Footnote 427: Las Casas, Historia, tom. i. p. 43. He describes Bartholomew as not unlike his brother, but not so tall, less affable in manner, and more stern in disposition, id. tom. ii. p. 80.[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 428: "Christoval Colon ... persona de gran corazon y altos pensamientos." Mariana, Historia de España, tom. viii. p. 341.[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 429: Upon that island his eldest son Diego was born. This whole story of the life upon Porto Santo and its relation to the genesis of Columbus's scheme is told very explicitly by Las Casas, who says that it was told to him by Diego Columbus at Barcelona in 1519, when they were waiting upon Charles V., just elected Emperor and about to start for Aachen to be crowned. And yet there are modern critics who are disposed to deny the whole story. (See Harrisse, tom. i. p. 298.) The grounds for doubt are, however, extremely trivial when confronted with Las Casas, Historia, tom. i. p. 54.[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 430: See above, p. [330].[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 431: I translate this prologue from the Italian text of the Vita dell' Ammiraglio, cap. viii. The original Latin has nowhere been found. A Spanish version of the whole may be found in Las Casas, Historia, tom. i. pp. 92-96. Las Casas, by a mere slip of the pen, calls "Paul, the physicist," Marco Paulo, and fifty years later Mariana calls him Marco Polo, physician: "por aviso que le dió un cierto Marco Polo médico Florentin," etc. Historia de España, tom. viii. p. 343. Thus step by step doth error grow.[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 432: He means that his friend Martinez has been a member of King Alfonso's household ever since the time before the civil wars that began with the attempted deposition of Henry IV. in 1465 and can hardly be said to have come to an end before the death of that prince in December, 1474. See Humboldt, Examen critique, tom. i. p. 225.[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 433: I translate this enclosed letter from the original Latin text, as found, a few years ago, in the handwriting of Columbus upon the fly-leaves of his copy of the Historia rerum ubique gestarum of Æneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II.), published at Venice in 1477, in folio, and now preserved in the Colombina at Seville. This Latin text is given by Harrisse, in his Fernand Colomb, pp. 178-180, and also (with more strict regard to the abbreviations of the original) in his Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima—Additions, Paris, 1872, pp. xvi.-xviii. Very likely Columbus had occasion to let the original MS. go out of his hands, and so preserved a copy of it upon the fly-leaves of one of his books. These same fly-leaves contain extracts from Josephus and Saint Augustine. The reader will rightly infer from my translation that the astronomer's Latin was somewhat rugged and lacking in literary grace. Apparently he was anxious to jot down quickly what he had to say, and get back to his work.[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 434: A sketch of this most memorable of maps is given opposite. Columbus carried it with him upon his first voyage, and shaped his course in accordance with it. Las Casas afterwards had it in his possession (Hist. de las Indias, tom. i. pp. 96, 279). It has since been lost, that is to say, it may still be in existence, but nobody knows where. But it has been so well described that the work of restoring its general outlines is not difficult and has several times been done. The sketch here given is taken from Winsor (Narr. and Crit. Hist., ii. 103), who takes it from Das Ausland, 1867, p. 5. Another restoration may be found in St. Martin's Atlas, pl. ix. This map was the source of the western part of Martin Behaim's globe, as given below, p. [422].[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 435: All the description that follows is taken by Toscanelli from the book of Marco Polo.[Back to Main Text]
Footnote 436: On modern maps usually called Chang-chow, about 100 miles S. W. from Fou-chow.[Back to Main Text]