THE ADMIRAL'S INSTRUCTIONS.

The instructions to Columbus, dated the 29th of May, 1493, are the first
strokes upon that obdurate mass of colonial difficulty which at last, by
incessant working of great princes, great churchmen, and great statesmen,
was eventually to be hammered into some righteous form of wisdom and of
mercy. In the course of these instructions, the admiral is ordered to
labour in all possible ways to bring the dwellers in the Indies to a
knowledge of the Holy Catholic Faith. And that this may the more easily be
done, all the armada is to be charged to deal "lovingly" with the Indians;
the admiral is to make them presents, and to "honour them much;" and if by
chance any person or persons should treat the Indians ill, in any manner
whatever, the admiral is to chastise such ill-doers severely.

Even at this early period of his administration, Fonseca appears to have
made some attempts to thwart the admiral's wishes, attempts which
Columbus, now at the zenith of royal favour, had no difficulty in
baffling. As regards the household, for instance, Fonseca demurred to the
number of footmen which the admiral proposed for his domestic
establishment. The admiral appealed to the sovereigns, who allowed his
claim, and reproved Fonseca for objecting.



CHAPTER VI. Second Voyage of Discovery.

On the 25th of September, all the preparations being complete, the
squadron left Cadiz for the Canary Islands, and, after taking in
provisions there, sailed from Ferro on the 13th of October. The voyage was