Admiral of the High Seas

15th century Europeans were not aware of the American continents and maps were not reliable. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain – with the promise of gold, spices and silk from the Far East – eventually gave him ships and a crew. He set sail in 1492. He was also determined to spread Christianity. In return, Columbus would be given the title “Admiral of the Ocean Seas."

It is not necessary for us to enter very deeply into the consideration of the policy of Columbus toward the people of the islands of the West Indies. His second voyage was nothing more than an expedition for the sake of plunder. He had discovered gold and other riches in the West Indies and he had found that the people who inhabited the islands were simple-hearted, inoffensive creatures, who did not know how to fight and who did not want to fight. Therefore, it was so easy to sail his ships into the harbors of defenceless islands, to subjugate the natives, and to take away the products of their mines and soil, that he commenced a veritable course of piracy.