That much of this unpopularity was unjust and unreasonable, there can be no doubt whatever. But even when we have conceded this, there still remains the great fact of a popular outcry; and such an outcry always justifies at least an inquiry. It must not, therefore, be regarded as strange that the Spanish sovereigns at length decided to make an official investigation. Indeed, any other course would have been little less than a culpable disregard of a powerful public sentiment.
Such were the influences that were borne in upon the king and queen. There is evidence that soon after the return of the five vessels with their cargo of slaves, Ferdinand and Isabella began to take into consideration the question of suspending the Admiral. They did not, however, act in haste. The ships arrived with their ill-omened freightage in November of 1498. In the course of the following winter the monarchs decided definitively that an investigation should be made. On the 21st of March, 1499, they issued a commission authorizing Francis de Bobadilla “to ascertain what persons have raised themselves against justice in the island of Hispaniola, and to proceed against them according to law.”
Bobadilla was an officer of the royal household and a commander of one of the military and religious orders. His general reputation was good. Oviedo says that he was “a very honest and religious man.” The misfortune of the appointment was not so much in the badness of the man as in the badness of the situation in which he was placed. The instructions given by Ferdinand and Isabella have been preserved; and as we read them we cannot escape the conviction that they subjected Bobadilla to a temptation greater than ordinary human nature could bear. He received a series of commissions, each conferring greater authority than that conferred by the one before, each intended to be used only in case of imperative emergency. In one of these commissions Bobadilla was authorized to issue his commands in the royal name and to send back to Spain “any cavaliers or other persons,” in case he should think such a course necessary for the service. Another commission authorizes Bobadilla to require Columbus to surrender “the fortresses, ships, houses, arms, ammunition, cattle, and all other royal property, under penalty of the customary punishment for disobedience of a royal order.”
Having received these general instructions, Bobadilla was made the bearer of the following letter to the Admiral:—
Don Christopher Columbus, our Admiral of the Ocean:
We have commanded the commendador, Francis de Bobadilla, the bearer of this, that he speak to you on our part some things which he will tell you. We pray you give him faith and credence, and act accordingly.
But notwithstanding this authority, for some reason that has not been adequately explained, Bobadilla was not despatched to the Indies until a year from the following July. It is very easy to conjecture that the sovereigns were more than willing that, if possible, Columbus should still work out the problem for himself. They may have desired Bobadilla to try his influence at first from a distance, in the hope that extreme measures might not have to be resorted to. But this purpose seems not to have been successful. If we accept of this explanation of the delay, we can hardly withhold from the sovereigns some measure of commendation for their caution and prudence.
But caution and prudence formed no part of the policy pursued after Bobadilla was sent to Hispaniola. It is difficult to believe that the commissioner acted without at least the royal approval of a policy of vigour, though it is impossible to suppose that the sovereigns would have given their sanction in detail to the manner in which he performed his mission. Bobadilla seems at least not to have been unwilling to act with energy and directness. There is no evidence that he was not high-principled, or that he was actuated by any other motives than those of the public good; but he was a person of strong prejudices and of narrowness of mind, and consequently he was unable to distinguish between vigour and coarse brutality.
The arrival of Bobadilla at San Domingo was on the 23d of August, 1499. He found affairs in extreme disorder. The first information he received was that seven of the rebels had just been hanged, and that five more had been condemned and were awaiting a similar fate. Las Casas tells us that as Bobadilla entered the river, he beheld on either hand a gibbet, and on it the body of a prominent Spaniard lately executed! The impression thus made upon his mind was no doubt intensified by the rumours that came from every quarter. He seems to have regarded what he saw and heard as conclusive evidence of the Admiral’s cruelty and culpability.
The next morning, after mass, Bobadilla ordered the letter authorizing him to make investigations to be read before the assembled populace about the church-door. The commission authorized him to seize persons and fortresses, to sequestrate the property of delinquents, and finally called upon the Admiral and all others in authority to assist in the discharge of his duties. The Admiral and the Adelantado were in another part of the island, the command at San Domingo having been intrusted to Don Diego. After the reading of the commission, Bobadilla demanded of the acting governor that he surrender the prisoners that were held for execution, together with the evidence concerning them. The reply was given that the prisoners were held by command of the Admiral, and that the Admiral’s authority was superior to any that Bobadilla might possess, and therefore that the prisoners could not be given up. This defiant answer to his demand provoked Bobadilla into bringing forward all the reserves of his authority. Accordingly, on the next morning, as soon as mass was said, he caused his other letter to be proclaimed, investing him with the government of the islands and of the continent. After taking the oath of office, he produced the third letter of the Crown, ordering Columbus to deliver up all the royal property; and then, as if to clinch popular favour, he produced an additional mandate, requiring him, at the earliest practicable moment, to pay all arrears of wages due to persons in the royal service.
This proclamation had the desired effect. The populace, many of whom were suffering from arrears in payment of wages, hailed the new governor as a benefactor and a saviour.