Copyright, 1892,
By Dodd, Mead and Co.
All rights reserved.
University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.
TO
J. J. HAGERMAN,
Nobleman and Friend,
THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
By the Author.
PREFACE.
In this little volume I have made an attempt to present in popular form the results of the latest researches in regard to the life and work of Columbus.
While constant use has been made of the original authorities, it has been my effort to interpret the conflicting statements with which these sources abound, in the spirit of modern criticism. The principal authorities used have been the Letters and the Journal of Columbus, the History of the Admiral purporting to be by his son Fernando, the histories of the time by Las Casas, Bernaldez, Oviedo, Peter Martyr, and Herrera, and the invaluable collection of documents by Navarrete. Of the greatest importance are the writings of Columbus and Las Casas.
As will appear in the course of the volume, the writings of the Admiral abound in passages that are contradictory or irreconcilable. In the interpretation of conflicting statements, assistance has been received from the numerous writings of Henry Harrisse. The researches of this acute critic in the manuscript records, as well as in the published writings of Italy and Spain, make his works indispensable to a correct understanding of the age of Columbus.