that of viceroy, which had been adjudged to belong to him. n)

He repairs to Hifpaniola.

Don Diego quickly repaired to Hispaniola, attended by his brother, his uncles, his wife, whom the courtesy of the Spaniards honoured with the title of vicequeen, and a numerous retinue of perfous of both fexes, born of good families. He lived with a fplendour and magnificence hitherto unknown in the New World; and the family of Columbus feemed now to enjoy the honours and rewards due to his inventive genius of which he himself had been cruelly defrauded. The colony itself acquired new luftre by the acceffion of fo many inhabitants, of a different rank and character from moft of those who had hitherto migrated to America, and many of the most illuftrious families in the Spanish fettlements are defcended from the perfons who at that time accompanied Don Diego Columbus. o)

No benefit accrued to the unhappy natives from this change of governors. Don Diego was not only authorized by a royal edict to continue the repartimientos, or diftribution of Indians; but the particular number which he might grant to every perfon, according to his

p) Herrera, dec. I. lib. vii. c. 4, &c.

o) Oviedo. lib. iți. c. I.

rank in the colony, was specified. He availed himself of that permiffion; and foon after he landed at St. Domingo, he divided fuch Indians as were ftill unappropriated, among his relations and attendants, p)

Pearl fishery of Cubagua.

The next care of the new governor was to comply with an inftruction which he received from the king, about fettling a colony in Cubagua, a fmall ifland which Columbus had discovered in his third voyage. Though this barren fpot hardly yielded fubfiftence to its wretched inhabitants, fuch quantities of those oyfters which produce pearls were found on its coaft, that it did not long escape the inquifitive avarice of the Spaniards, and became a place of confiderable refort. Large fortunes were acquired by the fifhery of pearls, which was carried on with extraordinary ardour. The Indians, especially thofe from the Lucayo iflands, were compelled to dive for them; and this dangerous and unhealthy employment was an additional calamity, which contributed not a little to the extinction of that devoted race. q)

p) Recopilacion de Leyes, lib. vi. tit. 8. l. I, 2. Herrera, dec. 1. lib. vii. c. 10.

q) Herrera. dec. 1. lib. vii, c. 9.

Gomara Hift. c. 78.

New voyages,

About this period, Juan Diaz de Solis and Pinzon fet out, in conjunction, upon a fecond voyage. They flood directly fouth, towards the equinoctial line, which Pinzon had formerly croffed, and advanced as far as the fortieth degree of fouthern latitude. They were aftonifhed to find that the continent of America ftretched, on their right hand, through all this vaft extent of ocean. They landed in different places, to take, poffeffion in name of their fovereign; but though the country appeared to be extremely fertile and inviting, their force was fo fmall, having been fitted out rather for difcovery than making fettlements, that they left no colony behind them. Their voyage

ferved, however, to give the Spaniards more exalted and adequate ideas with refpect to the dimenfions of this new quarter of the globe. r)

A fettlement on the continent attempted.

Though it was above ten years fince Columbus had difcovered the main land of America, the Spaniards had hitherto made no settlement in any part of it. What had been fo long neglected was now ferioufly attempted, and

r) Herrera, dec. I. lib. vii. c. 9.

with confiderable vigour, though the plan for this purpofe was neither formed by the crown, nor executed at the expence of the nation, but carried on by the enterprifing spirit of private adventurers. This fcheme took its rife from Alonfo de Ojeda, who had already made two voyages as a difcoverer, by which he acquired confiderable reputation, but no wealth. But his character for intrepidity and conduct eafily procured him affociates, who advanced the money requifite to defray the charges of the expedition, About the fame time, Diego de Nicueffa, who had acquired a large fortune in Hifpaniola, formed a fimilar defign. Ferdinand encouraged both; and though he refufed to adyance the smallest fum, was extremely liberal of titles and patents. He erected two governments on the continent, one extending from Cape de Vela to the gulf of Darien, and the other from that to Cape Gracias as Dios. The former was given to Ojeda, the latter to Nicueffa. Ojeda fitted out a fhip and two brigantines, with three hundred men; Nicueffa, fix veffels, with seven hundred and eighty men. They failed about the fame time from St. Domingo for their respective governments.

In

order to give their title to thofe countries fome appearance of validity, feveral of the moft eminent divines and lawyers in Spain were employed to prefcribe the mode in which they

fhould take poffeffion of them. s) There is not in the hiftory of mankind any thing more fingular or extravagant than the form which they devised for this purpofe. They inftructed thofe invaders, as foon as they landed on the continent, to declare to the natives the principal articles of the Chriftian faith; to acquaint them, in particular, with the fupreme jurifdiction of the Pope over all the kingdoms of the earth; to inform them of the grant which this holy pontif had made of their country to the king of Spain; to require them to einbrace the doctrines of that religion which the Spaniards made known to them; and to fübmit to the fovereign whofe authority they proclaimed. If the natives refufed to comply with this requifition, the terms of which must have been utterly incomprehenfible to uninftructed Indians, then Ojeda and Nicueffa were authorifed to attack them with fword and fire; to reduce them; their wives and children, to to a ftate of fervitude; and to compel them by force to recognize the jurifdiction of the church, and the authority of the monarch, to which they would not voluntarily subject themselves. t)

s) Herrera, dec. I. lib. vii. c. 15.

t) See NOTE XXIII.