Columbus, With Only Three Vessels, Smaller Than Any Of Those Of Nearchus, And With Scarcely Any Encouragement Or Assistance From

Those who accompanied him, made the surprising voyage from Spain to the West Indies, a region before utterly unknown, and

Paved the way for wider and more useful conquests than accrued to Alexander by his Indian expedition. Let us compare the force with which Alexander attacked the Indians, yet failed to subdue them, with the handfuls of men commanded by Cortes and Pizarro; and we shall find the latter much greater conquerors beyond all question, as will be more clearly seen in the accounts of their respective expeditions. These are only adduced for the present, as proofs that it was not to the wisdom of the Spanish government, but to the personal abilities of those individuals who were accidentally employed in its service, that these events were owing.

We have seen how ungratefully the court of Spain treated the first and great discoverer of the New World, and how far it was from enabling him to exert his great capacity in its service. After his disgrace and death, the management of the affairs of the West Indies fell almost entirely into the hands of Fonseca, bishop of Burgos, who of all the statesmen belonging to the court of Spain was least fit to have been entrusted with affairs of such importance, and who accordingly misconducted them in a most surprising manner. Listening on the one hand to the proposals of every needy adventurer, and slighting all those men on the other hand who were most likely to have pushed the new discoveries to advantage, by the knowledge they had acquired of the West Indies, by their wise conduct in the settlement of the new colonies, and the power they possessed for prosecuting farther discoveries and establishing new colonies; we accordingly find that not one of all the bishop's instruments succeeded in their projects, but uniformly reduced themselves to beggary, by rashly engaging in enterprises beyond their means and abilities; while all the successful undertakings were accomplished by persons employed by the governors of colonies, and consequently the Spanish administration at home had no right to take any credit to themselves for the successful issue of any of the expeditions.

The only favourites of Bishop Fonseca who made any figure in the world, were two bad men, well furnished with impudence, but very indifferently provided with talents or abilities. The first of these, Americus Vespucius, was made chief pilot of Spain by the interest of his patron, and had all the journals of discoveries communicated to him, from which he constructed very elegant maps, in which he exerted his fancy to supply any defects in the information he had received; so that he exhibited things in very graceful proportions, and the only thing wanting in his draughts being a strict regard to truth. They answered his purpose, however, admirably; as, besides securing him an honourable office with a competent salary, they enabled him to impose his name on the New World, even before he had visited any part of its shores.

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