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1 " The pale men are far more ruthless and belligerent than our people, and our people too compromising, too conciliatory,¨ Bakako concluded. ¨They have no moral rules, and their Christ-spirit provides an excuse for all evil done in his name. Our respect for harmony and our spirits´ sincerity have left us vulnerable.¨Tears welled in Yutowa´s eyes, and he shuddered. ¨That´s the essence.¨ "
― Andrew Rowen , Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold
2 " Anthropologists disagree whether Taínos produced and drank alcohol prior to the arrival of Europeans. I have assumed they did. "
― Andrew Rowen , Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 Retold
3 " Cristóvão perceived the assembled advisers and nobility were mocking him, that João’s warmth to him had dissipated, and that João would never reconsider his plan. Cristóbal stole out of Lisbon to return "
4 " Cristóbal and Fray Pérez started visiting the plazas of Palos, Moguer, and Huelva, seeking enlistment to achieve crews for the three ships combined of about ninety men. Cristóbal explained to everyone he met "
5 " Their skin was olive—like the heathens of the Canary Islands, much lighter than the Guineans—and many had painted themselves with red, black, or white designs. Memories of the scant clothing of Canarians and Guineans flickered through his thoughts, and Cristóbal was satisfied that the distance of the naked peoples from his crews was sufficient for safety—so long as the crews remained alert. He overheard the people’s whispers and guessed that their language, as the Guineans’, would lack words common to the languages he knew. He grasped "
6 " revealed by the prophets and confirmed by the evidence I have seen.” As he spoke, Isabel was captivated by his apparent sincerity on this point. She also perceived a haughty scorn and disrespect for the Talavera commission. She reflected that, like an adventurer, Colón boasted of his experience, relied on unlearned sources such as Mandeville and Marco Polo, pandered as to Jerusalem, and was transparent in his lust for nobility and wealth. Yet she found "
7 " Like the other pale men, he stank from the lack of bathing and constant wearing of garments in heat, "
8 " He studied copies or recountings of John Mandeville’s Travels (ca. 1360), Marco Polo’s Il Milione (Travels of Marco Polo, ca. 1298), and Ptolemy’s Guide to Drawing a Map of the World—the Geography—for the first time. "
9 " The sovereigns’ chief accountant took pity on him, seeing him penniless, and arranged food and shelter "
10 " The gold was not his own greatest glory. Cristóbal now believed the Lord had chosen his very name—Cristóbal—to designate him as the one chosen to bring Christ to the heathens across the Ocean Sea. He signed the memorandum with a mystical signature he would use thereafter, ending with the Greco-Latin form of Cristóbal, reminding that he was the “Christ bearer. "
11 " Pending the sovereigns’ final review, Talavera authorized a small sum dispensed to Colón in reimbursement of his expenses at court. Cristóbal’s utter disappointment was transparent to all. His boastfulness had made many enemies at court, and they mocked his ideas and failure. "
12 " As they consolidated their conquest, the sovereigns summoned Colón to Málaga. The Talavera commission’s conclusion did not surprise them but, as King João, they were reluctant to dismiss him entirely. Castile’s opportunities for overseas expansion were limited and, if they dismissed him, Colón might sail for another sovereign, including Henry VII of England, Charles VIII of France, or even João. "
13 " Cristóbal was certain he had arrived at islands offshore of the Indies but believed his inability to decipher the precise location was due to the Indians having different names for places or little knowledge of geography. He briefly succumbed to a frustration vividly echoing that he had felt when unable to make Bishop Talavera’s commissions understand. He reflected that these peoples were clever, but that the inability to converse with them rendered confirming the proximity of the Grand Khan’s court as difficult as convincing the Castilian nobility that the Ocean Sea could be sailed. "
14 " Cristóbal recognized that word of his arrival and objective had preceded him. News had spread through Marien’s villages that the pale beings were not Caribes, their vessels were not beasts, and they could be met "
