The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Volume II)

Note to the Revised Edition, 1848.– Humboldt, in his Examen Critique, published in Paris, in 1837, says: "I have been so happy as to discover, very recently, the name and the literary relations of the mysterious personage who (in 1507) was the first to propose the name of America to designate the new continent, and who concealed himself under the Grecianized name of Hylacomylas." He then, by a long and ingenious investigation, shows that the real name of this personage was Martin Waldseemüller, of Fribourg, an eminent cosmographer, patronized by René, duke of Lorraine; who no doubt put in his hands the letter received by him from Amerigo Vespucci. The geographical works of Waldseemüller, under the assumed name of Hylacomylas, had a wide circulation, went through repeated editions, and propagated the use of the name America throughout the world. There is no reason to suppose that this application of the name was in any wise suggested by Amerigo Vespucci. It appears to have been entirely gratuitous on the part of Waldseemüller.

307

An instance of these errors may be cited in the edition of the letter of Amerigo Vespucci to king René, inserted by Grinæus in his Novus Orbis, in 1532. In this Vespucci is made to state that he sailed from Cadiz May 20, MCCCCXCVII. (1497,) that he was eighteen months absent, and returned to Cadiz October 15, MCCCCXCIX. (1499,) which would constitute an absence of 29 months. He states his departure from Cadiz, on his second voyage, Sunday, May 11th, MCCCCLXXXIX. (1489,) which would have made his second voyage precede his first by eight years. If we substitute 1499 for 1489, the departure on his second voyage would still precede his return from his first by five months. Canovai, in his edition, has altered the date of the first return to 1498, to limit the voyage to eighteen months.

308

Gomara, Hist. Ind., cap. 14.

309

Navigatio Christophori Columbi, Madrignano Interprete. It is contained in a collection of voyages called Novus Orbis Regionum, edition of 1555, but was originally published in Italian as written by Montalbodo Francanzano (or Francapano de Montaldo), in a collection of voyages entitled Nuovo Mundo, in Vicenza, 1507.

310

Girolamo Benzoni, Hist, del Nuevo Mundo, lib. i. fo. 12. In Venetia, 1572.

311

Padre Joseph de Acosta, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 19.

312

Juan de Mariana, Hist. Espana, lib. xxvi. cap. 3.

313

Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. ii. lib. iii. cap. 1.

314

Commentarios de los Incas, Lib. i. cap. 3.

315

Names of historians who either adopted this story in detail, or the charge against Columbus, drawn from it.

Bernardo Aldrete, Antiguedad de España, lib. iv. cap. 17, p. 567.

Roderigo Caro, Antiguedad, lib. iii. cap. 76.

Juan de Solorzano, Ind. Jure, tom. i. lib. i. cap. 5.

Fernando Pizarro, Varones Ilust. del Nuevo Mundo, cap. 2.

Agostino Torniel, Annal. Sacr., tom. i. ann. Mund., 1931, No. 48.

Pet. Damarez or De Mariz, Dial. iv. de Var. Hist., cap. 4.

Gregorio Garcia, Orig. de los Indies, lib. i. cap. 4, 1.

Juan de Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. xviii. cap. 1.

John Baptiste Riccioli, Geograf. Reform., lib. iii.

To this list of old authors may be added many others of more recent date.

316

"Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Presbitero, Sevillano, escribio con elegante estilo acerca de las cosas de las Indies, pero dexandose llevar de falsas narraciones." Hijos de Sevilla, Numero ii. p. 42, Let. F. The same is stated in Bibliotheca Hispaña Nova, lib. i. p. 437. "El Francisco Lopez de Gomara escrivio tantos borrones é cosas que no son verdaderas, de que ha hecho mucho daño a muchos escritores e coronistas, que despues del Gomara han escrito en las cosas de la Nueva España … es porque les ha hecho errar el Gomara." Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Hist. de la Conquest de la Nueva España, Fin de cap. 13.

"Tenía Gomara doctrina y estilo … per empleose en ordinar sin discernimiento lo que halló escrito por sus antecesores, y dió credito á petrañas no solo falsas sino inverisimiles." Juan Bautista Muñoz, Hist. N. Mundo, Prologo, p 18.

317

Vasconcelos, lib. 4.

318

Murr, Notice sur M. Behaim.

319

Barros, decad. i. lib. ii. cap. 1. Lisbon, 1552.

320

Investigations Historicas, Madrid, 1794.

321

Cladera, Investig. Hist., p. 115.

322

Forster's Northern Voyages, book ii. chap. 2.

323

This account is taken from Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 123. The passage about gold and other metals is not to be found in the original Italian of Ramusio, (tom. ii. p. 23,) and is probably an interpolation.

324

Hakluyt, Collect., vol. iii. p. 127.

325

Malte-Brun, Hist, de Geog., tom. i. lib. xvii.

326

Idem, Geog. Unirerselle, tom. xiv. Note sur la decouverte de l'Amerique.

327

Gosselin, Recherches sur la Geographic des Anciens, tom. i. p. 162, &c.

328

Memoirs de l'Acad. des Inscript., tom. xxvi.

329

Capmany, Questiones Criticas, Quest. 6.

330

Archives de Ind. en Sevilla.

331

Capmany, Queat. Crit.

332

The author of this work is indebted for this able examination of the route of Columbus to an officer of the navy of the United States, whose name he regrets the not being at liberty to mention. He has been greatly benefited, in various parts of this history, by nautical information from the same intelligent source.

333

Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. ix. cap. 10.

334

In the first chapter of Herrera's description of the Indies, appended to his history, is another scale of the Bahama islands, which corroborates the above. It begins at the opposite end, at the N. W., and runs down to the S.E. It is thought unnecessary to cite it particularly.

335

See Caballero Pesos y Medidas. J. B. Say. Economic Politique.

336

In preparing the first edition of this work for the press the author had not the benefit of the English translation of Marco Polo, published a few years since, with admirable commentaries, by William Marsden, F. R. S. He availed himself, principally, of an Italian version in the Venetian edition of Ramusio (1606), the French translation by Bergeron, and an old and very incorrect Spanish translation. Having since procured the work of Mr. Marsden, he has made considerable alterations in these notices of Marco Polo.

337

Ramusio, tom. iii.

338

Bergeron, by blunder in the translation from the original Latin, has stated that the Khan sent 40,000 men to escort them. This has drawn the ire of the critics upon Marco Polo, who have cited it as one of his monstrous exaggerations.

339

Hist. des Voyages, tom, xxvii. lib. iv. cap. 3. Paris, 1549.

340

Ramusio, vol. ii. p. 17.

341

Mr. Marsden, who has inspected a splendid fac-simile of this map preserved in the British Museum, objects even to the fundamental part of it: "where," he observes, "situations are given to places that seem quite inconsistent with the descriptions in the travels, and cannot be attributed to their author, although inserted on the supposed authority of his writings." Marsden's M. Polo, Introd., p. xlii.

342

Hist, des Voyages, torn. xl. lib. xi. ch, 4.

343

Another blunder in translation has drawn upon Marco Polo the indignation of George Hornius, who (in his Origin of America, IV. 3) exclaims, "Who can believe all that, he says of the city of Quinsai? as, for example, that it has stone bridges twelve thousand miles high!" &c. It is probable that many of the exaggerations in the accounts of Marco Polo are in fact the errors of his translators.

Mandeville, speaking of this same city, which he calls Causai, says it is built on the sea like Venice, and has twelve hundred bridges.

344

Sir George Staunton mentions this lake as being a beautiful sheet of water, about three or four miles in diameter; its margin ornamented with houses and gardens of Mandarines, together with temples, monasteries for the priests of Fo, and an imperial palace.

345

Supposed to be those islands collectively called Japan. They are named by the Chinese Ge-pen; the terminating syllable go, added by Marco Polo, is supposed to be the Chinese word kue, signifying kingdom, which is commonly annexed to the names of foreign countries. As the distance of the nearest part of the southern island from the coast of China near Ning-po is not more than five hundred Italian miles, Mr. Marsden supposes Marco Polo, in stating it to be 1500, means Chinese miles or li, which are in the proportion of somewhat more than one-third of the former.

346

Aristot., 2 Met. cap. 5.

347

Pliny, lib. i. cap. 61.

348

Feyjoo, Theatre Critico, tom. iv. d. 10, § 29.

349

Lib. iv. de la Chancelaria del Key Dn. Juan II, fol. 101.

350

Torre do Tombo. Lib. das Ylhas, f. 119.

351

Fr. Gregorio Garcia, Origen de los Indios, lib. i. cap. 9.

352

Sigeberto, Epist. ad Tietmar. Abbat.

353

Nuñez de la l'ena. Conquist de la Gran Canaria.

354

Ptolemy, lib. iv. tom. iv.

355

Fr. D. Philipo, lib. viii. fol. 25.

356

Hist. Isl. Can., lib. i. cap. 28.

357

Nuñez de la Pena, lib. i. cap. 1. Viera, Hist Isl. Can., tom. i. cap. 28.

358

Nuñez, Conquista le Gran Canaria. Viera, Hist. &c.

359

Viera, Hist. Isl. Can., tom. i. cap. 28.

360

Idem.

361

Viera, Hist. Isl. Can., tom. i. cap. 28.

362

Viera, ubi sup.

363

Theatro Critico, tom. iv. d. x.

364

Hist. del Almirante, cap. 10.

365

Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. iv. cap. 4. Origen de los Indios por Fr. Gregorio Garcia, lib. iv. cap. 20.

366

Barros, Asia, decad. i. lib. i. cap. 3.

367

Navarrete, Colec. Viag., tom. i. Introd. p. lxx.

368

T. A. Llorente, Oeuvres de Las Casas, p. xi. Paris, 1822.

369

Herrera clearly states this as an expedient adopted when others failed. "Bartolomé de las Casas, viendo que sus conceptos hallaban en todas partes dificultad, i que las opiniones que tenla, por mucha familiaridad que havia seguido i gran credito con el gran Canciller, no podian haber efecto, se volvio a otros expedientes, &c." – Decad. ii. lib. ii. cap. 2.

370

Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. iii. lib. ii. cap. 4.

371

Idem, decad. ii. lib. ii. cap. 20.

372

Idem, decad. ii. lib. iii. cap. 8.

373

1 Herrera, d. i. lib. vi. cap. 20.

374

Idem, d. i. lib. viii. cap. 9.

375

Idem, d. i. lib. ix. cap. 5.

376

Robertson, Hist. America, p. 3.

377

Porque como iban faltando los Indios i se conocia que un negro trabajaba, mas que quatro, por lo qual habia gran dem anda de ellos, parccia que se podia poner algun tributo en la saca, de que resultaria provecho á la Rl. Hacienda. Herrera, decad. ii. lib. ii. cap. 8.

378

De Marsolier, Hist. du Ministere Cardinal Ximenes, lib. vi. Toulouse, 1694.

379

In this notice the author has occasionally availed himself of the interesting memoir of Mon. J. A. Idorente, prefixed to his collection of the works of Las Casas, collating it with the history of Herrera, from which its facts are principally derived.

380

Navarrete, Colec. de Viag., tom. i. p. lxxv.

381

Opus Epist. P. Martyris Anglerii, Epist. 131.

382

Opus Epist. P. Martyris Anglerii, Epist. 134.

383

Opus Epist. P. Martyrin Anglerii, Epist. 135.

384

Idem, Epist. 141.

385

Idem, Epist. 147.

386

Cura de los Palacios, cap. 7.

387

Bibliotheca Pinello.

388

Herrera, decad ii. lib. ii. cap. 3.

389

Idem, decad. iii. lib. iv. cap. 3.

390

Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. iii. lib. i. cap. 15.

391

Idem, decad. iii. lib. iv. cap. 3.

392

Salazar, Conq. de Mexico, lib. i. cap. 2.

393

Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. iii. lib. i. cap. 1.

394

Idem, decad. iii. lib. iv. cap. 3.

395

Gosselin, Recherches sur la Geog. des Anciens, tom. i.

396

Feyjoo, Theatro Critico, lib. vii. § 2.

397

Herodot., lib. iii. Virg. Georg. i. Pomp. Mela, lib. iii. cap. 10.

398

St. August., lib. ix. cap. 6. Sup. Genesis.

399

St. Basíllíus was called the great. His works were read and admired by all the world, even by Pagans. They are written in an elevated and majestic style, with great splendor of idea, and vast erudition.

400

St. Ambros., Opera. Edit. Coignard. Parisiis, MDCXC.

401

Paradisus autem in Oriente, in altissimo monte, de cujus cacumine cadentes aquos, maximum faciunt lacum, que in suo casu tantum faciunt strepitum et fragorem, quod ornnes incolæ, juxta prædictum lacum nascuntur surdi, ex immoderato sonitu seu fragore sensum auditus in parvulis corrumpente. Ul dicit Basilius in Hexameron, similiter et Ambros. Ex illo lacu, velut ex uno fonte, procedunt ilia flumina quatuor, Phison, qui et Ganges, Gyon, qui et Nilus dicitur, et Tigris ac Euphrates. Bart.