ical with that of the Spanish Cortes of that time; a body which had
no legislative or other authority, but merely the privilege of protest
and petition to the King. Usually a procurador representing the council
was despatched to Spain, to present the address in person to the King;
who was received with something of the attention and honor which were
paid to important foreign ambassadors.

The first such mission from Cuba to the King was that which has already
been mentioned as consisting of Panfilo de Narvaez and Antonio
Velasquez. It went to Spain in July, 1515, and it bore not alone the
address of the council but also the king's share of the gold that had
down to that time been mined in the island. The amount of that share was
more than 12,000 "pieces of eight," which we must believe was most
welcome to the money-loving King. As that was supposed to be twenty per
cent of the whole output of gold, but was certainly not more than that
proportion, it follows that in about three years more than 60,000 pesos
of gold had been taken. It is not to be wondered at that Ferdinand
welcomed them cordially, and promptly granted many of their requests;
those which required expenditure of cash being paid for out of the
insular tribute which the envoys had brought; and that he expressed
profound satisfaction, as already mentioned, with the existing
government of the island.

One of the requests which these envoys bore was not, however, granted.
That was, their request that the natives of Cuba be given to them in
perpetuity as slaves. In consequence of the refusal to grant this, the
Cuban gold-miners and planters suffered more and more from scarcity of
labor, and more and more engaged in slave-hunting elsewhere to supply
their needs. This pernicious traffic was resolutely opposed by Las
Casas, but not with entire success. But it brought with it in a measure
its own penalty. As a direct result of it there soon occurred an event
mischievous to Cuba, but of transcendent interest to Spain and to all
the world.

The slave-hunters naturally sought new islands, which had not yet been
depopulated, and where the Jeronimite Fathers had not yet established
themselves to interfere with the trade in human flesh. Accordingly in
1516 a squadron of vessels from Cuba visited the Guanajes Islands, as
they had been called by Columbus when he discovered them, off the coast
of Yucatan. There they took many captives, loading all the vessels with
them. Le