indicated to
be an island. But the date is not certain, by any means; and it is
notorious that more than one early cartographer drew upon imagination as
well as upon ascertained geographical facts. Somewhat more significant
is the fact that Peter Martyr spoke of Cuba as an island, and said that
some sailors pretended to have circumnavigated it. There is no proof,
however, that this was more than rumor. What seems certain is that as
late as 1508 the best authorities were ignorant whether Cuba was island
or mainland, and that not until that time was the question settled.

Columbus had been succeeded in authority in Hispaniola by Francisco de
Bobadilla, and the latter in turn had in 1501 given way to Nicholas de
Ovando. It does not appear that Ovando sought to colonize Cuba. But he
did wish to determine its extent, and whether it was insular or
continental, and in a memorial to the King of Spain he broached a
proposal for at least its littoral exploration. Ferdinand gave him,
however, no encouragement. On the contrary, he forbade him to spend any
public money on so needless and useless an enterprise. Ovando then
decided to undertake the exploit at his own charge, and, according to
Las Casas, commissioned Sebastian de Ocampo to explore the coasts of the
country and, if he found it to be an island, to circumnavigate it. This
Ocampo did, returning to Hispaniola in the fall of 1508 with the report
that he had sailed completely round Cuba. On the way, he said, he had
made occasional landings, and had found the whole island to be inhabited
by a kindly and intelligent people, well disposed toward Spain.

Immediately following this expedition, various efforts were made to
colonize Cuba, and to enter into relations with the natives. Conspicuous
among these efforts was one which had for its object the introduction of
Christianity into Cuba, and of which an interesting account is given by
Martin Ferdinand de Enciso in his "Suma de Geografia," the first book
ever published about America. Enciso, it will be remembered, was a
partner of Alonzo de Ojeda, that brilliant and gallant cavalier of Spain
who in 1508 was Governor of Nueva Andalusia, a region which we now know
as the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It was Enciso who in 1509 went to
Uraba to the relief of Francisco Pizarro, who had been in command there
but who had become discouraged, had suffered heavy losses from attacks
by the natives, and who was about to abandon the place. It w