Much has been said of Christopher Columbus – most of it for the last fifty years has been malicious and false. In an effort to counter the tsunami of historical revisionism I provide the facts about Columbus by transcribing from an original source – a letter written by Columbus himself.
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On the first of his four voyages to the New World, Columbus led a flotilla of three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and his flagship the Santa Maria, departing from Palos, Spain, in the summer of 1492, and arriving in the Bahamas in October. Land was sighted for the first time at dawn on October12 – hence the modern Columbus Day. The expedition touched at such Caribbean Islands as San Salvador, Cuba, and Espanola (Santo Domingo), and Columbus, convinced that he had discovered “the Indies,” established trading posts and returned to Spain to announce his success, and to organize a larger expedition. He stopped at Lisbon on his way home, and from there sent a description of the lands and people he had seen to Lord Raphael Sanchez, treasurer of Aragon and one of his patrons. Columbus believed until his death he had discovered the eastern shores of Asia and therefore referred to the natives as “Indians”.
“Lord Raphael Sanchez, March 14, 1493
Knowing that it will afford you pleasure to learn that I have brought my undertaking to a successful termination. I have decided upon writing you this letter to acquaint you with all the events which have occurred in my voyage, and the discoveries which have resulted from it. Thirty-three days after my departure from [Gomera] I reached the Indian Sea, where I discovered many islands, thickly peopled, of which I took possession without resistance in the name of our most illustrious monarch, by public proclamation and with unfurled banners,
To the first of these islands, which is called by the Indians Guanahani, I gave the name of the blessed Savior (San Salvador), relying upon whose protection I had reached this as well as the other islands; to each of these I also gave a name, ordering that one should be called Santa Maria de la Concepcion, another Fernandina, the third Isabella, the fourth Juana [Cuba], and so with all the rest…..
As soon as we arrived at that, which as I have said was named Juana, I proceeded along its coast a short distance westward and found it to be so large and apparently without termination that I could not suppose it to be an island, but the continental province of Cathay. Seeing, however, no towns or populous places on the seacoast , but only a few detached houses and cottages, with whose inhabitants I was unable to communicate because they fled as soon as they saw us, I went further on, thinking that in my progress I should certainly find some city or village.
At length, after proceeding a great way and finding that nothing new presented itself and that the line of coast was leading us northward (which I wished to avoid because it was winter, and it was my intention to move southward, and because, moreover, the winds were contrary), I resolved not to attempt any further progress but rather to turn back and retrace my course to a certain bay that I had observed, and from which I afterward dispatched two of our men to ascertain whether there were a king or any cities in that province. These men reconnoitered the country for three days and found a most numerous population and great number of houses, though small and built without any regard to order, with which information they returned to us. In the meantime I had learned from some Indians whom I had seized that that country was certainly an island, and therefore, I sailed toward the east, coasting to the distance of 322 miles, which brought us to the extremity of it, from this point I saw lying eastward another island, 54 miles distant from Juana, to which I gave the name of Espanola [Hispaniola]. I went thither and steered my course eastward as I had done at Juana, even to the distance of 564 miles along the north coast….
In that island also, which I have before said we named Espanola, there are mountains of very great size and beauty, vast plains, groves, and very fruitful fields, admirably adapted for tillage, pasture, and habitation. The convenience and excellence of the harbors in this island and the abundance of the rivers, so indispensable to the health of man, surpass anything that would be believed by one who had not seen it. The trees, herbage, and fruits of Espanola are very different from those of Juana, and, moreover, it abounds in various kinds of spices, gold, and other metals.
The inhabitants of both sexes in this island, and in all the others which I have seen or of which I have received information, go always naked as they were born, with the exception of some of the women, who use a covering of a leaf or small bough or an apron of cotton which they prepare for that purpose. None of them, as I have already said, are possessed of any iron, neither have they weapons, being unacquainted with and indeed incompetent to use them, not from any deformity of body (for they are well formed) but because they are timid and full of fear. They carry, however, in lieu of arms, canes dried in the sun, on the ends of which they fix heads of dried wood sharpened to a point, and even these they dare not use habitually for it has often occurred when I have sent two or three of my men to any of the villages to speak with the natives, that they have come out in a disorderly troop and have fled in such haste at the approach of our men that the fathers forsook their children and the children their fathers. This timidity did not arise from any loss or injury that they had received from us, for, on the contrary, I gave to all I approached whatever articles I had about me, such as cloth and many other things, taking nothing of theirs in return; but they are naturally timid and fearful.
As soon, however, as they see that they are safe and have laid aside all fear, they are very simple and honest and exceedingly liberal with all they have; none of them refusing anything he may possess when he is asked for it, but, on the contrary, inviting us to ask them. They exhibit great love toward all others in preference to themselves. They also give objects of great value for trifles, and content themselves with very little or nothing in return. I, however, forbade that these trifles and articles of no value (such as pieces of dishes, plates, and glass, keys, and leather scraps) should be given to them, although if they could obtain them, they imagined themselves to be possessed of the most beautiful trinkets in the world. It even happened that a sailor received for a leather strap as much gold as was worth three golden nobles, and for things of more trifling value offered by our men, especially newly coined blancas or any gold coins, the Indians would give whatever the seller required, as, for instance, an ounce and a half or two ounces of gold, or thirty or forty pounds cotton, with which commodity they were already acquainted. Thus they bartered, like idiots, cotton and gold for fragments of bows, glasses, bottles, and jars, which I forbade as being unjust, and myself gave them many beautiful and acceptable articles which I had brought with me, taking nothing from them in return. I did this in order that I might the more easily conciliate them, that they might be led to become Christians and be inclined to entertain a regard for the King and Queen, our Princes, and all Spaniards, and that I might induce them to take an interest in seeking out and collecting and delivering to us such things as they possessed in abundance, but which we greatly needed. They practice no kind of idolatry, but have a firm belief that all strength and power, and indeed all good things, are in heaven, and that I had descended from thence with these ships and sailors, and under this impression was I received after they had thrown aside their fears. Nor are they slow or stupid, but of very clear understanding; and those men who have crossed to the neighboring islands give an admirable description of everything they observed; but they never saw any people clothed nor any ships like ours.
On my arrival at that sea, I had taken some Indians by force from the first island that I came to, in order that they might learn our language and communicate to us what they knew respecting the country; which plan succeeded excellently and was a great advantage to us, for in a short time, either by gestures and signs or by words, we were enabled to understand each other. These men are still traveling with me, and although they have been with us now a long time, they continue to entertain the idea that I have descended from heaven; and on our arrival at any new place they published this, crying out immediately with a loud voice to the other Indians, “Come, come and look upon beings of a celestial race”, upon which both women and men, children and adults , young men and old, when they got rid of the fear they at first entertained , would come out in throngs, crowding the roads to see us, some bringing food, others drink, with astonishing affection and kindness.
Each of these islands has a great number of canoes, built of solid wood, narrow and not unlike our double-banked boats in length and shape, but swifter in their motion; they steer them only by the oar. These canoes are of various sizes, but the greater number are constructed with eighteen banks of oars, and with these they cross to the other islands, which are of countless number, to carry on traffic with the people. I saw some of these canoes that held as many as seventy-eight rowers. In all these islands there is no difference of physiognomy, of manners, or of language, but they all clearly understand each other, a circumstance very propitious for the realization of what I conceive to be the principal wish of our serene King, namely, the conversion of these people to the holy faith of Christ, to which indeed, as far as I can judge, they are very favorable and well-disposed. I said before that I went 322 miles in a direct line from west to east, along the coast of the island of Juana, judging by which voyage, and the length of the passage, I can assert that it is larger than England and Scotland united; for independent of the said 322 miles there are in the western part of the island two provinces which I did not visit; one of these is called by the Indians Anam, and its inhabitants are born with tails…..
But the extent of Espanola is greater than all Spain from Catalonia to Fontarabia, which is easily proved, because one of its four sides which I myself coasted in a direct line, from west to east, measures 540 miles. This island is to be regarded with special interest and not to be slighted; for although as I have said I took possession of all these islands in the name of our invincible King, and the government of them is unreservedly committed to His Said Majesty, yet there was one large town in Espanola of which especially I took possession, situated in a remarkably favorable spot and in every way convenient for the purposes of gain and commerce. To this town I gave the name of Navidad del Senor, and ordered a fortress built there, which must by this time be completed, in which I left as many men as I though necessary, with all sorts of arms and enough provisions for more than a year. I also left them one caravel and skillful workmen, both in shipbuilding and other arts, and engaged the favor and friendship of the king of the island in their behalf, to a degree that would not be believed, for these people are so amiable and friendly that even the king took a pride in calling me his brother. But supposing the feelings should become changed and they should wish to injure those who have remained in the fortress, they could not do so for they have no arms, they go naked , and are moreover too cowardly; so that those who hold the said fortress can easily keep the whole island in check, without any pressing danger to themselves, provided they do not transgress the directions and regulations which I have given them.
As far as I have learned, every man throughout these islands, is united to but one wife, with the exception of the kings and princes, who are allowed twenty. The women seem to work more than the men. I could not clearly understand whether the people possess any private property, for I observed that one man had the charge of distributing various things to the rest, but especially meat and provisions and the like. I did not find, as some of us had expected, any cannibals among them, but, on the contrary, men of great deference and kindness. Neither are they black, like the Ethiopians; their hair is smooth and straight, for they do not dwell where the rays of the sun strike most vividly and the sun has intense power there, the distance from the equinoctial line being, it appears, but six-and-twenty degrees. On the tops of the mountains the cold is very great, but the effect of this upon the Indians is lessened by their being accustomed to the climate and by their frequently indulging in the use of very hot meats and drinks.
Thus, as I have already said, I saw no cannibals, nor did I hear of any, except in a certain island called Charis, which is the second from Espanola on the side toward India, where dwell a people who are considered by the neighboring islanders as most ferocious; and these feed upon human flesh. The same people have many kinds of canoes in which they cross to all the surrounding islands and rob and plunder wherever they can; they are not different from the other islanders, except that they wear their hair long, like women, and make use of the bows and javelins of cane, with sharpened spearpoints fixed on the thickest end, which I have before described, and therefore they are looked upon as ferocious and regarded by the other Indians with unbounded fear, but I think no more of them than the rest. These are the men who form unions with certain women, who dwell alone in the island Matenin, which lies next to Espanola on the side toward India, these latter employ themselves in no labor suitable to their own sex, for they use bows and javelins as I have already described their paramours as doing, and for defensive armor have plates of brass, of which metal they possess great abundance. They assure me that there is another island larger than Espanola, whose inhabitants have no hair, and which abounds in gold more than any of the rest. I bring with me individuals of this island and of the others that I have seen, who are proofs of the facts which I state.
Finally, to compress into few words the entire summary of my voyage and speedy return and of the advantages derivable therefrom, I promise, that with a little assistance afforded me by our most invincible sovereigns, I will procure them as much gold as they need, as great a quantity of spices, of cotton, and of mastic (which is only found in China), and as many men for the service of the nave as Their Majesties may require. I promise also rhubarb and other sorts of drugs, which I am persuaded the men whom I have left in the aforesaid fortress have found already and will continue to find; for I myself have tarried nowhere longer than I was compelled to do by the winds, except in the city of Navidad, while I provided for the building of the fortress and took the necessary precautions for the perfect security of the men I left there.
Although all I have related may appear to be wonderful and unheard of, yet the results of my voyage would have been more astonishing if I had at my disposal such ships as I required. But these great and marvelous results are not to be attributed to any merit of mine but to the holy Christian faith and to the piety and religion of our sovereigns; for that which the unaided intellect of man could not compass, the Spirit of God has granted to human exertions, for God is wont to hear the prayers of His servants who love His precepts even to the performance of apparent impossibilities. Thus it has happened to me in the present instance, who have accomplished a task to which the powers of mortal men had never hitherto attained, for if there have been those who have anywhere written or spoken of these islands, they have done so with doubts and conjectures, and no one has ever asserted that he has seen them, on which account their writings have been looked upon as little else than fables.
Therefore, let the King and Queen, our Princes, and their most happy kingdoms, and all the other provinces of Christendom render thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has granted us so great a victory and such prosperity. Let processions be made and sacred feasts be held and the temples be adorned with festive boughs. Let Christ rejoice on earth, as He rejoices in heaven in the prospect of the salvation of the souls of so many nations hitherto lost. Let us also rejoice, as well on account of the exaltation of our faith, as on account of the increase of our temporal prosperity, of which not only Spain but all Christendom will be partakers.”
Source: Select Letters of Christopher Columbus, etc. etc., R.H. Major, ed. London, 1847, pp.1-17.
Question: Why would these “Indians” believe Columbus had descended from heaven?
Answer: There’s only one book that answers that question – The Book of Mormon
