Encounters Unforeseen- 1492 Retold

by Andrew Rowen

  “Cristóbal, your confidence in your plan is very high.” She stared directly into his eyes. “Why? So many disagree.”

  Cristóbal gazed directly back. “As Your Majesty, I have faith in the prophets and scriptures. Esdras says water is only one-seventh the globe and that—together with evidence I’ve accumulated over decades at sea—is proof enough for me. For Bishop Talavera’s commission, I have offered far greater support and reasoning and answered innumerable misconceptions and superstitions. But, in the end, I believe it has been 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 him to be fundamentally different from an adventurer. He possessed both a geographical idea and an enormous ego and vanity to establish that the idea was correct. He was committed to risk his life in reliance on his faith in the Lord, the prophets and scriptures, and his own sailing observations—rather than a brash calculation of the risk and reward a mere adventurer would make. His faith was sincere and true, independent of his open lust for nobility.

  “Are you certain of this Cipangu? Bishop Talavera told me members of the commission said even Sir Mandeville doesn’t speak of it.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Cristóbal gazed to the floor.

  There was a moment of silence. “When you face danger on the Ocean Sea, to whom do you pray?”

  “As most Christian sailors, I pray to the Lord and the Virgin. Frequently, I pray to St. Francis of Assisi, as well.”

  “Why?”

  “As Your Majesty knows, St. Francis was a merchant and the son of a merchant. But the Lord called him for other purposes—to follow the scriptures faithfully, live ascetically, and brave hardship. St. Francis trusted God to lead him. He understood that, with faith and adherence to the gospels, God would lead him to his destiny regardless of the struggle.”

  “You should understand that I do understand struggle and have since childhood. I frequently pray to the Virgin. I often reflect on the teachings of St. John the Evangelist—that the devil must be vanquished before Christ comes again. The king and I are responsible for leading the struggle to vanquish the devil from Spain.”

  As she spoke, Cristóbal was astounded by the queen’s choice to discuss her faith with him. He nodded but was speechless. Isabel smiled and spoke softly. “I do understand that you view me as part of your struggle. You should understand that I must pursue my struggle first and nothing can impede its achievement.” She reflected and then sought to lighten the conversation. “Cristóbal, have you ever encountered sea monsters or dragons at sea?”

  “I’ve never seen the Leviathan of Job or Isaiah. But I’ve witnessed enormous crocodiles in Guinea. Sometimes the sea churns with little wind, and crews fear their ships are being hunted, particularly at night.”

  “Does that frighten you?”

  “Mariners must always be alert, prepared. Pliny the Elder teaches that the seas bear such nutrition and are so spacious that beasts can grow to monstrous proportions. He reports that the seas off the Indies are filled with whales as large as three acres, sharks seventy-five yards long, and lobsters six feet long. He says the eels in the Ganges grow to three hundred feet. Jaws of monsters have been found spanning over sixty feet.”

  “Cristóbal, if you don’t return from your voyage, who will care for your sons?”

  Cristóbal felt awkward addressing the queen regarding his unmarried relationship with Beatriz. He also felt remorse at not having considered her question fully. “My elder son is being educated at the Franciscan monastery in Palos, and my younger son, Fernando, is with his mother in Córdoba. Diego sometimes stays with my sister-in-law in Huelva.” He chose to go no further.

  Isabel pressed no further. Courteously, she indicated that she needed to attend to other business. She rose and he knelt. For a moment, both recognized a mutual respect and a bond of faith and resolve. Cristóbal hesitated, and then sought to reinforce a final point. “Your Majesty, remember that Marco Polo explains that the Grand Khan dispatched messengers to the pope requesting to learn of Christianity. To my knowledge, the Grand Khan awaits a reply.”

  “Do not lose hope. The king will vanquish al-Zagal in short order.” She invited him to stay at court and instructed the sovereigns’ accountant to provide food and that necessary to alleviate his poverty. The accountant wrote the duke that a voyage wasn’t likely to come off but, if it did, the queen would grant the duke a participation.

  Al-Zagal surrendered to Fernando in December 1489, and his subjects became Mujadin on the previously established terms. Boabdil then held the city of Grenada alone, and, while he had agreed to be the sovereigns’ vassal, he advised them in 1490 that he could not, or perhaps would not, deliver the city to them, explaining that many of his subjects would rather die than surrender. He led troops south to retake territory lost, attempting to occupy a strip of land to the coast so aid from North Africa could be received. But Fernando blocked the gambit and, in September, Fernando’s army marched a tala through the farmland supporting the city to burn its crops and orchards so the city would hunger.

  The sovereign’s conquest of Grenada was not completed expeditiously, Cristóbal’s voyage was not reconsidered promptly, and, in 1490, Cristóbal returned devastated yet again to Beatriz’s solace in Córdoba.

  _______________

  1 The “postils.”

  2 Pedro Arbués.

  3 João Afonso do Estreito of Madeira.

  4 An “antipode.”

  VI

  1490–AUGUST 2, 1492, DESTINY

  CRISTÓBAL

  Forgotten, 1491

  Ignored and inconsequential, Cristóbal anguished as the sovereigns married their firstborn, Isabel, to João’s son, Alfonso, with extravagant ceremony, sparred with Boabdil for over a year, and replenished their treasury as their inquisitors exorcized the realm. He sat with Beatriz and little Fernando in Beatriz’s garden in Córdoba, reading the scriptures and cosmographies. He returned to Huelva and Palos to spend time with Diego, Violante, and the friars at La Rábida. He visited the duke in Puerto de Santa María and watched the ships sail in and out. He called on the leading Genoese merchants when he passed through Seville. The sovereigns forgot about him, his funding lapsed, and he relied on these hosts to survive.

  In summer 1491, he met Beatriz de Peraza de Bobadilla, Hernán Peraza’s widow, who had come to Seville and Córdoba to answer for the massacres and enslavements of Gomerans committed after Hernán’s assassination. She was intrigued by his boasts of royal audiences and sponsorship, amused by his wit, and warmed by his handsome physique, although his poverty and absence of nobility precluded a marriage. She enticed him with her beauty, sensuality, and, while she had little appreciation of its irresistible and unique charm to him, her stewardship of a Canary Island. Cristóbal was smitten by all three, a tantalizing respite to his misery. She sported him briefly and then departed.

  Cristóbal’s degradation and defeat now overwhelmed him and, by autumn, he bitterly concluded he had squandered seven years waiting on the sovereigns for naught but condescension, scorn, ridicule, mockery, contempt, prejudice, and injustice. He raged that his extraordinary experience and studies—Scio, Mina, Marco Polo, Esdras—dwarfed that of other mariners but was dismissed as ignorant by those themselves ignorant of geography and the sea. He beseeched the Lord for the explanation for his punishment and understood the Lord was displeased with his self-importance and boastfulness.

  Woefully, Cristóbal decided to depart for France to meet King Charles VIII and reunite with Bartolomé. In Córdoba, he told his first Beatriz that he would return to see her and little Fernando when he could. He traveled to Huelva and Palos to tell Dieg
o, Violante, and the friars of La Rábida of his plans and to determine where Diego should then live.

  He was greeted at La Rábida by a Fray Juan Pérez, who was shocked by the decision to depart since the surrender of Grenada appeared certain and Fray Marchena and others had faith in the voyage. Fray Pérez had served the queen as an accountant years before and offered to appeal directly to her. Cristóbal held little hope but appreciated the offer, and Pérez wrote the queen a letter warning of Colón’s departure unless she interceded.

  ISABEL, FERNANDO, AND CRISTÓBAL

  Reconquista Completed, 1491–1492

  In spring 1491, Fernando’s army marched again through the farmland in the valley below the city of Grenada to burn whatever remained fertile and surrounded the city to wait for Boabdil’s submission. The king was accompanied by Prince Juan and the sovereigns’ nobility, who came to witness the Reconquista’s glorious finale. A small city of white tents was erected in the valley to accommodate everyone. Princes throughout Europe sent troops, the papal nuncio to Spain arrived to represent Pope Innocent VIII, and Queen Isabel and Princess Juana joined in June. The city’s conquest would be revenge for the loss of Constantinople.

  A fire swept through the tents in July and Princess Isabel’s young husband—King João’s heir—died in a riding accident in Portugal. The king and queen wore black in mourning but did not waver. In place of the tents, a city of traditional buildings was built in the shape of a cross and named Santa Fe (Holy Faith), demonstrating the Castilians intended never to leave. Merchants set up shops, and Princess Isabel, in mourning, and her younger sisters soon arrived.

  Fernando’s and Boabdil’s troops engaged daily, and it became apparent many of the city’s defenders were prepared for a brutal struggle to a bitter end. The sovereigns desired Boabdil’s surrender without the slaughter of Málaga and to receive a functioning city with the magnificent Alhambra intact.

  Hunger—of Grenada’s soldiers, citizens, and their children and animals—gradually became the ever-present focus and panic of daily existence in the city. As food and medicine dwindled, Boabdil met with civic leaders, many of whom recommended surrender, and he commenced secret negotiations with the sovereigns. By the end of November, agreement was achieved and surrender set for the day of the Epiphany, January 6, 1492. While the terms encouraged Mohammedans to emigrate, including free passage to Africa for three years, both sides anticipated most of the population would remain, and those remaining were guaranteed freedom to practice Islam. Mosques were protected from conversion and homes from confiscation. Mohammedan captives were to be released rather than enslaved. Jews who did not convert to Christianity were required to emigrate. Central to the surrender, Boabdil would receive his own territory, estates, and privileges.

  As the surrender negotiations progressed, the sovereigns developed plans for the conquered territory and its integration into their realms. They chose Cardinal Mendoza’s nephew the Count of Tendilla to serve as the territory’s governor and, subject to the pope’s approval, appointed Bishop Talavera to become the first archbishop of Grenada, responsible for conversion of the Mohammedans who remained. Talavera requested that the Mujadin who converted be exempt from the Inquisition for forty years, believing that the time necessary for men to shed their daily customs associated with a former religion. The sovereigns noted the concern, Isabel pondering her confessor’s misgivings regarding the Inquisition, Fernando his confessor’s loyalty.

  The sovereigns also reviewed the expansion of their realms beyond Spain. They received their commander in the Canaries, Alonso de Lugo, and discussed his plans to conquer Palmas and Tenerife. After Hernán Peraza’s death, efforts had been made to achieve peace treaties with individual chiefdoms on these islands, with some success. But Pope Sixtus IV had discontinued the sale of indulgences for Christianization of the Canaries and the conquest would have to be funded otherwise. De Lugo proposed the funding come from selling into slavery the inhabitants who refused peace treaties.

  Isabel had summoned Colón to Grenada after receiving warning of his departure for France, and the sovereigns advised him that his plan would be reconsidered in January by a new commission, again chaired by Bishop Talavera. Cristóbal forlornly accepted yet further delay and took the opportunity to renew acquaintances with supporters, including wiling away hours with Luis de Santángel.

  Luis was then administering, with Bishop Talavera, the Crown revenue to fund the war. He remained mindful of the imperative of retaining Fernando’s grace. Over the past four years, four more of Luis’s extended family had been arrested, convicted, and either penanced or burned at the stake, with substantial properties confiscated. Inquisitors had exhumed a deceased relative to convict her so her estate could be seized. Luis himself had been arrested in 1491 and admitted to some error, marching in a procession in penitence wearing a sanbenito.

  But Luis continued to serve the king and queen with genuine devotion. He appreciated that Fernando and Isabel had transformed Aragón and Castile from bickering, crime-ridden, weak principalities to rank as one of the leading powers of the world, and he believed God—of whichever religion he truly believed—had blessed the Spanish people with their leadership, energy, and competence, unequalled among the rulers of Europe. The kingdoms were now ruled by one king and queen to whom the nobility respectfully answered. The kingdoms’ roads, and the streets of their cities and villages, were safe to travel and transport merchandise. The sovereigns’ son Prince Juan was their undisputed successor and now rode with Fernando into battle. Alliances had been arranged to counter the French: Juana, now twelve, was engaged to a son of Maximilian, the Holy Roman emperor; María, now nine, was engaged to the prince of Capua; Catalina, now six, was engaged to the eldest son of King Henry VII of England, Prince Arthur; and, had João’s son not died, Princess Isabel’s marriage to him would have united Hispania’s Christian kingdoms, perhaps forever. Castilian and Aragonese merchant ships, including of the Santángel family, plied the Mediterranean and the Ocean Sea in competition with the Portuguese, Genoese, and Venetians. The Canaries would be subdued to facilitate trade with Africa and expand Spain’s wealth and power.

  Within the city, there were religious protests and disturbances as the surrender terms became known, and surrender was accelerated to January 2 to preclude resistance and Boabdil’s murder by his own people. At dawn, Isabel and Fernando rode from Santa Fe with their senior prelates, nobility, and troops to the plain below the Alhambra in three separate processions, the first led by the very adviser who had borne the sword of sovereign power at Isabel’s singular coronation, accompanied by Bishop Talavera. Fernando, accompanied by Prince Juan and a daughter, led the second. Isabel, accompanied by her remaining daughters, Cardinal Mendoza, and Count Mendoza, came last.

  Isabel gazed forward at her husband and was overcome by their achievement. The Lord had destined their marriage to attain this moment, testing them severely for over a decade before their faith persevered. He had been loyal to this destiny and her crown, and his military leadership had secured victory. This was their joint triumph.

  As he rode, Fernando remained alert to the military situation, wary of an attack by renegades or religious militants. He also was overcome with their triumph and glanced back toward his wife. He knew that her will had been indomitable. He was the general, and he was destined to be the greatest king in Christendom and, perhaps, to retake Jerusalem. But she was the Lord’s truest and most steadfast servant and more than his equal. This was their joint triumph.

  Boabdil left the Alhambra and proceeded downhill to surrender to Fernando and Isabel. Bishop Talavera continued with Count Mendoza and troops uphill to enter the Alhambra at a side gate, and the troops dispersed within. Talavera beheld the Alhambra’s great mosque and, accompanied by others, he entered it to conduct the Alhambra’s first mass. He and Count Mendoza then marched with troops farther downhill to enter the military fortress jutting high above the valley below, penetrating through an array of inner gates
, courtyards, and ramparts to reach the Alhambra’s tallest tower, where they gazed across the plain to Santa Fe in the distance. Mendoza bid the troops raise the pope’s silver cross for all to behold.

  From the plain, the sovereigns and their assembly watched it rise and glitter in the sun and shouted tumultuously. Fernando fell to his knees. The Castilian army shouted over and over, “Castilla. Castilla. For Don Fernando and Doña Isabel,” and then sang “Te Deum Laudamus.” Isabel trembled and teared, awash in victory. She had accomplished as the Lord’s servant what her father, brother, and centuries of predecessors had been unable to do. His justice and vengeance now triumphed.

  Cristóbal marched in Isabel’s procession, astounded by the enormity of the pageant and the glory the queen and king achieved as God’s instruments. He remembered that the queen had brought him to this moment, and his admiration for her burst through him. He sensed the Lord now heralded her approval of the voyage, but Boabdil’s departure in despair, utterly vanquished, reminded him of his own defeats. For an instant, he beheld a vision of Scio’s slave market and the possibility of his own utter vanquishment.

  But the splendor of his queen’s smile and tears dispelled his angst, and Cristóbal swelled with conviction that he, too, was the Lord’s instrument, destined as she to fulfill the Lord’s design for mankind in a fundamental way. With a steadfastness that utterly belied his circumstances, he fervently prayed for the Lord to lead the king and queen to understand that.

  CRISTÓBAL, ISABEL, FERNANDO, AND LUIS DE SANTÃNGEL

  Reconsideration of Colón’s Voyage, January–May 1492

  The sovereigns waited some days before ceremoniously entering the Alhambra and, as attacks by fervent Mohammedans remained a concern, for weeks they typically would work in the Alhambra by day and return to Santa Fe by night. The entire court labored to install Castile’s administration in the newly conquered territory.

  Bishop Talavera did make time to consider Colón’s proposal promptly. He organized a new commission to reexamine the voyage’s feasibility, including as members some of the leading nobility and prelates present such as Cardinal Mendoza and the papal nuncio to Spain. The only newly discovered geographic information since the prior commission’s review was Bartolomeu Dias’s circumvention of Guinea’s southern tip. Many feared time was short before João achieved the Indies and established a trade monopoly.