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voyage. He first applied unsuccessfully for
backing to João II, king of Portugal. Columbus
next journeyed to Spain, where in 1486 he
gained an audience with the king and queen,
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.
Instead of giving him backing for a voyage,
Queen Isabella placed Columbus on a retainer
and referred his proposal to a group of schol-
ars called the Talavera Commission, after its
chairman, Fray Hernando de Talavera, the
queen’s confessor. After several years of study,
the Talavera Commission told the Spanish
sovereigns, “We can find no justification for
their Highnesses’ supporting a project that
rests on extremely weak foundations and
appears impossible to translate into reality.”
In April 1492 Columbus renewed his
appeal and was successful. Ferdinand and
Isabella signed two “capitulations,” or agree-
ments, detailing what royal support Colum-
bus would receive and the rewards he could
expect if his mission was successful. The mon-
archs promised to “appoint the said Christo-
pher Columbus their Admiral in those Islands
and Mainlands which by his labor and indus-
try shall be discovered or acquired in the said
Ocean Seas during his life.” He would also be
appointed governor of any lands he discov-
ered. These rights would be passed on to his
heirs at the time of his death.
After expenses were reimbursed, Colum-
bus would be entitled to one-tenth of any
“Merchandise whatsoever, whether Pearls,
Precious Stones, Gold, Silver, Spiceries, and
other Things,” which might be “bought,
bartered, found, acquired, or obtained within
the limits of the said Admiralty.” The rest
would belong to the Spanish Crown.
A royal decree required the people of the
southernSpanish seaport of Palos to furnish
Columbus with two caravels, the Pintaand
the Niña.The two ships were respectively cap-
tained by two brothers, Martín Alonso Pinzón
and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. For his flagship,
Columbus chartered a larger ship, the Santa
Maria,owned and commanded by Juan de la
Cosa who, like others among the crew mem-
bers, would sail on important future voyages.
All but four of the 90 officers, sailors, and
apprentices in the fleet were Spaniards.Columbus required financial support to undertake
his journeys to the Americas. Ferdinand and
Isabella provided some of that support, allowing
the crew to have ample supplies, such as
Columbus’s armor, shown in 19th-century
photograph.(Library of Congress, Prints and
Photographs Division [LC-USZ62-108633])(^26) B Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800
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