or a
further licence to extend the slave trade. These circumstances were
probably enough to turn the scale of Isabella's opinion against the
Admiral's administration. The presence of the slaves particularly
angered her kind womanly heart. "What right has he to give away my
vassals?" she exclaimed, and ordered that they should all be sent back,
and that in addition all the other slaves who had come home should be
traced and sent back; although of course it was impossible to carry out
this last order.

At any rate there was no longer any hesitation about sending out a
commissioner, and the Sovereigns chose one Francisco de Bobadilla, an
official of the royal household, for the performance of this difficult
mission. As far as we can decipher him he was a very ordinary official
personage; prejudiced, it is possible, against an administration that had
produced such disastrous results and which offended his orderly official
susceptibilities; otherwise to be regarded as a man exactly honest in the
performance of what he conceived to be his duties, and entirely
indisposed to allow sentiment or any other extraneous matter to interfere
with such due performance. We shall have need to remember, when we see
him at work in Espanola, that he was not sent out to judge between
Columbus and his Sovereigns or between Columbus and the world, but to
investigate the condition of the colony and to take what action he
thought necessary. The commission which he bore to the Admiral was in
the following terms:

"The King and the Queen: Don Christopher Columbus, our Admiral of
the Ocean-sea. We have directed Francisco de Bobadilla, the bearer
of this, to speak to you for us of certain things which he will
mention: we request you to give him faith and credence and to obey
him. From Madrid, May 26, '99. I THE KING. I THE QUEEN. By their
command. Miguel Perez de Almazan."

In addition Bobadilla bore with him papers and authorities giving him
complete control and possession of all the forts, arms, and royal
property in the island, in case it should be necessary for him to use
them; and he also had a number of blank warrants which were signed, but
the substance of which was not filled in. This may seem very dreadful to
us, with our friendship for the poor Admiral; but considering the grave
state of affairs as represented to the King and Queen, who had their
duties to their colonial subjects as well as to