DUKE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/letterofchristop01colu 
 
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Bditt of C$mfop$£tr (CofumBus, 
 
 tbe great benefactor of the present age, concerning 
 the newly discovered Islands of India upon tbe Gan- 
 ges, upon which enterprise be was despatched eight 
 months since by tbe Invincible Sovereigns of Spain, 
 ferdinand and Isabella; directed to Don Rafael San- 
 chez, treasurer of tbelr most Serene Rigbnesses. 
 translated from tbe Spanish Into Latin by Leandro 
 de Cosco, Hprll 25, 1493, first year of tbe pontificate 
 of Hlesander VI- 
 
 facsimile Reprint of tbe original Gdition, with an Gngllsb 
 translation appended. 
 
 Hlbany, JL Y- 
 Joseph JVIcDonougb 
 1900 
 
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 ufcp fe£tts nudi femp incedut 1 queadmodum 
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 bistai bac arte $ in ceterl perttoatac eiufdf 
 
fafule TRegteerga noebemuolentia tfamiha 
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 frequeter % Imcurtofe vefcunf pzeftdio. $tac£ 
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gniuonemtexcepta quadaj infula (Ch&risnQ* 
 cupata : que fecunda ejc Ibifpana in $ndiam 
 tranffretatlbue ejriftit. quam gene quedam a 
 fuuttmiebabita fcroricu incolir'. bi came bit* 
 mana vefcun^lbabent pacdiaibiremm gene 
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 mtneo longos erirtee. vtunf arcub 9 et fpiculis 
 arundincistfipsCvt bixim 9 )m groffioiri pte at 
 tenuatisbaftilib 9 4deo<& babec ferocestqua* 
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 eo? fnltuaupiliottantu auri barn? quantum 
 
eie fucnt opus-trnvero aromatuj.bombicts. 
 maiftas(q apud Cbium outapat inucnif)tan 
 tu<$ligm aloes.tarttum i>uop b?dropbilato* 
 rumtquaruu. ccnu maieftas voiuerit etfgere ♦ 
 jtem reubarbaru talia aromatujgene na:q bi 
 quosm tu'cta arce reliqui tl inuenifTetatcp in^ 
 uent«rose;riftimo*qfiquidein ego nulltbi ma? 
 gisfum mozatusmfiquantu me coegerutve* 
 tiipmerqj in villalBatiuitatiS'.&u arceni con* 
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 multuac mirabile bocmec noftris meritiocoz 
 refponde»:fed fancteCbnftiane fideunoftro* 
 mmtpTRegu pietati ac religioni: quia a# bit* 
 manus cofequi no poterat tntelieausadbua* 
 nia conceffit biutnus, Solet emoeusf iioefu. 
 oejqutqjfua pceptaoiligur.etil i impofTibiiU 
 bus qraudiremnobts l pfitia ptigit: 4 ea pfe 
 cutifum’tq bacten^monaltu vires mime atti 
 gerat*na fi bap infuiap 4piaali4dfc£feftaut 
 locunfuttoesgambages *?tecturasttemo fe 
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 tur Tftejr i iftegia pncipesae eop regna felirif 
 Tima: cucteepalie iCbztftianop.pumcie ©alua 
 toti t>fto nr o ^efu ppo agam* gras*4 t*ta nos 
 Pto2iamimere£0bonauir.celebze^tefli'6es 
 
peraganf folennia fa era. feftaqjfrcm do velent 
 t>elubtfu<££ultet fOnift’i terri3:qu&idmodu 
 in celie e^ultaticum totpopulouun pditas aft 
 bacanimaBfaluamm iri ptmdcu'ketemur z 
 no«tu ppter ejcaltationfcnoftre ftdei.tum 
 pterreru temposaliftwcremctaiquo? no foiu 
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 rapticepa.lbec vtgefta lunt ficb:cuiter enar* 
 rata.^ale^'&Uifbone pzidie pdus dbarcij . 
 
 Criftofcu* iColom^ceane claflta Refect 9 . 
 
 £pigrama.'ilViL*be Co:baria £ptfcopi 
 ilfeontifpalufi) 
 
 %d 3Jnuictifltnui lReg£ Ibifpantap 
 
 5am nulla IbiTpama tellusaddeda triupbtet 
 %tc$ parum tantia vtrib'Voibis erat* 
 TBunc longe j£ois regie eepzmfa Cub vndis. 
 
 'Huciura eft tftuloa s&etice magnemoa. 
 ^Inde repertoji mcrito referenda Colubo 
 jSratiadjfummo eft maio: babeda t>eo: 
 f&ui tinceda parat noua regna tibi# fibiqjt 
 £e<pfmwl foatem paeftat % efife piiim* 
 
©ranarat 
 

 
TRANSLATION. 
 
 LETTER OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, 
 tbs great benefactor of the present age, con- 
 cerning the newly discovered islands of India 
 upon the Ganges, upon which enterprise he 
 was despatched eight months since by the in- 
 vincible Sovereigns of Spain, Ferdinand and 
 Isabella; directed to Don Rafael Sanche;, 
 Treasurer of their most Serene Highnesses. 
 Translated from the Spanish into Latin by 
 Leandro de Cosco, April 25, 1493, first year 
 of the pontificate of Alexander HI. 
 
 As I know you will take pleasure in hearing of 
 the success of my undertaking, 1 have determined 
 to send you an account of the occurrences of my 
 voyage and discoveries. Thirty-three days after 
 my departure from Cadiz 1 arrived in the sea of 
 India, where I discovered many islands, inhabited 
 by innumerable people. Of these I took posses- 
 
2 
 
 sion in the name of our fortunate monarch, with 
 public proclamation and colors flying, no one of- 
 fering any resistance. I named the first of these 
 islands San Salvador, thus bestowing upon it the 
 name of our holy Saviour, under whose protection 
 1 made the discovery. The Indians call it Gua- 
 nahanyn. 1 gave also a new name to the others, 
 calling the second Santa Maria de la Concepcion, 
 the third Fernandina, the fourth Isabella, the fifth 
 Juana. In the same manner I named the rest. 
 Arriving at the one last mentioned, 1 sailed along 
 the coast toward the West, discovering so great 
 an extent of land that I could not imagine it to be 
 an island, but the continent of Cathay. 1 did not, 
 however, discover upon the coast any large cities, 
 all we saw being a few villages and farms, with 
 the inhabitants of which we could not obtain any 
 communication, they all flying at our approach. 
 1 continued my course, still expecting to meet 
 with some town or city, but after having gone a 
 great distance, and not meeting with any, and find- 
 ing myself proceeding toward the North, which 1 
 was desirous to avoid on account of the cold, and, 
 moreover, meeting with a contrary wind, I deter- 
 mined to return to the South, and, therefore, put 
 
3 
 
 about and sailed back to a harbour which I had 
 before observed. 
 
 At this place 1 sent two men into the country to 
 see if the king or any cities were to be found. 
 These returned in three days, having discovered a 
 great number of towns, but all of them small, and 
 without any government. In the meantime I had 
 learned from certain Indians whom I had taken 
 here that this country was an island. 1 returned 
 along the coast to the east, a distance of three 
 hundred and twenty-two miles, which brought 
 me to the extremity of the island. Here 1 discov- 
 ered to the East another island, fifty-four miles 
 from Juana. 1 gave it the name of Espanola, and 
 coasted along the island to the North as at Juana 
 I had proceeded to the East, a distance of five 
 hundred and sixty-four miles. All these islands 
 are very fertile. That of Juana abounds in safe 
 and capacious harbours, which surpass in excel- 
 lence all I have ever seen elsewhere. It is 
 watered by a great number of large and pleasant 
 rivers, and contains many high mountains. 
 
 These islands are of a beautiful appearance, and 
 present a great diversity of views. They may be 
 traversed in any part, and are adorned with a 
 
4 
 
 great variety of exceedingly lofty trees, which to 
 appearance never lose their foliage, for I saw them 
 as verdant and flourishing as they exist in Spain 
 in the month of May, some covered with flowers, 
 others loaded with fruit, according to their differ- 
 ent species and their season of bearing, the whole 
 offering a spectacle of great beauty. The night- 
 ingale and countless other birds were singing, 
 although it was the month of November when 1 
 visited this delightful region. There are, in the 
 island of Juana, six or eight sorts of palm trees, 
 superior to those of our land in height and beauty, 
 and this superiority is likewise observable in the 
 other trees as well as in the herbs and fruits. 
 Here are to be seen the most beautiful pine trees 
 and the most extensive fields and pastures, a great 
 variety of birds, several sorts of honey, and many 
 kinds of metal, with the exception of iron. In the 
 island named Espanola there are lofty and beauti- 
 ful mountains, large cultivated tracts, woods, fer- 
 tile fields, and everything adapted to the purposes 
 of agriculture, the pasturage of cattle, and the 
 erection of houses. The excellence of the har- 
 bours here, and the abundance of the streams 
 which contribute to the salubrity of the climate, 
 
5 
 
 exceed imagination. There is a considerable dif- 
 ference between the trees, fruits, and fields of this 
 island and those of Juana, but here are found divers 
 sorts of precious drugs, gold, and metals. The 
 inhabitants of both sexes, in Espanola, and all the 
 other islands which 1 saw or heard of, go naked 
 as they were born, all except a few females who 
 wear at the waist a green leaf, a portion of cotton, 
 or bit of silk, which they manufacture for this pur- 
 pose. 
 
 As I before remarked, they possess no iron, and 
 they neither use nor are acquainted with weapons, 
 to the exercise of which indeed they are not at 
 all adapted, not by reason of any corporal defi- 
 ciency, as they are very well shaped, but on ac- 
 count of their great timidity. Instead of arms 
 they have canes dried in the sun, to the largest 
 ends of which they fix a piece of wood sharpened 
 at the end; of these, however, they have not the 
 courage to make much use. 1 have in many in- 
 stances sent two or three of my men to their 
 towns to communicate with the inhabitants, 
 when the Indians would tumultuously rush out, 
 and seeing our people drawing near, run away 
 v/ith such haste that the father would abandon 
 
6 
 
 his child and the child his father. This timidity 
 was not owing to any violence or injury we of- 
 fered them, as 1 was in the practice of making 
 presents of clolh and other things to all the natives 
 whom I met, but arose from their natural mildness 
 and want of courage. Notwithstanding this, as 
 soon as they have thrown aside their fear, and 
 consider themselves in safety, they are very in- 
 genuous and honest, and display great liberality 
 with whatever they possess. 
 
 They never refuse to give any thing away which 
 is demanded of them, and will even themselves 
 entreat an acceptance of their property. They 
 exhibit a great friendship towards every one, and 
 will give whatever they have for a trifle or nothing 
 at all. 1 forbade my men to purchase any thing 
 of them with such worthless articles as bits of 
 earthenware, fragments of platters, broken glass, 
 nails, and thongs of leather, although when they 
 got possession of any such thing they valued it as 
 highly as the most precious jewel in the world. 
 In this manner of bartering, a sailor has acquired 
 for a leather strap or piece of rope, gold to the 
 amount of three sueldos. Others have obtained 
 as much for a matter of still lower value. For 
 
7 
 
 new Spanish coins they would give any thing 
 asked of them, as an ounce and a half or two 
 ounces of gold, or thirty or forty pounds of cot- 
 ton. Thus they would trade away their cotton 
 and gold like idiots, for broken hoops, platters 
 and glass. I prohibited their traffic on account of 
 its injustice, and made them many presents of 
 useful things which I had carried with me, for the 
 purpose of gaining their affection, in order that 
 they may receive the faith of Jesus Christ, be well 
 disposed towards us, and be inclined to submit to 
 the King and Queen, our Princes, and all the 
 Spaniards, and furthermore that they may furnish 
 us with the commodities which abound among 
 them and we are in want of. 
 
 They are not idolators, but believe that all power 
 and goodness is in heaven, and that 1 had pro- 
 ceeded from that place with my ships and men ; 
 under this notion they received me at my first 
 arrival as soon as they had banished their fear. 
 They are not stupid and indolent, but acute and 
 sagacious. Those of them who navigate the seas 
 among those islands give singular accounts of 
 what they have observed upon their voyages, but 
 have never seen people who wear clothes, nor 
 
8 
 
 any ships similar to ours. On my arrival 1 took 
 by force from the first island a few of the Indians, 
 in order that we might become acquainted with 
 one another’s language, and to gain a knowledge 
 of what their country contained. These were of 
 singular use to us, as we came to understand each 
 other in a short time by the help of words and 
 signs. I have them still with me, and they con- 
 tinue in the belief that we come from heaven. 
 This information they published wherever we ar- 
 rived, exclaiming in aloud voice, “Come! come! 
 and see the celestial people.” Upon this call, the 
 natives would come thronging to us, after having 
 banished the fear which seized them at first, men, 
 women and children, old and young, crowding 
 the roads and bringing us victuals and drink, with 
 the utmost affection and reverence. 
 
 In every one of these islands there are a great 
 number of canoes, each one made of a solid log, of a 
 narrow shape, somewhat resembling our fustas, 
 but swifter in the water; they are navigated solely 
 by oars. They are of different sizes, the most of 
 them containing seats for eighteen rowers. 
 Throughout these islands there is no diversity in 
 the appearance of the people, their manners or 
 
9 
 
 i 
 
 language, all the inhabitants understanding one 
 another; a very favorable circumstance, in my 
 opinion, to the design which 1 have no doubt is 
 entertained by our king, namely, to convert them 
 to the holy Christian faith, to which as far as I can 
 perceive they are well disposed. 1 have said that 
 1 sailed from W. to E. three hundred and twenty- 
 two miles along the island of Juana; from the 
 length of this course I am confident that this island 
 is larger than England and Scotland together, for 
 besides the extent which 1 coasted there are two 
 other provinces to the West which 1 did not sur- 
 vey. One of these is named by the Indians Anam, 
 and contains inhabitants with tails. These tracts 
 extend to the distance of a hundred and eighty 
 miles, as 1 have learnt from the Indians with me, 
 who are well acquainted with them. 
 
 The island of Espanola is as large as that part 
 of Spain which extends from Catalonia to Fonta- 
 rabia, which 1 infer from the extent of that side of 
 it which I sailed along, being five hundred and 
 forty miles in length. I took possession of this 
 fine island, as 1 had done of the others, in the name 
 of our invincible king ; and fixed upon a spot for 
 a large city here, as I judged it the most favorable 
 
IO 
 
 \ 
 
 place. 1 called it Navidad, and ordered the con- 
 struction of a fortress here, which is by this time 
 finished. At this place I left a sufficient number 
 of men, with all sorts of arms, and a sufficiency 
 of provisions for above a year. I also left them a 
 caravel and expert workmen, after having secured 
 them the friendship of the king of this part of the 
 country. The people are a friendly and amiable 
 race, and the king took a pride in calling himself 
 my brother. Even if their sentiments should 
 change, and they should become hostile towards 
 us, they will not be able to effect any injury to 
 those who remain at the fortress, as they are des- 
 titute of weapons, go naked, and are very cow- 
 ardly, so that those whom 1 have left there will 
 be able to retain the whole island in subjection 
 without any danger, if they adhere to the regula- 
 tions with which 1 charged them. 
 
 Each of the natives, as far as 1 can understand, 
 has one wife, with the exception of the King and 
 Princes, who are permitted to have as many as 
 twenty. The women appear to do more labour 
 than the men. Whether there exists any such 
 thing here as private property 1 have not been able 
 to ascertain, as I have observed that an individual 
 
 i 
 
II 
 
 has been set to distribute to the others, in particular, 
 food and such things. 1 found no ferocious, san- 
 guinary people in these parts, as some seem to have 
 imagined the people here to be, but they are a very 
 mild and friendly race. Their color is not black 
 like that of the Ethiopians. Their hair is lank 
 and hanging down. They do not inhabit those 
 parts where the sun’s rays are very powerful, as 
 the heat is excessive here, the latitude being ap- 
 parently twenty-six degrees. On the summits of 
 the mountains the cold is great, but they do not 
 suffer any incommodity from it, by being accus- 
 tomed to the climate, and by the use of hot meats 
 and drinks, which they consume very prodigally. 
 
 People of a monstrous description 1 saw none 
 nor heard of any, except those of the island named 
 Caris, which is the second on the course from Es- 
 panola to India; this island is inhabited by people 
 who are regarded by their neighbors as exceed- 
 ingly ferocious; they feed upon human flesh. 
 These people have many sorts of canoes, with 
 which they make incursions upon all the isles of 
 India, robbing and plundering wherever they go. 
 Their difference from the others consists in their 
 wearing long hair like that of the women, and 
 
12 
 
 in using bows and arrows of cane, these last con- 
 structed, as 1 have already related, by fixing a piece 
 of sharpened wood at the larger end. On this ac- 
 count they are deemed very ferocious by the other 
 Indians, and are much feared by them; I think, 
 however, these men are precisely like the others. 
 These are the natives who go to visit the females, 
 who are the sole inhabitants, of the island of Ma- 
 tenin, which is the first on the route from Espa- 
 nola to India. These women exercise none of the 
 common occupations of their sex, but manage the 
 bow and dart, as we are told of the ancients. 
 They wear armour made of plates of copper, of 
 which metal they have great abundance. 
 
 I am assured by the Indians that there is another 
 island, larger than Espanola, whose inhabitants 
 are without hair, and who possess a greater quan- 
 tity of gold than the others. From this island, as 
 well as the others, I have taken some of the in- 
 habitants to confirm the accounts which I give. 
 
 Finally, to sum up the whole, and state briefly 
 the great profits of this voyage, 1 am enabled to 
 promise the acquisition, by a trifling assistance 
 from their Majesties, of any quantity of gold, 
 drugs, cotton, and mastick, which last article is 
 
J 3 
 
 found only in the island of Scio; also any quantity 
 of aloe, and as many slaves for the service of the 
 marine as their Majesties may stand in need of. 
 The same may be said of rhubarb, and a great 
 variety of other things, which, 1 have no doubt, 
 will be discovered by those I have left at the fort, 
 as I did not stop long at any single place, unless 
 obliged to do so by the weather, with the excep- 
 tion of the city of Navidad, where we made some 
 stay to build the fort and provide the necessary 
 securities for the place. 
 
 Although the discoveries actually accomplished 
 appear great and surprising, yet 1 should have ef- 
 fected much more had I been furnished with a 
 properfleet. Nevertheless, the great success of this 
 enterprise is not to be ascribed to my own merits, 
 but to the holy Catholic faith and the piety of 
 our Sovereigns, the Lord often granting to men 
 what they never imagine themselves capable of 
 effecting, as he is accustomed to hear the prayers 
 of his servants and those who love his command- 
 ments, even in that which appears impossible; in 
 this manner has it happened to me, who have 
 succeeded in an undertaking never before ac- 
 complished by man. For although some persons 
 
14 
 
 have written or spoken of the existence of these 
 islands, they have all rested their assertions upon 
 conjecture, no one having ever affirmed that he 
 saw them, on which account their existence has 
 been deemed fabulous. 
 
 And now ought the King, Queen, Princes, and 
 all their dominions, as well as the whole of 
 Christendom, to give thanks to our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, who has granted us such a victory and 
 great success. Let processions be ordered, let 
 solemn festivals be celebrated, let the temples be 
 filled with boughs and flowers. Let Christ rejoice 
 upon earth as he does in heaven, to witness the 
 coming salvation of so many people heretofore 
 given over to perdition. Let us rejoice for the 
 exaltation of our faith, as well as for the augmen- 
 tation of our temporal prosperity, in which not 
 only Spain, but all Christendom shall participate. 
 Such are the events which 1 have described to you 
 with brevity. Adieu. 
 
 Christopher Columbus, 
 
 Admiral of the Armada of the Ocean. 
 
 Lisbon, March 14th. 
 
 t 
 
 n 
 

* 
 
Date Due 
 
 Form 335. 45M 8-37. 
 
975.15 G 726 3D 320370 
 
 Columbus 
 
 Letter 
 
 973.15 C726SD 320370 
 
 l