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It was in conformity with these opinions, that Francis de Bovadilla was appointed to repair to Hispaniola, with full powers to inquire into Columbus's conduct; and if he should find the charges proved, to supersede him and assume the government in his stead. This duty he performed so greatly to the satisfaction of the admiral's enemies, that, in spite of the order which Columbus had, with incredible exertions, established in the island, as soon as Bovadilla arrived, he assumed the reins of government, treated Columbus as a criminal, and, loading him with chains, commanded that he should be at once conveyed to Spain. Under such auspices did this great man return to Europe, after his third venture, A.D. 1500. He rejected the offer of the captain of the vessel to relieve him of his fetters on the homeward voyage, and would have even entered the presence of his sovereigns with these marks of infamy upon him-had not they, fearing the indignation of the populace, if it should behold the wonderful navigator thus accoutred, instantly ordered him to be set at liberty. Their sense of justice. only extended, however, to this act and the disgracing of Bovadilla; for no persuasions could induce them to reinstate him in those dignities which they had guaranteed to him by oath. Afraid, apparently, to trust a man to whom they had been so highly indebted, they retained him at court under various pretexts, and finally, to his deep injury, appointed Nicolas de Ovando governor of Hispaniola.

If Columbus had secured to Spain no other advantage than that of awakening a desire of gain, we might begin to doubt of its solidity and incline to the opinion entertained by many in his day, namely, that his discoveries

were rather productive of evil than likely to conduce to good. Undoubtedly, they roused among many, passions the most unrestrainable and feelings the most sordidinfused a spirit of restlessness such as had never been known since the Crusades-and inflicted unheard-of cruelties on thousands of inoffensive savages, who thus became a prey to the licentiousness or tyranny of the most desperate adventurers of the continent of Europe; but as we are to believe that nothing in this world takes place without the sanction of celestial power, the great ends it had in view, and in working out which Columbus was so able an instrument, no doubt more than counterbalanced any evils which accompanied their attainment.

We have alluded to the effect produced in the Old World by the accounts of the countries brought under the dominion of the Spanish crown, by the great admiral and his followers; and we have observed that this effect extended as far as the intelligence itself had flown; but it was, of course, in Spain more especially, that attempts to take advantage of the wide field thus opened to enterprise were first made. That kingdom, hitherto so indifferent to all matters relating to the sea, was, by the discoveries of Columbus, gradually roused into taking an interest in maritime affairs, and at length made fully alive to the importance of pursuing them with ardour; and these feelings once become general, produced the most remarkable effects. The voyages hitherto made had been undertaken by Columbus alone, at the charge of the sovereign; and, down to this time, with such poor immediate returns, that they made little figure when compared with the expense of the outfit; but now the enterprising spirit of which we have spoken was about to

Amerigo Vespucci.

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relieve the crown of this serious burden, and, far from checking, accelerate the onward progress of the nation in this newly-discovered path. Private adventurers, attracted by the prospect of making a speedy fortune, proposed to fit out squadrons on their own account; and as they met with encouragement rather than opposition from the sovereign, their example was caught up and extensively imitated.

One of the first of these expeditions deserves particular notice, as it involved a serious injury to Columbus, which posterity has failed to remedy. Among the officers who had accompanied the admiral on his second voyage was Alonso de Ojeda, a man of active mind and skill in his profession, and who enjoyed such credit with the merchants of Seville, that they engaged to equip four ships, and place them under his command, if he could obtain the royal consent to undertake a voyage. This, through powerful friends, he succeeded in doing; and in spite of the rights of Columbus, which required that he should have been at least consulted on the matter, he set out, pursuing the same course as held on former occasions. Arriving on the coast of Paria without accident, he traded with the natives, and, visiting many spots along the American coast not hitherto touched at, came back to Spain by the way of Hispaniola.

A gentleman of Florence, by name Amerigo Vespucci, who appears to have been well skilled in the science of the time, and to have acquired great influence from his superior qualities as a navigator, was one of his principal officers. On the return of the expedition, Vespucci wrote an account of the voyage; and as it was the first published, and was couched in easy and even elegant