Thus Justiniani Convicts Himself Of Falsehood, And Proves
Himself Inconsiderate, Rash, And Malicious.
When he had occasion to speak
of so renowned a person who reflected so great honour on his country,
Although the admirals parents had even been very mean, it had been more
decent in mentioning his origin, as other authors have done, to have said
that he was of low parentage or come of very poor people, instead of
falsely calling him a mechanic, as he did in his Psalter, and afterwards
in his Chronicle. Even supposing he had not contradicted himself, reason
might have shewn that a man who had been bred up in a mechanical
employment, must grow old in it to become a perfect master, and could not
from his youth have travelled into so many countries, or have attained so
much knowledge and learning as his actions demonstrate; more especially in
those four principal sciences which were so indispensably necessary to fit
him for what he performed, astronomy, cosmography, geometry, and
navigation. It is not much to be wondered that Justiniani should be guilty
of untruth in this circumstance, which is hidden, since he has inserted
above a dozen falsehoods in half a sheet of paper in his Psalter, in
matters concerning this discovery and navigation, which are well known.
These I shall briefly mention, without staying to give him any answer,
that I may not interrupt the series of the history; and because from its
tenor, and by what has been written by others on that subject, the
falsehood of his writing will distinctly appear.
The first falsehood is, that the admiral went to Lisbon to learn
cosmography from a brother of his own who was settled in that place. This
is utterly contrary to the truth; since he lived in that city before the
arrival of his brother, and taught his brother what he knew instead of
learning from him. The second falsehood is, that their Catholic
majesties Ferdinand and Isabella accepted his proposal at his first coming
to Castile, after it had been seven years bandied about and rejected by
all men. The third, that he set out upon his discovery with two ships;
whereas the truth is, that he had three caravels in his first voyage. The
fourth, that his first discovery was Hispaniola; whereas the first land
he came to was Guanahani, which he named St Salvador, or St Saviour. The
fifth, that the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by cannibals; while
the truth is, that its inhabitants were the best and most civilized people
in all those parts. The sixth, that he took the canoe or Indian boat
which he first saw by force of arms; whereas it is certain that he had no
hostilities in the first voyage with any of the Indians, and continued in
peace and amity with them until his departure from Hispaniola. The
seventh, that he returned by way of the Canary Islands, which is by no
means the proper route. The eighth, that he dispatched a messenger from
the Canaries to their Catholic majesties; whereas it is certain he was not
at these islands on his return, and that he was his own messenger.
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