We must not, however, suppose that Indian slavery would not have taken
place by means of Columbus, even if these uprisings and defeats of the
Indians in the course of the year 1495 had never occurred. Very early
indeed we see what the admiral's views were with regard to the Indians. In
the diary which he kept of his first voyage, on the 14th of October, three
days after discovering the New World, he describes a position which he
thinks would be a very good one for a fort; and he goes on to say, "I do
not think that it (the fort) will be necessary, for this people is very
simple in the use of arms (as your highnesses will see from seven of them
that I have taken in order to bring them to you, to learn our language and
afterwards to take them back); so that when your highnesses command, you
can have them all taken to Castille or kept in the island as captives."

Columbus was not an avaricious, nor a cruel man; and certainly he was a
very pious one; but early in life he had made voyages along the coast of
Africa, and he was accustomed to a slave trade. Moreover, he was anxious
to reduce the expenses of these Indian possessions to the Catholic
sovereigns, to prove himself in the right as to all he had said respecting
the advantages that would flow to Spain from the Indies, and to confute
his enemies at Court.

Those who have read the instructions to Columbus given by the Catholic
monarchs will naturally be curious to know how the news of the arrival of
these vessels laden with slaves, the fruit of the admiral's first victory
over the Indians, was received by the Sovereigns, recollecting how tender
they had been about slavery before. This, however, was a very different
case from the former one. Here were people taken in what would be called
rebellion--prisoners of war. Still we find that Ferdinand and Isabella
were heedful in their proceedings in this matter. There is a letter of
theirs to Bishop Fonseca, who managed Indian affairs, telling him to