Their choice for the mission was unfortunate; it fell on Francisco Bobadilla, a spiteful, arrogant and tactless man. On arriving in Santo Domingo on August 23, 1500, he immediately began to annul dispositions made by Columbus and sent for the admiral who was in the interior. As soon as Columbus appeared, Bobadilla, far exceeding his authority, caused him to be put in chains and confined in a cell of the fortress of Santo Domingo. He also imprisoned the brothers of Columbus and sent them to Spain together with the Discoverer, all chained like infamous criminals. At the same time he made a report attributing malfeasance, injustice and fraud to all. The administration of Bobadilla was disastrous. In his efforts to ingratiate himself with Columbus' enemies he heaped favors on Roldan and his followers and gave them franchises and lands. He made the slavery of the Indians more galling than ever, obliging them to labor in the fields and mines. Columbus' property and papers were confiscated and Columbus' friend, the explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas, was imprisoned and his property seized. The captain of the vessel bearing Columbus treated his distinguished prisoner with all possible deference and offered to take off the chains, but the Discoverer, whose heart was breaking under the indignities heaped upon him and the injustice of which he was the victim, proudly refused. When the vessel arrived in Spain the sovereigns, shocked at Bobadilla's proceedings, commanded the immediate release of Columbus, ordered that his property be restored and overwhelmed him with distinctions, though providing that his dignities as viceroy were to remain temporarily suspended; probably because the calculating spirit of King Ferdinand believed that too much power had been vested in his subject. Bobadilla was removed from office, and Nicolas de Ovando, a member of the religious-military order of Alcantara, was appointed governor in his place. Ovando arrived in Santo Domingo on April 15, 1502, with a fleet of thirty vessels, the largest which up to that time had arrived in the new world, carrying stores of every kind and over 1500 persons, among them many who later attained distinction in conquests on the mainland. He was courteous to Bobadilla, but took measures to send Roldan and the most turbulent of his companions back to Spain on the return of his fleet, the largest vessel of which was placed at the disposition of Bobadilla. Just before the sailing of the fleet, on June 30, 1502, Columbus unexpectedly appeared before the city on his fourth voyage, and asked permission to enter the port for protection from a hurricane which he believed was approaching. Ovando, either because he had secret orders, or perhaps because he feared Columbus' presence might cause renewed disturbances, denied the request, and the great man, deeply wounded by the refusal, sought shelter further up the coast.