was to discover;
that all governments should be given to one of three persons to be named
by him; and that he should appoint judges in all parts of Spain trading to
the Indies, to decide upon all causes relating to that trade and to those
parts. Besides the salary and perquisites belonging to the offices of
admiral, viceroy, and governor-general over all his discoveries, he
demanded to have one tenth of all that should be bought, bartered, found,
or procured in any manner of way within the bounds of his authority,
abating only the charges attending the discovery and conquest; so that if
1000 ducats were acquired in any island or place, 100 of these were to
belong to him. Besides all this, as his adversaries alleged that he
ventured nothing in the undertaking, and had the command of the fleet
during the expedition, he offered to be at one eighth part of the expence,
for which he demanded to receive the eighth part of what he should bring
home in the fleet. As these high conditions were refused, the admiral took
leave of all his friends, and began his journey to Cordova, with the
intention of making preparations for going to France; being resolved not
to return into Portugal, although the king had invited him back.

The admiral departed from the camp of St Faith in the month of January
1492 on his intended journey; and on the same day Lewis de Santangel,
formerly mentioned, who was exceedingly anxious to forward his project,
obtained an audience of the queen of Castile, and used every argument he
could devise to persuade her to adopt the undertaking and to comply with
the terms required. He expressed his astonishment that she, who had always
evinced much greatness of soul in all important matters, should now want
spirit to venture upon an undertaking where so little was to be risked,
and which might redound so highly to the glory of God and the propagation
of the faith, not without great benefit and honour to her kingdoms and
dominions. That, should any other prince accept the offer of Columbus, the
injury which her crown would sustain was very obvious; and that then she
would justly incur much blame from her friends and servants, and would be
reproached by her enemies, and all the world would say that she deserved
the misfortune and disappointment; and, although she might never be
sensible of the evil consequences of her refusal, her successors must.
That, since the proposal seemed well grounded in reason and sound argume