Columbus set out for Spain. In his three-month visit, he had already set
precedents—hostilities with the natives, establishment of a colony based on
exploitation of them, and the single-minded search for gold—that would
mark generation after generation of Spanish endeavors in the New World.
The news he brought to Spain was stunning. A new and unexpected
source of gold and unlimited numbers of slaves to work the sugar planta-
tions were there for the taking. Electrified, the usually slow-moving Spanish
government was quick to act, and ambitious private citizens flocked to
Columbus’s venture. Within a few months, the first large-scale conquering
and colonizing mission had been assembled. About 1,200 men were to be
carried by seventeen carracks and smaller ships with provisions for half a
year. In addition to soldiers and the usual sprinkling of “gentlemen,” there
were artisans, a few priests, and some government officials. In the holds of
the ships were animals, equipment, and seed to plant the European foods
that the Spanish insisted on eating. It was, as the maritime historian John
Parry remarked, “a whole society in miniature.”
When the new flotilla arrived at Hispaniola, the Spaniards found the
first settlement destroyed. The men Columbus had left behind had refused
to dirty their hands planting crops to feed themselves and had infuriated
the natives by stealing their food and raping their women. By the time of
Columbus’s return, they were all dead. Conflict between Europeans and
Native Americans was to be the central theme of colonialism in the New
World.
In 1493, all trade with the New World was made a crown monopoly;
by 1503 the monopoly had spawned a bureaucracy, a sort of ministry of
colonial affairs, known as the Casa de Contratación. The Casa became pur-
chasing agent, outfitter, and supplier of the fleets sent to the Caribbean.
Insofar as the great distances and poor communications allowed, it tried to
supervise or control everything that happened in America. But the Spanish
state did not stand alone—it always included the Catholic church. Before
her death, Isabella had encouraged the church to take on a major role in the
new empire. So the policy of her government could be summarized as get-
ting rich and saving souls. Under the supervision of the Casa, merchants
and conquistadors took care of looting while, under the Spanish church,
Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits were charged with conversion of the
44 THE BIRTH OF AMERICA