The Washington herald., 1912-08-25

his followers, lawless and ungovernapie
N various ways. and Fonseca in controi
Of Indian affairs at home. seeking his
degradation, the arrest and Transporter
ton of Columbus to Spain in chains Is
not TO be wondered at; though, as the
matter, is now viewed, the underlying
cause of that arrest seems never to have
been assigned by historians
To determine the nature OF that cause
we shall have to look beneath the pre-
lenses of Columbus, and observe his real
motive and aim, which, while as an i'm
mediate purpose. appears to have been
highly ambitious, selfish. and egoisuc,
had an altruistic and deeply religious end
in view, To be satisfied Of this the
reader must lay aside all prejudices he
may have acquired, and observe not only
the actuating impulse which will here De
assigned as the motive of Columbus ana
the reasons therefor. but must also con-
slider the painfully trying period in which
he lived, which in the case of one less
bold and determined, would have pre-
cluded even a hint of that purpose from
appearing anywhere. and might have OBJ
liberated even his name and fame
Queens Interest Religious.
1t must be remembered that after his
first voyage. when Christian PROSECUTING
%
Pope and sovereigns ostensi5ly as a chief
purpose of all future expeditions all re-
ports and narratives were placed under
ecclesiastical control, the policy being to
suppress everything which might mill
tate against Christian doctrine and senti-
ment Almost from the date, March 10,
1893, of Columbus return from his first
voyage, when the Valencian priest Rod
eric Borgia, who occupied the Caesarian
throne as Alexander VI, laid claim to
he newly discovered domain. incorpor-
iting it in his empire the whole world
seems to has acquiesced in. and recog-
nized the right of the Pope not only
''t- confirm any trespass on the possess
sions of the heathen." but also to pre-
vent any hereto from participating IN
such possessions.
Isabella's interest being almost wholly
emotional and religious. she would
r:either tolerate heresy in any one con-
uected with an expedition nor permit
reports savoring of heretical acts or
doctrines of any participant to be made
public. Hence in the case of Columbus,
teretic as he was in the nature Of his
rroject from the very beginning, and
leader OF these expeditions, the i'm
probability of the slightest hint Of his
Jewish leaning appearing anywhere
should it be discovered. Yet in his case
such hints did appear, and some Of
them are still to be deserted even though
family indicating that his aim as well
as origin was Jewish and indeed so ex-
altingly Jewish that he conceived HIM
self the chosen one, the Messiah referred
to by the Hebrew prophets. to rescue
hls people from the terrible prosecutions
to which they were then being subjected
= Spain. and to regain and rebuild Je-
rusalem. His book. the "Libro de las
Profecias." which takes its title from the
prophecy of Daniel. is not susceptible
of any other Interpretation
Diary Was Lost.
The Diary of his first voyage has
been lost or destroyed, but that he con-
sidered himself during that eventful
trip under the especial direction of the
Almighty is shown in one passage pre-
served by Las Casas. Becalmed in the
Saragossa Sea, after Matheos, OF the
crew, had predicted the worst, breeze
from the northwest began TO blow, when
Columbus. according to Las Casas. wrote:
Thus hath the great ocean done me
service in need; a thing never before
seen save in the times of the Jews, when
the Egyptians set forth in pursuit of
Moses. who delivered the children OF Is
-ael from bondage"
Passages of this character in his nrst
journal if more suggestively jewish may
have tended to arouse the suspicious OF
auy inuuisitors who CHANGED to peruse
q: and the same is true of another class
If pretenses.
Though Columbus strove to conceal the
time and place of his birth by telling d.
vergent stories about the time, and by
saving that he came from Genoa and
was born there" yet the fact that ne
was unable to use the Italian language
-. In nj
strong evidence to-day that he was not
born in Italy, which is corroborated, by
recent discoveries in Pontevedra, indi-
eating that he was born IN tf7t city
such discrepancies were probably no
ticed and served to arouse the suspicious
Of his enemies at that time
Enemies Suspicious Aroused.
Ferdinand and his advisers had re-
garded the proposition of Columbus as
extremely impracticable. not to say WIS.,
ionary from the outset. However, April
Il, 1892, the contract was signed Great
inE Columbus admiral, vicsroy, and gov
ernor general, giving him one-tenth the
discovered riches and emitting him to
one-eighth the profits for future expe-
tons. The King had once rejected these
te-ms They We're accepted at last by
Ferdinand" says Martin Hume, doubt
going elsewhere, but the King. 1t il
cIear-had no intention OF fulfilling
them"
History of Spain. Vol. II. p. 113)
From this time on there was a power
full force working to utilize any suspi-
cious discrepancies discoverabie in the
utterances and conduct of Columbus, an6
that this force actually served to be-
smirch his character is not difficult tc
believe. That the King, after receiving
the report Of Columbus success, wal
much put out with himself for having
made such an agreement is certain. 1T
wasS quite evident" says WiEsor, thai
Ferdinand, who had never warmed to the
admirars enthusiasm, had long been con.
scious that in the exclusive and extended
powers which had been given to Colum.
bus a serious administrative blunder had
been made. He said as much at a latel
day to Ponce Nde Leon" (p. $3.50 Thi.
feeling was readily perceived by Fonseca
to whom the King had intrusted the
superintendency of Indian affairs: indeed
1t seems to have been the specific role
of Fonseca to involve Columbus in sucf
difficulties as TOY compel a rupture of the
contract and relieve the King of this in.
cubus upon his Authority. One obstacle
to this course wss the Queen, who, despite
his unpopularttyS resulting from the a.
nancial failures and hardships encoun,
tered by the adventurers accompanying
his second expedition. stood loyalty BY
Columbus up to THE time CT his depart.
ure on his third Voyage. It became nee
essary to overcorlre Isabella's sympathies
which could not be accomplished through
ordinary chargest
Planned Treason Charge.
r-o.-a, ,ppau 70 IN have been thotfvht