Instead, all was wild though so beautiful. The only people were the dark-skinned ones, whom Columbus named Indians; for he was sure that he had come across the Sea of Darkness by the Western Passage to India.
THE MAGNIFICENT RETURN
It was a day of great rejoicing when Columbus returned to Spain. The whole country rose up to do him honour. Bells were rung, mass was said, and vast crowds cheered him as he passed along streets and highways.
No one called him a fool and madman then. Had he not crossed the Sea of Darkness and returned alive? Neither nautilus, gigantic hand, nor polypus had dared to harm him. The Sea of Darkness was a mysterious gloomy sea no longer, instead it was the wide Atlantic Ocean, a safe pathway for brave mariners and good ships, a pathway leading to new lands of gold and spices far toward the setting sun. And so all Spain did honour to Columbus.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella eagerly awaited him at Barcelona. He entered that city with pomp and in procession. Balconies, windows, roofs were thronged. Crowds surged through the streets to gaze in wonder on that strange procession, so spectacular, so magnificent.
First came the dark-skinned savage men, in paint and gold ornaments; after them walked men bearing live parrots of every colour; then others came carrying rich glittering coronets and bracelets, together with beautiful fruits and strange vegetables and plants, such as the people of Europe had never dreamed could exist.
Then passed the great discoverer himself, Christopher Columbus, a-horseback, and surrounded by a cavalcade of the most brilliant courtiers of Spain.
He dismounted, and entered the saloon where the King and Queen sat beneath a canopy of brocade. He modestly greeted them on bended knee. They raised him most graciously, and bade him be seated in their presence.
After they had heard his tale with wonder, and had examined the treasures that he had brought with him from beyond the Sea of Darkness, the King and Queen together with their whole Court knelt in thanksgiving to God.
To reward Columbus, his Sovereigns bestowed upon him the titles of Don Christopher Columbus, Our Admiral of the Ocean Sea, and Viceroy and Governor of the Islands discovered in the Indies. They also promised to make him ruler over any other islands and mainland he might discover.