nuñez in 1516 to make an expedition to explore the Southern Ocean; his proceedings; the perfidy of Andres Garabito; the hypocrisy of Pedrarias; and his arrest of Nuñez. He "While Pedrarias was harassed and perplexed by these complicated evils, he was haunted by continual apprehensions of the ultimate ascendancy of Vasco Nuñez. knew him to be beloved by the people, and befriended by the bishop; and he had received proofs that his services were highly appreciated by the king. He knew also that representations had been sent home by him and his partizans, of the evils and abuses of the colony under the present rule, and of the necessity of a more active and efficient governor. He dreaded lest these representations should ultimately succeed; that he should be undermined in the royal favour, and Vasco Nuñez be elevated upon his ruins. "The politic bishop perceived the uneasy state of the governor's mind, and endeavoured, by means of his apprehensions, to effect that reconciliation which he had sought in vain to produce through more generous motives. He represented to him that his treatment of Vasco Nuñez was odious in the eyes of the people, and must eventually draw on him the displeasure of his sovereign. But why persist,' added he, 'in driving a man to become your deadliest enemy, whom you may grapple to your side as your firmest friend? You have several daughters-give him one in marriage; you will then have for a son-in-law a man of merit and popularity, who is a hidalgo by birth, and a favourite of the king. You are advanced in life and infirm; he is in the prime and vigour of his days, and possessed of great activity. You can make him your lieutenant; and while you repose from your toils, he can carry on the affairs of the colony with spirit and enterprise; and all his achievements will redound to the advancement of your family and the splendour of your administration.' "The governor and his lady were won by the eloquence of the bishop, and readily listened to his suggestions; and Vasco Nuñez was but too happy to effect a reconciliation. on such flattering terms. Written articles were accordingly drawn up and exchanged, contracting a marriage between him and the eldest daughter of Pedrarias. The young lady was then in Spain, but was to be sent for, and the nuptials were to be celebrated on her arrival at Darien. "Having thus fulfilled his office of peace-maker, and settled, as he supposed, all feuds and jealousies on the sure and permanent foundation of family alliance, the worthy bishop departed shortly afterwards for Spain."* The governor now authorized Vasco Nuñez to build brigantines and make all the necessary preparations for his long desired expedition to explore the Southern Ocean.† "The place appointed for these purposes was the port of Careta, situated to the west of Darien; from whence there was supposed to be the most convenient route across the mountains. A town called Acla had been founded at this port; and the fortress was already erected, of which Lope de Olano was alcalde; Vasco Nuñez was now empowered to continue the building of the town. Two hundred men * Voyages of Companions of Columbus, p. 250 to 253. † Id. p. 254. |