"Given at Madrid, the twenty-first of May 1500.
"I the King. I the Queen."
"By command of their majesties. Mich. Perez de Almazan."
On seeing the letter of their Catholic majesties, the admiral came immediately to St Domingo to Bovadilla, at the beginning of October 1500. And Bovadilla being eager to assume the government, without any delay or legal information, immediately sent the admiral and his brother James as prisoners in irons on board ship under a strong guard, forbidding all persons under severe penalties to hold any intercourse with them by word or letter. After this, by Abington law[6], he drew up examinations against them, admitting their enemies the rebels as witnesses in the process, and publickly favouring all who came forwards to speak evil of them. These gave in such villanous and incoherent depositions, that he must have been blind indeed who did not plainly perceive their falsehood and malice. For this reason, their Catholic majesties would not admit of the truth of the charges, and afterwards cleared the admiral, sore repenting that they had sent such a man as Bovadilla in that employment.
[6] This obviously means trial after condemnation, a procedure which has been long proverbial in Scotland under the name of Jedwarth justice. Some similar expression relative to Spain must have been used in the original, which the translator chose to express by an English proverbial saying of the same import.--E.
He ruined the island and squandered the royal revenues, that all men might be his friends; saying that their majesties required no more than the honour of the dominion, and that all the profits should belong to their subjects. Yet he neglected not his own share, but combining with all the richest and most powerful men of the colony, he gave them Indians to serve them on condition of having a share in all the acquisitions which were made by their means. He sold by auction all the possessions and rights which the admiral had acquired for the crown; saying that their majesties were not farmers or labourers, and only kept these for the benefit of their subjects; and while selling all things under these pretences, he took care on the other hand that every thing should be purchased by his own confederates at a third of the value. Besides all this, he made no other use of his judicial power than to enrich himself and to gain over the affections of the people; being still afraid that the lieutenant, who had not yet come from Xaragua, might put a stop to his proceedings, and might endeavour to set the admiral at liberty by force of arms. But in this the brothers conducted themselves with the utmost prudence and propriety; for the admiral sent to the lieutenant, desiring him to come peaceably to Bovadilla, that the island might not be thrown into confusion and civil war; as, when they arrived in Spain, they should the more easily obtain satisfaction for the wrongs that had been done them, and secure the punishment of Bovadilla for his senseless and injurious conduct.
Yet did not all this divert Bovadilla from putting the admiral and his brother in irons; and he allowed the baser people to rail against them in public, blowing horns in triumph about the harbour where they were shipped, besides placarding them in many scandalous libels pasted up at the corners of the streets. When informed that one James Ortir, who was governor of the hospital, had written a malicious libel against the admiral, which he read publickly in the market-place, so far from punishing his audacity, he seemed to be much gratified by it, which encouraged others to do the same thing. And perhaps from fear lest the admiral should swim on shore, he gave strict injunctions to Andrew Martin, the commander of the ship to guard the admiral with the utmost care, and to deliver him in irons to the bishop D. John de Fonseca, by whose advice and direction it was believed he had thus proceeded. Yet when at sea, the master being sensible of the unworthy proceedings of Bovadilla, would have taken off the irons from the admiral; but this he would not permit, saying, that since their majesties had commanded him to perform whatsoever Bovadilla might order in their names, and that he had been put in irons in virtue of their authority and commission, he would not be freed from them unless by the express command of their highnesses. He also declared his determination to keep these fetters as a memorial of the reward he had received for his many services. I afterwards saw these irons constantly in his chamber, and he gave orders that they should be buried along with his body.
Being arrived at Cadiz, the admiral wrote to their majesties on the 20th of November 1500, acquainting them of his arrival; and they, understanding the condition in which he was, gave immediate orders that he should be released, and sent him very gracious letters expressive of their sorrow for his sufferings and the unworthy behaviour of Bovadilla towards him. They likewise ordered him up to court, engaging that care should be taken about his affairs, and that he should be speedily dispatched with full restitution of his honour. Yet I cannot remove blame from their Catholic majesties for employing that base and ignorant person; for had he known the duty of his office, the admiral would have been glad of his coming, for he had desired in his letters to Spain that some impartial person might be sent out to take a true information of the perversity of the colonists, and to take cognizance of their crimes; he being unwilling to use that severity which another would have done, because the original of these tumults, and rebellions had been raised against the lieutenant his brother. But although it might be urged that their majesties ought not to have sent out Bovadilla with so much power and so many letters, without limiting his commission; yet it is not to be wondered at, as the complaints which had been sent against the admiral were numerous and heavy, though false and malicious.
As soon as their majesties learnt the arrival of the admiral at Cadiz and of his being in irons, they sent orders on the 12th of December to set him at liberty, and wrote for him to repair to Granada, where he was most favourably received with the most gracious discourse. They assured him that his imprisonment had not been by their desire or command; that they were much offended at it, and would take care that full satisfaction should be given to him, and those who were in fault severely punished. Having thus graciously received him, they gave orders that his business should be immediately gone into; and the result was, that a governor should be sent to Hispaniola, who was to restore all that had been taken from the admiral and his brother, and to reinstate them in their rights. And that the admiral should be allowed all the profits and emoluments belonging to him, according to the articles of agreement which had been originally granted; and that the rebels should be proceeded against and punished according to their offences. Nicholas de Obando, commandary of laws, was the person appointed to this high office. He was a wise and judicious man; but, as afterwards appeared, extremely partial, crafty in concealing his passions, giving credit to his own surmises and the false insinuations of malicious people. He therefore acted cruelly and revengefully in the conduct of his government, as particularly appears by the death of the 80 caciques of the island who have been before mentioned[7].
[7] Upon a former occasion, the author had stated that there were four principal caciques in Hispaniola, each of whom commanded over seventy or eighty inferior chiefs, so that there may have been 300 caciques originally. The particulars of the death or massacre of the eighty caciques here mentioned are nowhere mentioned by our author; who, confining himself to the actions of his illustrious father, says very little more about the affairs of Hispaniola.--E.