if thou enterest into the house of thy relations, salute them with respect and do not remain idle, but immediately take up a spindle to spin, or do any other thing that occurs.

When thou art married, respect thy husband and obey him; and diligently do what he commands thee. Avoid incurring his displeasure, nor shew thyself passionate or ill-natured; but receive him fondly to thy arms, even if he is poor and lives at thy expense. If thy husband occasions thee any disgust, let him not know thy displeasure when he commands thee to do anything; but dissemble it at the time, and afterwards tell him with gentleness what vexed thee, that he may be won by thy mildness and offend thee no farther. Dishonour him not before others, for thou also wouldst be dishonoured. If any one comes to visit thy husband, accept the visit kindly, and shew all the civility thou canst. If thy husband is foolish, be thou discreet. If he fails in the management of wealth, admonish him of his failings; but if he is totally incapable of taking care of his estate, take that charge upon thyself, attend carefully to his possessions, and never omit to pay the workmen punctually. Take care not to lose any thing through negligence.

Embrace, my daughter, the counsel which I give thee; I am already advanced in life, and have had sufficient dealings with the world. I am thy mother, I wish that thou mayest live well. Fix my precepts in thy heart and bowels, for then thou wilt live happy. If, by not listening to me, or by neglecting my instructions, any misfortunes befall thee, the fault will be thine, and the evil also. Enough, my child. May the gods prosper thee.

DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION, AND COL

ONIZATION, 1492-1810

10. THE CAPITULATIONS OF COLUMBUS WITH THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS

[1902. John Boyd Thacher, Christopher Columbus, His Life, His Work, His Remains (1903), I, 442-443; 447-451. Reprinted by permission of the publishers, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London.]

"The written agreement between Columbus and the Sovereigns," declared Thacher, "the two documents known as constituting the Capitulation, are first that executed on April 17, 1492, containing the five famous articles or items of concessions, and second, that executed April 30, 1492, containing a dissertation on the Divine Right of Kings, followed by an elaborate definition of the powers and prerogatives appertaining to the offices of Admiral, Viceroy, and Governor. The first document was the vital instrument. . . ."1

The Capitulation said nothing about "India or a voyage to the Eastern countries by way of the Western ocean. . . . Nor was Columbus "instructed or empowered to capture ships upon the high seas." Yet the Capitulation made this "Genoese sailor a High Admiral of Spain" and admitted "him to partnership with the Crown of Proud Castile."2

A. THE AGREEMENT OF APRIL 17, 1492

The things supplicated and which your Highnesses give and declare to Christopher Columbus in some satisfaction for what he has discovered in the oceans, and for the voyage which now, with the 1 Christopher Columbus, I, 437-438. 2 Ibid., I, 438.

aid of God, he is about to make therein, in the service of your Highnesses, are as follows:

Firstly, that your Highnesses as Lords that are of the said oceans, make from this time the said Don Christopher Columbus your Admiral in all those islands and mainlands which by his hand and industry shall be discovered or acquired in the said oceans, during his life, and after his death, his heirs and successors, from one to another perpetually, with all the pre-eminences and prerogatives belonging to the said office and according as Don Alonso Enriques, your High Admiral of Castile, and the other predecessors in the said office held it in their districts. It so pleases your Highnesses. John de Coloma.

Likewise, that your Highnesses make the said Don Christopher your Viceroy and Governor General in all the said islands and mainlands and islands which as has been said, he may discover or acquire in the said seas; and that for the government of each one and of any one of them, he may make selection of three persons for each office, and that your Highnesses may choose and select the one who shall be most serviceable to you, and thus the lands which our Lord shall permit him to discover and acquire will be better governed, in the service of your Highnesses. It so pleases their Highnesses. John de Coloma. Item, that all and whatever merchandise, whether it be pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, and other things whatsoever, and merchandise of whatever kind, name, and manner it may be, which may be bought, bartered, discovered, acquired, or obtained within the limits of the said Admiralty, your Highnesses grant henceforth to the said Don Christopher, and will that he may have and take for himself, the tenth part of all of them, deducting all the expenses which may be incurred therein; so that of what shall remain free and clear, he may have and take the tenth part for himself, and do with it as he wills, the other nine parts remaining for your Highnesses. It so pleases their Highnesses. John de Coloma.

Likewise, that if on account of the merchandise that he might bring from the said islands and land, which as aforesaid he shall acquire and discover, or of that which may be taken in exchange for the same from other merchants here, any suit should arise in the place where the said trade and traffic shall be held and conducted; and if by the pre-eminence of his office of Admiral it may belong to him to know of such suit, it may please your Highnesses that he or his deputy and no other judge, may take cognisance of the said suit, and thus it is decreed henceforth. It so pleases their Highnesses if it belongs to the said office of Admiral, as the said Admiral Don Alonso Enriques held it and the others, his predecessors in their districts, and if it be just. John de Coloma.

Item, that in all the vessels which may be equipped for the said traffic and negotiation each time and whenever and as often as they may be equipped, the said Admiral Don Christopher Columbus may, if he wishes, contribute and pay the eighth part of all that may be expended in the equipment. And also that he may have and take of the profit, the eighth part of all which may result from such equipment. It so pleases their Highnesses. John de Coloma.

These are executed and despatched with the responses of your Highnesses at the end of each article in the town of Santa Fe de la Vega de Granada, on the seventeenth day of April in the year of the nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. I, the King. I, the Queen. By order of the King and of the Queen. John de Coloma. Registered Calçena.

B. THE AGREEMENT OF APRIL 30, 1492

In the name of the Holy Trinity and Eternal Unity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three persons really distinct and one divine essence which lives and reigns forever without end, and of the blessed and glorious Virgin, Saint Mary, Our Lady, His mother, whom we regard as our sovereign and advocate in all our actions, and to her honour and worship, and of the blessed Apostle Saint James, light and warrior of the Spains, patron and guide of the Kings of Castile and Leon, and likewise to the honour and worship of all the other saints of the celestial court. Now though according to nature man cannot know perfectly what God is, however great his knowledge of the world may be, yet he can know Him by seeing and contemplating His wonders and the works and acts which He has done and does every day, since all works are done by His power, governed by His wisdom and maintained by His goodness; and thus man can understand that God is the beginning, middle, and end of all things, and that in Him they are comprehended and He maintains each one in that state which He has ordained for them, and all have need of Him and He has no need of them, and He is able to change them whenever He may choose, according to His will; and it is not in His nature to change or alter in any manner; and He is called King over all Kings, because from Him they derive their name and by Him they reign, and He governs and maintains them, and they are His viceregents, each one in His kingdom, placed by Him over the nations to maintain them in justice and in truth, temporally; which is shown completely in two ways, one being spiritual, as the prophets and saints have shown, to whom our Lord gave grace to have accurate knowledge of things and to cause them to be understood; the other is according to nature, as philosophers have shown, who were discerners of things naturally. For the Saints said that the King is set upon earth in the place of God to fulfil justice and to give to each one his due, and therefore they called him the heart and soul of the people; and just as the soul is in the heart

of man, and by it the body lives and is maintained, so in the King resides justice, which is the life and support of the people of his dominions; and just as there is but one heart and by it all the members are united to form one body, even so all the members of the kingdom, however many they may be, are one, because the King must be, and is, one, and therefore they must all be one with him to follow him and to help in the things which he has to do; and according to nature the philosophers said that kings are the head of the kingdom, for as from the head proceed the perceptions by which all the members of the body are directed, even so by the mandate which proceeds from the King, who is Lord and head of all the members of the kingdom, they must be governed and directed and must pay obedience thereto; and so great is the authority of the power of kings, that all laws and rights are subject to their power, for they do not derive it from men, but from God, whose place they occupy in matters temporal; to whom among other things it chiefly appertains to love, honour, and protect his people, and among others he must especially select and honour those who deserve it on account of the services they have rendered to him; and therefore, the king or prince, among his other powers, not only can but ought to bestow favours upon those who are deserving thereof for the services they have rendered to him and for the goodness he may find in them. And because among the other virtues appertaining to kings, according to the saying of the philosophers, justice is one, and is the virtue and truth of things, and by it the world is best and most righteously maintained, and it is, as it were, a fountain from which all rights flow, and it always exists in the dispositions of just men, never failing, and giving and distributing to each his due; and it comprehends in itself all the principal virtues, and very great utility arises therefrom, for it causes every one to live prudently and peaceably according to his condition, without fault and without error; and thereby the good become better, receiving rewards for the good deeds they have done, and the others are reformed and amended. And this justice consists of two principal parts, the one commutative, which is between one man and another, the other distributive, in which are obtained the rewards and remunerations of the good and virtuous labours and services which good men do for kings and princes and for the public welfare of their kingdoms. And since, as the laws declare, to give rewards to those who serve well and faithfully is a thing which is very