Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 2 (of 8): Spanish Explorations and Settlements in America from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Century
History
Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 2 (of 8): Spanish Explorations and Settlements in America from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Century
America -- Discovery and exploration; America -- History; United States -- History
Nicuesa and Ojeda met at Santo Domingo, whither they had gone to
complete their preparations, and became involved in a boundary dispute.
Each claimed the province of Darien[621] as within his jurisdiction.
It was finally agreed, however, that the river of Darien should be the
boundary line. With regard to Jamaica, the new admiral, Diego Columbus,
prevented all disputes by sending Juan de Esquivel to hold it for
him. Diego further contributed to the failure of the enterprise by
preventing the governors from taking the colonists from Española, to
which they were entitled by their licenses. At last, however, on Nov.
12, 1509, Ojeda, with Juan de la Cosa and three hundred men, left Santo
Domingo; and five days later entered the harbor of Cartagena, where he
landed, and had a disastrous engagement with the natives. These used
their poisoned arrows to such good purpose that sixty-nine Spaniards,
Juan de la Cosa among them, were killed. Nicuesa arrived in the harbor
soon after; and the two commanders, joining forces, drove the natives
back, and recovered the body of La Cosa, which they found swollen and
disfigured by poison, and suspended from a tree. The two fleets then
separated; Nicuesa standing over to the shore of Castilla del Oro,
while Ojeda coasted the western shore of the Gulf of Urabá, and settled
at a place to which he gave the name of San Sebastian. Here they built
a fort, and ravaged the surrounding country in search of gold, slaves,
and food; but here again the natives, who used poisoned arrows, kept
the Spaniards within their fort, where starvation soon stared them
in the face. Ojeda despatched a ship to Española for provisions and
recruits; and no help coming, went himself in a vessel which had been
brought to San Sebastian by a certain piratical Talavera. Ojeda was
wrecked on Cuba; but after terrible suffering reached Santo Domingo,
only to find that his lieutenant, Enciso, had sailed some time before
with all that was necessary for the relief of the colony. The future
movements of Ojeda are not known. He testified in the trial of Talavera
and his companions, who were hanged in 1511; and in 1513 and 1515
his depositions were taken in the suit brought by the King’s attorney
against the heirs of Columbus. Broken in spirit and ruined in fortune,
he never returned to his colony.
[Illustration: CARTAGENA.
[This view of the town of Cartagena at a somewhat later day is a
fac-simile of a cut in Montanus, and has some of the doubt attached to
all of his pictures.—ED.]]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account