When Christopher Columbus returned
from his first trip to “the Indies” in
1492, his royal rewards included gov-
ernorship of all lands he had discovered and
might find in future voyages. However, as the
vast size of the region became clearer and
Columbus’s unsuitability as a colonial leader
damaged his reputation, other adventurers
were given royal authority to explore and col-
onize. Columbus unsuccessfully appealed to
regain his titles while other navigators,
including some who had served under him,
sailed for the New World.
These explorers, like Columbus, initially
believed that the land they were exploring
was part of Asia or perhaps a simple geo-
graphical barrier preventing them from
reaching the riches of the Orient. While most
concentrated on enriching themselves with
gold, pearls, and slaves, they also continued
to search for a route to Asia, which they were
prevented by treaty from reaching by sailing
around Africa.

IN COLUMBUS’S WAKE

On Spain’s side of the line demarcated by the

Treaty of Tordesillas, fortune-seeking Spaniards

began to venture along the northern coastline

of South America. Unlike Columbus, whose

voyages were financed by the Spanish Crown,

these new explorers were required to finance

the trips themselves or find investors. Their

geographical knowledge, however, grew as

mariners examined one anothers’ charts and

their findings gradually reached cartographers

in Europe.

Few of these adventurers found the new

hemisphere profitable enough to remain there

for long. Typical was Alfonso de Ojeda, a vet-

eran of Columbus’s second voyage, who sailed

westward along the Guianas of north-central

South America in 1499, trading for gold and

taking slaves. Ojeda’s brutality was long

remembered by the Native peoples of the

region, whose memories of Spanish raids made

future exploration dangerous for decades. A

39

A New World

1500–1519

4

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