Part 3 (1/2)
Some measures were iainst such seductions He are of a vehe many to return to Spain; and of an assertion industriously propagated by the seditious, that he and his brothers wished to detain the colonists on the island through motives of self-interest On the 12th of Septe free passage and provisions for the voyage to all ished to return to Spain, in five vessels nearly ready to put to sea He hoped by this means to relieve the colony from the idle and disaffected; to weaken the party of Roldan, and to retain none about him but such as were sound-hearted and well-disposed
He wrote at the sauel Ballester, the staunch and well-tried veteran who co hi into his neighborhood He empowered him also to have an intervieith Roldan; to offer him pardon and oblivion of the past, on condition of his immediate return to duty; and to invite hio to have an intervieith the admiral, under a solemn, and, if required, a written assurance from the latter, of personal safety Columbus was sincere in his intentions He was of a benevolent and placable disposition, and singularly free fros towards the many worthless and wicked men who heaped sorrow on his head
Ballester had scarcely received this letter, when the rebels began to arrive at the village of Bonao This was situated in a beautiful valley, or Vega, bearing the saues froo, in a well-peopled and abundant country
Here Pedro Riquele possessions, and his residence became the headquarters of the rebels
Adrian de Moxica, a ht his detachment of dissolute ruffians to this place of rendezvous Roldan and others of the conspirators drew together there by different routes
No sooner did the veteran Miguel Ballester hear of the arrival of Roldan, than he set forth to ray-headed, and of a soldier-like demeanor Loyal, frank, and virtuous, of a serious disposition, and great simplicity of heart, he ell chosen as acalculated to calm their passions by his sobriety; to disare; to win their confidence by his artless probity; and to awe their licentiousness by his spotless virtue [32]
Ballester found Roldan in company with Pedro Riquelme, Pedro de Gamez, and Adrian de Moxica, three of his principal confederates Flushed with a confidence of his present strength, Roldan treated the proffered pardon with conte that he did not come there to treat of peace, but to demand the release of certain Indians captured unjustifiably, and about to be shi+pped to Spain as slaves, notwithstanding that he, in his capacity of alcalde ed his word for their protection He declared that, until these Indians were given up, he would listen to no ter out an insolent intimation at the same time, that he held the admiral and his fortunes in his hand, to make and mar them as he pleased
The Indians he alluded to were certain subjects of Guarionex, who had been incited by Roldan to resist the exaction of tribute, and who, under the sanction of his supposed authority, had engaged in the insurrections of the Vega Roldan knew that the enslaveovernment of the island, especially with the queen; and the artful character of thishis opposition to Coluhts of the suffering islanders Other dehly insolent nature, and the rebels declared that, in all further negotiations, they would treat with no other inter had proofs of his fairness and impartiality in the course of their late coant reply to his proffer of pardon was totally different from what the admiral had been led to expect, and placed hi situation He seemed surrounded by treachery and falsehood He knew that Roldan had friends and secret partisans even a those who professed to remain faithful; and he knew not how far the raht extend A circumstance soon occurred to show the justice of his apprehensions He ordered the ht ascertain the force hich he could take the field in case of necessity A report was, iainst the rebels Not above seventy men appeared under arms, and of these not forty were to be relied upon One affected to be lame, another ill; so the followers of Roldan: almost all were disaffected to the service
[33]
Columbus saw that a resort to arms would betray his oeakness and the power of the rebels, and coovernment It was necessary to teht be deehteen days in port, hoping in some way to have put an end to this rebellion, so as to send hons The provisions of the shi+ps, however, asting The Indian prisoners on board were suffering and perishi+ng; several of them threw themselves overboard, or were suffocated with heat in the holds of the vessels He was anxious, also, that as many of the discontented colonists as possible should make sail for Spain before any commotion should take place
On the 18th of October, therefore, the shi+ps put to sea [34] Coluns an account of the rebellion, and of his proffered pardon being refused As Roldan pretended that it was a mere quarrel between him and the Adelantado, of which the ade, the latter entreated that Roldan ht be his judges; or that an investigation ht take place in presence of Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal, as friendly to Roldan, and of Miguel Ballester, as witness on the part of the Adelantado
He attributed, in a greatdetention in Spain, and the delays thrown in his way by those appointed to assist him, who had retarded the departure of the shi+ps with supplies, until the colony had been reduced to the greatest scarcity
Hence had arisen discontent, ns, in the ht not be neglected, and those at Seville, who had charge of its concerns, ht be instructed at least not to devise impediments instead of assistance He alluded to his chastisement of the contemptible Ximeno Breviesca, the insolent minion of Fonseca, and entreated that neither that nor any other circuht be allowed to prejudice hining men He assured the but good ement to supply all the wants of the colonists; but that the latter were indolent and profligate He proposed to send home, by every shi+p, as in the present instance, a number of the discontented and worthless, to be replaced by sober and industrious ht be sent out for the instruction and conversion of the Indians; and, as equally necessary, for the reformation of the dissolute Spaniards He required also a e over the island, together with several officers of the royal revenue Nothing could surpass the soundness and policy of these suggestions; but unfortunately one clause marred the moral beauty of this excellent letter He requested that for two years longer the Spaniards ht be per use of such, however, as were captured in wars and insurrections Coluestion; but it is at variance with his usual benignity of feeling, and his paternal conduct towards these unfortunate people
At the sa an account of his recent voyage, accoold, and particularly of the pearls found in the Gulf of Paria He called especial attention to the latter as being the first specimens of pearls found in the New World It was in this letter that he described the newly-discovered continent in such enthusiastic terms, as the most favored part of the east, the source of inexhaustible treasures, the supposed seat of the terrestrial Paradise; and he prolorious real shi+ps, as soon as the affairs of the island should permit
By this opportunity, Roldan and his friends likewise sent letters to Spain, endeavoring to justify their rebellion by charging Columbus and his brothers with oppression and injustice, and painting their whole conduct in the blackest colors It would naturally be supposed that the representations of such ainst the tried merits and exalted services of Columbus: but they had numerous friends and relatives in Spain; they had the popular prejudice on their side, and there were designing persons in the confidence of the sovereigns ready to advocate their cause Colu words was ”absent, envied, and a stranger” [35]
Chapter III
Negotiations and Arrange dispatched, Coluotiation with the rebels; determined at any sacrifice to put an end to a sedition which distracted the island and interrupted all his plans of discovery His three reion of apparently boundless wealth was to be explored He had intended to send his brother on the discovery, but the active and military spirit of the Adelantado rendered his presence indispensable, in case the rebels should come to violence Such were the difficulties encountered at every step of his generous and naniues of crafty men in place, and checked at another by the insolent turbulence of a handful of ruffians
In his consultations with the most important persons about him, Columbus found that much of the popular discontent was attributed to the strict rule of his brother, as accused of dealing out justice with a rigorous hand Las Casas, however, who saw the whole of the testimony collected from various sources with respect to the conduct of the Adelantado, acquits hies of the kind, and affirms that, with respect to Roldan in particular, he had exerted great forbearance Be this as it may, Columbus now, by the advice of his counselors, resolved to try the alternative of extreme lenity He wrote a letter to Roldan, dated the 20th of October, couched in thetodeep concern for the feud existing between hiood, and for the sake of his own reputation, which stood ith the sovereigns, not to persist in his present insubordination, and repeated the assurance, that he and his coht come to him, under the faith of his word for the inviolability of their persons
There was a difficulty as to who should be the bearer of this letter The rebels had declared that they would receive no one asdoubts, however, existed in the rity of that officer They observed that he had suffered Roldan to reua; had furnished hilected to detain him on board, when he knew him to be a rebel; had not exerted himself to retake the deserters; had been escorted on his way to San Doo by the rebels, and had sent refreshed, ue of Coluovernested, that, in advising the rebels to approach San Doo, he had intended, in case the admiral did not arrive, to unite his pretended authority as colleague, to that of Roldan, as chief judge, and to seize upon the reins of government Finally, the desire of the rebels to have hient, was cited as proof that he was to join them as a leader, and that the standard of rebellion was to be hoisted at Bonao [36] These circumstances, for some time, perplexed Columbus: but he reflected that Carvajal, as far as he had observed his conduct, had behaved like a ainst him admitted of a construction in his favor; the rest were mere rumors, and he had unfortunately experienced, in his own case, how easily the fairest actions, and the fairest characters, may be falsified by rumor He discarded, therefore, all suspicion, and determined to confide implicitly in Carvajal; nor had he ever any reason to repent of his confidence
The admiral had scarcely dispatched this letter, when he received one from the leaders of the rebels, written several days previously In this they not e of rebellion, but clai dissuaded their followers froe of his oppressions, prevailing upon them to await patiently for redress fro which they had waited anxiously for his orders, but he had ainst theed thely dee This letter was dated froned by Francisco Roldan, Adrian de Moxica, Pedro de Gao de Escobar [37]
In the uel Ballester They found the rebels full of arrogance and presu letter of the admiral, however, enforced by the earnest persuasions of Carvajal, and the admonitions of the veteran Ballester, had a favorable effect on several of the leaders, who had more intellect than their brutal followers Roldan, Gamez, Escobar, and two or three others, actually mounted their horses to repair to the admiral, but were detained by the clamorous opposition of their men; too infatuated with their idle, licentious mode of life, to relish the idea of a return to labor and discipline These insisted that it was a ement was to be , and subject to their approbation or dissent A day or two elapsed before this clamor could be appeased Roldan then wrote to the ad, unless a written assurance, or passport, were sent, protecting the persons of hiuel Ballester wrote, at the saree to whatever terht de, the soldiers of his garrison daily deserting to them; unless, therefore, some compromise were speedily effected, and the rebels shi+pped off to Spain, he feared that not merely the authority, but even the person of the ados and the officers and servants immediately about him would, doubtless, die in his service, the common people were but little to be depended upon [38]
Coluency of the case, and sent the required passport Roldan cao; but, from his conduct, it appeared as if his object was to ain deserters, rather than to effect a reconciliation He had several conversations with the admiral, and several letters passed between them He e concessions, but soant to be aded Roldan departed under the pretext of conferring with his people, pro The ado de Salamanca, to treat in his behalf [40]