1. Astra 1
Voices Off-Stage?
Recovering the Writings of Christopher Columbus
Nachlass
There is a German word which is often used in the scholarly and academic world called
Nachlass. It is a compound word coming from the words nach, which means “after”, and lassen,
which means “to leave”. Together, this word is used to define the manuscripts, notes, letters, and
other such works that are left behind when an author dies, and are normally unpublished.1 These
works are especially important because they can add so much to what we know about the writer:
what they valued, what they were interested in, and what kind of person they were in general. With
a little imagination, this same word and concept can be applied to Christopher Columbus, the
famous explorer from Genoa, commissioned by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, who
discovered from a European perspective various islands in the Indies. Of course, Columbus’s
written legacy is not so much found in unpublished manuscripts left behind after his death in the
Journal but rather embedded in the works of others. The writings of others, most notably
Bartolome de las Casas in the case of The Journal of the First Voyage, and indeed in the exchange
of treaties with the Catholic Monarchs.
Problems with Columbus’s Nachlass
As Felipe Fernández-Armesto stated in his biography of Christopher Columbus, forgeries
and false documents were prevalent in Columbus’s time when historians were searching for his
documents. This leaves us as readers in a very difficult situation as we attempt to dissect the writing
1“Nachlass.” Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 12 February 2015. Web. 31 March 2015.

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and warped information from the text and try to emerge with Columbus’s own voice. While I show
how much of Columbus’s voice comes through in Las Casas’s abridgment, it is imperative that I
explain some limitations of this essay. One limitation is the length. Though this essay is extensive
and it is meant to take an in-depth look at Columbus’s voice in his Nachlass, there will always be
documents that I cannot either acquire or analyze due to length and time restrictions. So for the
sake of adhering to the word count of this essay, I will primarily be analyzing Christopher
Columbus’s log-book of 1492 (or the abridgment of it by Las Casas) and incorporate other works
by him, or about him, specifically the Capitulations of Santa Fe and the Columbus Letter. There
are other texts and fragments of Columbus’s writings that could be analyzed in detail but these are
the ones that will be focused on in this essay.
A Note on the Journal of the First Voyage
The only version of the Journal is in Las Casas’ and we have to ascertain how faithful a
transcription or copy it the scholar’s work is. The question of Christopher Columbus’s authentic
voice is to be found in many works, yet it is explicitly an issue in regard to his so-called Journal
of the First Voyage. Because Columbus’s words are embedded are primarily embedded in the
works of others, how much of them actually contain his voice and his words? Throughout this
essay, I will explain that much of Columbus’s voice is still preserved not only in his own writings
through Las Casas’s quoted texted, but also through Las Casas’s summaries of the so-called
Journal of the First Voyage and Fernando Columbus’s biography.
Columbus gave the Catholic Monarchs the logbook that he supposedly (as we do not know
for sure whether he kept it every day because we do not have the original copy) kept day to day on
his journey from the West Indies back to Spain. They did not return it but instead retained it and a
copy was sent to Columbus before he set sail on his second voyage. The copy was probably kept

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in Columbus’s family archives and was most likely the copy in which Luis Columbus, the
renown’s grandson, granted permission to be published. However, both the original and the copy
sent to the Columbus family have disappeared in the passage of time.2 The full contents of the
diaries are unknown simply because we do not know the location of them.
The organizational chart, or stemmata chart, below explains the progression of Columbus’s
log-book and the copy that was given back to him by the Catholic Monarchs. As I will establish
within this essay, both Las Casas and Fernando were most likely using the Catholic Monarch copy
of Columbus’s log-book when they created their abridgments. Both of these abridgments were
found and published by Luis Columbus when he found them in the Columbus family
library/archives. Both the original log-book that was retained by the Catholic Monarchs and they
copy they sent back to Columbus have been lost to the ages, as expressed in the chart.
2 Jane, Cecil and Christopher Columbus. The Journal of Christopher Columbus. London: Anthony Blond & The
Orion, 1960. Print. This background information can be found in the Foreword of the Cecil Jane translation, xv-
xxiii.
Christopher Columbus's
Original Log-Book -
Whereabouts Unknown,
OriginallyRetained by
CatholicMonarchs
CatholicMonarch Copy -
Whereabouts Unknown
Las Casas Abridgment -
Published byLuis Columbus
Fernando Columbus
Biographyand Abridgment
- Published byLuis
Columbus

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The issue at hand is whether or how far Las Casas’s abridgment deviates from Columbus’s
original words. We have the abstract text by Bartolomé de las Casas and we can postulate that he
used either or both of the copies of the texts that existed at that time. We can tell this from certain
quoted passages which supposedly are copied word-for-word from Columbus’s diary. Other parts
of Las Casas’ text are abridged from the original work. While he copied Columbus’s diary of the
first voyage, he also made a copy of the third voyage. This version of the Journal remained
unknown for a long time but was discovered by Martin Fernández de Navarrete in the Duke del
Infantado’s library and it was then published in 1825. Because Navarrete had been in the Spanish
navy, he had corrected some of Las Casas’ inaccurate navigation instructions.
After Columbus wrote the Journal, it had been through the scribes that the Catholic
Monarchs hired to copy it, Las Casas who had copied it and created his own semi-abridged version
of it, and then “minor” changes again were made by Navarrete.3 This shows that the original word
of Columbus could have been changed drastically. Knowing this information, how much of
Columbus’ voice actually made it through to his readers? After all of these edits done not only by
other individuals like Las Casas or Navarrete, but also by Columbus himself, how much of his
original voice has been retained and how much has been lost to the ages? These questions will be
answered in this essay.
Las Casas as Editor
Las Casas’s contribution to the diaries has been essential specifically because if he had not
intervened and created his abridgment of the Journal of the First Voyage, there would be no
existing record of it. Because his father and uncle had accompanied Columbus on the second
3 Jane, London 1960, See Foreword for biographical information on pages xv-xxiii.

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voyage to the Indies in 1493, Bartolomé was the one who began collecting material about the
history of the Indies almost a decade after Columbus first sailed there. Las Casas was heavily
involved in the controversy surrounding the oppression of the Indians of the New World as well
as questioning the legitimacy of the Spanish presence in the New World.4 Within his magnum
opus, Historia de las Indias, he quotes heavily (though we do not know if it is accurately) from
Columbus’s Journals, normally from the Journal of the First Voyage. As previously stated in the
Introduction above, the copy of the first voyage journal Las Casas used was most likely the copy
that Isabella made and gave back to Columbus. Las Casas was also an accomplished historian and
was given a lengthy education, something that is apparent within his writing and can be contrasted
with Columbus’s writings as well.
With this information on Las Casas, it becomes difficult to ascertain exactly how much of the
Journal the editor changed or abridged. B.W. Ife makes a valid point in his Introduction to the
Journal of the First Voyage by stating that:
… [T]he manuscript is at two removes from the original: a digest of a copy of the original,
which may itself have been a fair copy rather than the actual log-book which Columbus wrote
up from day to day on board ship. We can only assume that the copy from which Las Casas
worked was reasonably faithful, although he was himself aware of inaccuracies and mis-
transcriptions.
At times, Las Casas tries to correct or even casts doubt on Columbus’s calculations or even his
knowledge of certain subjects.5 This is the contribution that Las Casas has made to Columbus’s
4 B.W. Ife, Christopher Columbus, and Ralph J. Penny. Journal of the First Voyage, 1492 = Diario Del Primer Viaje,
1492.Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1990. Print. For biographical information on Bartolomé de las Casas,see
B.W. Ife’s Introduction, v-xxv.
5 B.W. Ife Introduction and Translation of Journal of the First Voyage, Warminster 1990, vii. See January 13th, “…
here it seems that the Admiral knew something about astrology, although these planets do not seem to be in their

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Journal and to the world. Las Casas has given us his own digestion and paraphrased version of
Columbus’s voice, though it is apparent through much of the Journal that Columbus’s voice
emerges from Las Casas’s abridgments.
Columbus’s own voice, which I am arguing has been preserved throughout Las Casas’s
abridgment, is to be defined as the Admiral’s own words. So how can we find Columbus’s true
voice in these writings of his? How can we differentiate what Columbus was attempting to say in
his log-book from what Las Casas summarized it as? One way we can do so is by examining the
sections where Las Casas is paraphrasing Columbus and where the editor is directly quoting
(supposedly). This can be seen in the Journal, and is especially evident within the prologue of the
Diary of the First Voyage.6 In Columbus’s address to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, which
has not been paraphrased by Las Casas and was taken directly from Columbus’s diary (according
to Las Casas), there are many run-on sentences that are only broken up by semi-colons or commas.
In the prologue, Columbus explains the achievements of the Catholic Monarchs and their piety
and only ends the thought with a period after a page and a half of semi-colons.7 B.W. Ife explains
this as Columbus suffering from an over-complexity of syntax, which seems apparent within this
passage. This element of Columbus’s writing seems to be another form of his personal style and
another part of his voice that has been preserved throughout many editions and abridgments.8
proper positions,due to bad transcription by the copyist…” and October 8th, “He steered WSW and they made about
11 and a half or 12 leagues during the day and night and it seems that at times during the night they were making 15
miles an hour, if the text is to believed”.
6Dunn, O.C., James E. Kelley, Christopher Columbus, and Bartolomé De Las Casas. The Diario of Christopher
Columbus’s First Voyage to America, 1492-1493.Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1989. Print, 17. Las Casas here
states that the beginning of the Journal, “This is the first voyage and the courses and way that the Admiral Don
Christóbal Colón took when he discovered the Indies, summarized except for the prologue that he composed for the
king and queen which is given in full and begins this way.” Alludes to the fact that the rest of the Journal will be
summarized, which did not happen as we can tell from the parts where the Journal slips into the first person,assuming
those parts are direct quotes from Columbus’s original log-book.
7 B.W. Ife, Warminster 1990, 19.
8 B.W. Ife, Warminster 1990, xi.

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As was previously mentioned, Columbus was a natural-born Italian speaker so he acquired
Spanish as a second language. This is also especially evident within the Journal at certain parts in
the original Spanish9. However, Las Casas (who was a natural-born Spanish speaker) corrected
some of these phrases and grammatical issues in Columbus’s Spanish Journal. In addition, we
must remember that Las Casas was writing his abridgment of Columbus’s Journal about 30 years
after the Admiral had finished them so certain lingual changes that were developing in his time
might have been different in Las Casas’s era.10 Columbus’s Italian/Genoese heritage certainly has
an effect on some of his spelling and word choice, even in the Spanish text. For instance, Ife points
this out in his Introduction to the Journal of the First Voyage:
The otherwise unprecedented form símplice(s) `simple', used by Columbus… may owe its
form to interference from a Genoese cognate of Italian sémplice. Likewise, the final vowel
of doblo may be accounted for in similar manner (cf. Italian doppio). Doblo does not
elsewhere appear in Spanish until 1640, and then only as a legal term.11
These terms are used within the Journal at different points but both, as shown by B.W. Ife, have
Italian characteristics and have little to do with the Spanish language. Columbus’s words reflect
his background in these instances.
Columbus also does something frequently which is a form of repetition which Ife calls
formulaic description. This is something that Columbus did by himself and Las Casas probably
would have copied from the original log-book. This technique is where the writer repeats certain
9 B.W. Ife, Warminster 1990, xxvii. “Unless we are dealing with an error of transcription by Las Casas, Columbus
confuses indicative and subjunctive mood in the following case: no me pareçe que las puede aver”. See November
27th, in Dunn & Kelley, Norman 1989, 185.
10 B.W. Ife, Warminster 1990, vi.
11 B. W. Ife, Journal of the First Voyage, Warminster 1990. See October 14th for “simplice” (78) and on December
26th for “doblo”.

8. Astra 8
bits of information (a canoa being a boat made from a single piece of wood12) for the sake of the
audience. We know this technique is done by Columbus, and not Las Casas, because this would
have been information that Las Casas would have known. He would not have needed to copy down
this information multiple times if the abridgment was just for his own eyes. Las Casas uses these
formulaic descriptions because they were prevalent in Columbus’s copy of the Journal. In
addition, there are certain descriptions that are repeated throughout the Journal, for instance the
comparison of the calm sea that Columbus is sailing on to the river at Seville. Ife has several
explanations for these repetitious phrases, one being that Columbus did not have many Spanish
words to describe what he was seeing and had to repeat certain words. But Ife’s other explanation
is that Columbus understood the power of language and the effect repetition has on a reader. It
makes Columbus’s work more memorable and it constitutes reality.13
Assuming that Las Casas was faithful when he copied certain sections of Columbus’s
Journal of the first voyage, we can hopefully say that these sections are entirely Columbus’s own
words and his voice. These parts count for about one-fifth of the whole Journal of the First Voyage.
Estelle Irizarry14 conducted a study to see the differences in both Columbus’s and Las Casas’s
writings. She finds patterns in certain sections of the Journal that are thought to be Columbus’s
own voice and sections that are specifically Las Casas’s summaries. These can show the difference
between Columbus’s own words and Las Casas’s contribution. Her results suggest that in the
12 B.W. Ife, Journal of the First Voyage, Warminster 1990, xi. This phrase is said at least ten times within the entire
Journal.
13 B.W. Ife, Journal of the First Voyage, Warminster 1990, xiii.
14 Irizarry, Estelle. "The Two Authors ofColumbus' 'Diary'" Computers and Humanities 27.2 (1993): 85-92. Print, 85.
Estelle Irizarry is a Professorof Spanish at Georgetown University and Editor of Hispania and Courseware Editor of
CHum. She is the authorof over 20 books on Hispanic literature. This study was done in 1993 and, with the help of a
computer, ProfessorIrizarry determined how much of the Journal of the First Voyage is Columbus’s own writing and
how much is Las Casas’s based on factors such as: word count per sentence,punctuation,and prevalence of religious
words.

9. Astra 9
specifically quoted passages in the Journal, which we must assume are in Columbus’s own words
due to the article “I” in them, are significantly longer in sentence length than Las Casas’s
summarizations.15
However, though Irizarry utilizes a computer and gives helpful data, her results are less
than conclusive when it comes to longer sentences by both Las Casas and Columbus. Both writers
use long sentences more often than shorter ones, according to Irizarry’s data which diminishes her
initial point: that she can show the differences between Columbus’s own words and Las Casas’s
abridgments. Though Irizarry does aid this discussion and give an alternative analysis to
Columbus’s Journal, I think her works have been superseded by Barry Ife. I have come to this
conclusion simply because Ife offers answers and an analysis whereas Irizarry only gives raw data
and does not analyze her findings to the extent that she could. One might say she was right for the
wrong reasons. From the amount of analysis that she did do, we can take some information away
from it. Though we could take into account the different passages Irizarry was testing, it offers the
conclusion that Columbus uses less short sentences than Las Casas, which seems to be accurate
when one analyzes works by Columbus. This statement is also supported by the text of the Journal.
As stated in the Columbus section of this essay, the Admiral was rather keen on verbose and
lengthy journal entries. Las Casas was not so, as shown in certain passages of the Journal:
They steered on their route west that day and night and made 20 leagues. He reported a few
less. Here the men of the Niña said that they had seen a tern and a tropic bird, and these
birds never depart from land more than 25 leagues.16
15 See Irizarry, Computers and Humanities 1993, 88. From a 5000 word chunk of Las Casas’s writings taken from the
Journal of the First Voyage, there were about 30 sentences that were fewer than 10 words. For the same sized chunk
of Columbus’s writings taken from the Journal, there were only seven sentences with 10 words or less.
16 Dunn & Kelley, Norman 1989, 31. See September 14th.

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These sentences, though long, are not to the extent of Columbus’s sentence length. With
Columbus, many of his sentences are exceedingly long with many semi-colons and commas, as
shown in the Introduction. Las Casas is normally shorter and more direct, as would be expected of
a summary. But even with this thought in mind, we can still see how much of Columbus’s voice
comes through in Las Casas’s abridgment of Columbus’s Journal. For instance, when Las Casas
summarizes the proceedings of September 6th in the Journal, he says this:
And the Admiral learned from a caravel that was coming from the island of Hierro that
three Portuguese caravels were sailing in the vicinity in order to capture him. It must have
been from envy that the king felt because of the Admiral’s having gone away to Castile.
And he proceeded all that day and night in very light winds and in the morning he found
himself between Gomera and Tenerife.17
Though Las Casas is summarizing Columbus here, we can still hear Columbus speaking. Las
Casas’s reasoning behind the Portuguese king sending ships after Columbus was because the king
was probably jealous of Columbus for his voyage. But this seems like a statement that Columbus
himself would have said. As Fernández-Armesto said:
His manner and speed exuded ambition. He was pre-disposed to success, unresponsive to
setbacks and blind to any obstacle, of however incontestably material a nature, that might
lie in his path He had a deep conviction of self-righteousness and the unlimited capacity
for self-deception that usual accompanies that quality.18
Columbus was a man of self-righteousness and was capable of self-deception and this statement
supports these qualities. Though Las Casas summarized and corrected Columbus in certain areas
17 Dunn & Kelley, Norman 1989, 27.
18 Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. Columbus and the Conquest of the Impossible. London: Phoenix, 2000. Print. 26.

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of this journal, Columbus’s main points and his voice come across to the audience. We are still
able to hear his personality and envision his actions without Columbus’s original words in the
Journal and even though it was edited by another person.
Columbus’s own voice and his words are seen in writings other than in Las Casas’ copy of
the Journal19 in places like his letters back to Spain. Perhaps these letters reveal much about the
Admiral’s personality and mannerisms that are supported by the Journal. For example, when he
is writing back to Antonio de Torres, Columbus’s correspondent back in Spain with the Catholic
Monarchs:
…[Y]ou will tell their Highnesses, as I charged and ordered you, that I have given strict
orders that the gold that you carry with you be placed in the hands of some merchant in
Seville, in order that he may therefrom disburse the sums necessary for loading the two
caravels with wine, corn, and other articles detailed in this memorial...
With quotations like these, which can be seen throughout Columbus’s letters to Antonio de Torres,
it can be seen just how often Columbus ordered others and showed how prescriptive he was, even
with the title of Admiral. Without consulting the Catholic Monarchs, he had already arranged for
the supplies he needed to be transported to him with the gold that he was supposed to send back to
the Catholic Monarchs. In addition, Columbus begins almost every letter to de Torres with the
words, “You will” rather than requesting de Torres to do something. Columbus was a demanding
individual, which is also evident within his own Journal.20 Even in the sections that Las Casas has
19 An obvious limitation of this essay is that we as a world do not have many of the original copies of the texts that I
am going to be discussing.The original log-book of Columbus’s has been lost to the ages and all that remains is the
mainly-summarized version that Las Casas left behind.There is so much more evidence of Columbus’s voice and his
own words that have disappeared.
20 Many of these works are in Spanish, which was not Columbus’s native tongue due to his Italian ancestry but was
Las Casas’s native language, so I will be using translations as I do not speak either of these language. Though this

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abridged, Columbus is still depicted as “ordering” or “commanding” others to carry out his
wishes.21 This is certainly Columbus’s voice: Religious in a certain sense, educated but only to an
extent, and commanding while also putting his needs before other’s permission (with the example
of the gold given to a merchant instead of the Catholic Monarchs).
Fernando Columbus
Fernando Columbus (sometimes referred to as Fernando) was Christopher Columbus’s
second son who voyaged with him on the Fourth Voyage. Though Fernando did not play a part
in translating and editing his father's journals22, he did write The Life of the Admiral Christopher
Columbus which tells the story of the voyages, some of which Fernando played a part in, and
how this son saw his father. To create this biography, Fernando would have had to have a copy
of his father’s Journal, or at least Las Casas’s abridgment. Certain sections within the biography
suggest that he was using Columbus’s copy of the log-book which he received from the Catholic
Monarchs. For instance, in the Author’s Foreword, which is written in Fernando’s own words, he
says something that suggests he is not using Las Casas’s work:
I promise to tell the story of the Admiral's life only from his own writings and letters and what
I myself observed. And whoever suspects that I have added something of my own invention
does detract from the accuracy of Columbus’s intended words, the differences are small and should not cause many
issues.
21 Dunn & Kelley, Norman 1989, 43, 53, and 117. See September 25th, “The Admiral ordered the ships to leave their
course…”, October 7th, “... fired a Lombard as a signal that they saw land, because so had ordered the Admiral. He
had also ordered that at sunrise and sunset the vessels should join him”, and October 28th, “He ordered not a thing of
all this was to be touched, and thus is was done”.
22 Columbus, Fernando.The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus By His Son Ferdinand.Trans.Benjamin Keen.
London: Folio Society, 1959. Print, 77. The Historie was not actually published by Fernando himself, but by his
nephew, Luis who was hard-pressed for money and had found the manuscript.

13. Astra 13
may be certain that I know such a thing would profit me nothing in the next life and that none
but my readers shall reap the fruits of my labour.23
Had Fernando been using Las Casas’s abridgment, he would have indicated that at the beginning
of the biography. However, he says he is using his father’s own writings and letters. Therefore, we
must assume that these works were the originals that Columbus wrote and his Journal must have
been the one the Admiral received from the Catholic Monarchs. Fernando would have had access
to this copy because it was stored in the Columbus family’s library, as indicated in the Introduction.
Though this biography of Columbus is from his son's point of view, we can also tease out the
parts where Columbus's voice and his own words shine through. For example, in Fernando’s
biography of his father, we can see Columbus’s influence on his son:
That night, therefore, after they had sung the Hail Mary as seamen are accustomed to do at
nightfall, he spoke to the men of the favour that Our Lord had shown them by conducting them
so safely and prosperously with fair winds and a clear course, and by comforting them with
signs that daily grew more abundant.24
From this passage, we can see the religious references in which Columbus was so adamant about
relaying in his Journal.25 We know that this is Columbus’s voice here because Fernando was using
his father’s works when the son was creating the biography, and in the Journal Columbus was said
to pray often and make many religious references to the Bible as shown in the footnote. Because
23 Keen, London 1959, 25.
24 Keen, London 1959. 77.
25 Dunn & Kelley, Norman 1989, 35 & 41. See September 17th “… I hope in that mighty God in Whose hands are all
victories that very soon He will give us land” and September 23rd “… the high sea was very necessary forme, [a sign]
which had not appeared except in the time of the Jews when they left Egypt [and complained] against Moses, who
took them out of captivity.”

14. Astra 14
Fernando had access to the majority of his father's writings (his Nachlass) we can find Columbus's
thoughts, like the ones above, on the voyages and compare them to Fernando's own voice.26
The Columbus Letter
While we have biographies and abridgments of Columbus’s words, we also have
documents like the Columbus Letter which was written by the Admiral himself and is in his
original voice. This letter was sent by Columbus to either Luis de Santángel (the financial minister
of King Ferdinand) or Gabriel Sanchez and was used by the Admiral to spread the news of his
homecoming around Europe.27 It was printed in Spanish originally and then in Latin for further
dispersal. This letter is important in hearing Columbus’s voice in other sources because the letter
is in his own words. Barring complications with translators and grammatical changes throughout
time, these are (supposedly) the words that Columbus wrote to excite the people of Europe about
his return to Granada. It is essentially a recap of the First Voyage and a short description of the
islands he discovered.
This is significant in showing us Columbus’s voice because passages from the letter can
be compared with the sections of the Journal Las Casas allegedly copied from Columbus’s log-
book to determine the accuracy of said passages. For instance, even at the very beginning of the
26 Keen, London 1959, 179. “At Medina del Campo, in 1498, the Catholic Sovereigns granted him many favours and
privileges in what related both to the Admiral’s affairs and estate and to the better government and administration of
the Indies. I shall give account of these things here in order to make clear the good will of the Sovereigns toward him
and their desire to reward him for his merits and services. Later, because of the lying reports of spiteful and envious
men, they changed their demeanor and permitted injuries and offences to be done to him, as I shall pres ently relate.”
Because Fernando was an essentialpart of the litigations in favor of restoring the rights promised to Columbus in the
Capitulations, he has made it known in this biography his own opinion on the matter. Though Columbus himself was
indeed disappointed because the Catholic Monarchs failed to uphold their end of the bargain, it was his family who
fought long and hard for their “rights” to the title and wealth they were promised. This is Fernando’s own contribution,
not Columbus’s, within the biography.
27Jane, London 1960, xxi.

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letter28, the grammar and punctuation seems to be similar (if not identical) to the beginning of the
Journal in the section where Columbus is supposedly quoted directly from the log-book (see
explanation in Las Casas and Columbus section about Columbus’s punctuation).
Not only does the Journal show similarities in punctuation, but the descriptions of the
islands and the ocean are very similar to the sections where Las Casas supposedly transcribed
faithfully from Columbus’s original log-book. For instance, within the Columbus Letter, the
Admiral tries to explain the beauty of the islands:
… [M]ost lofty mountains incomparably beyond the island of Tenerife, all the most
beautiful in a thousand kinds, so lofty that they seem to reach the sky. And I am assured
that they never lose their foliage; as may be imagined, since I saw them as green and as
beautiful as they are in Spain during May.29
Columbus, within Las Casas’s abridgment, writes almost the same description in the Journal on
December 20th.30 In addition, Columbus constantly compares the beauty of the islands in the Indies
to Spain, which is also shown in the Journal.31 Sections such as these show how similar the Las
Casas abridgment and the Columbus Letter not only in punctuation but also with descriptions. If
Las Casas’s summaries and supposed-transcriptions are so similar, it leads me to believe that Las
Casas faithfully transcribed and summarized Columbus’s log-book.
28 Jane, London 1960, 191. “Sir: As I know that you will have pleasure from the great victory which our Lord hath
given me in my voyage,I write you this,by which you shall know that in thirty-three days I passed overto the Indies
with the fleet which the most illustrious King and Queen, our Lords, gave me; where I found very many islands
peopled with inhabitants beyond number.”
29 Jane, London 1960, 192.
30 Jane, London 1960, 108. “… it ran down to the harbor from the south-east and was all fenced in by very lofty
mountains, which seemed to touch the sky, in which were very beautiful, full of green trees,and without a doubt there
are there loftier mountains than the island of Tenerife in the Canaries, which is held to be one of the loftiest that can
be found.”
31 Dunn & Kelley, Norman 1989, 251. “Here and in all the island everything is green and the vegetation is like April
in Andalusia.”

16. Astra 16
The Capitulations of Santa Fe
In addition to examining those who had an effect on Columbus’s voice and words, we can
also see certain documents which indirectly or indeed vicariously express the Admiral’s words.
Documents like the Capitulations of Santa Fe, the documents which stipulated what rewards
Columbus would acquire should he find new land for the Catholic Monarchs, are perfect examples
of Columbus’s indirect voice. Though they were not written by Columbus himself, there are echoes
of his voice and his influence is apparent in them. This is another instance where Columbus’s voice
is embedded in the writings of others rather than his own. This document was most likely drawn
up by Columbus and his lawyers before he left for his First Voyage and was signed by the Catholic
Monarchs without hesitation. The Capitulations generally stated these five stipulations:
1. To appoint Columbus Admiral and Don for all his life and his heirs, and those islands and
main-lands which were discovered.
2. To grant the title and position of viceroy and governor of all lands discovered or won by
Columbus.
3. To grant Columbus a tenth of all goods and products (gold) of any kind in which were
obtained in the lands he discovered.
4. Giving Columbus the right to serve as a judge in any kind of problems related to wealth.
5. Giving Columbus the right to participate in one-eighth of the profits of the entire fleet and
the grant of trade with other countries identified.32
32Nader, Helen and Christopher Columbus. The Book ofPrivileges Issued to Christopher Columbus by King Fernando
and Queen Isabel, 1492-1502.Berkeley: University of California, 1996. Print. Due to certain research restrictions, a
full copy of the Capitulations of Santa Fe could not be found. The Book of Privileges has a summary of the
Capitulations. 17-24.

17. Astra 17
However, when Columbus upheld his part of the bargain (discovering certain islands in the Indies),
the Catholic Monarchs renegaded on their promises to him. These stipulations surely reflect
Columbus’s influences and what he desired to take away from this first voyage. For example,
within the third stipulation it is apparent that Columbus will receive one-tenth of all of the gold
and products that are discovered on the islands. This shows that Columbus values gold and money,
considering two out of the five stipulations have to do with profits and gold. This is also confirmed
by the Journal because whenever he attempts to speak with the natives he meets, he always
inquires as to where he can find gold.33 It is also shown in the Columbus Letter that the Admiral
is very concerned with the goods and valuables of the new islands that he discovered simply
because he references it many times.34
Columbus’s demanding personality also is shown throughout this document just like it is
shown in the letters written to Antonio de Torres (see Las Casas and Columbus section). In can be
seen specifically in the first stipulation of the Capitulations. According to Helen Nader, Columbus
fought heavily for the right to an inheritable title and possessions that he would obtain from his
voyage. The Catholic Monarchs were hesitant specifically because these clauses violated the very
nature of their monarchy.35 But Columbus had his way in the end and the stipulation was put into
the Capitulations. Just like he ordered others around when he was on his voyage, he managed to
33Dunn & Kelley, Norman 1989, 141 & 145. See November 6th “Today I pulled the ship off the beach and made ready
to leave on Thursday,in the name of God, and to go to the southeast to seekgold and spices and to explore land” and
November 12th, “Because without doubt there is in these lands a very great quantity of gold; for not without cause do
these Indians that I bring with me say that there are in these islands places where they dig gold and wear it on their
chests, on their ears, and on their arms, and on their legs; and they are very thick bracelets.”
34Jane, London 1960, 194. “In the earth there are many mines of metals… the mountains and hills, and plains, and
fields, and the soil, so beautiful and rich for planting and sowing, for breeding cattle of all sorts,for building of towns
and villages… the many and great rivers, and excellent waters, most of which contain gold… There are many spiceries
and great mines of gold and other metals.”
35Nader, Helen. Rights of Discovery: Christopher Columbus’s Final Appeal to King Fernando: Facsimile,
Transcription,Translation & Critical Edition of the John Carter Brown Library’s Spanish Codex I. Cali, Colombia:
Carvajal, 1992. Print. 3.

18. Astra 18
order the Catholic Monarchs into letting him have this title (even though they did renegade on
these stipulations after the voyage). His actions and voice are still seen in contracts and documents
he did not even write.
Conclusions
After all of this, what are we left with? One of the most prevalent issues with Columbus’s
Nachlass is that it is found within the works of others so we do not know how much of it retains
Columbus’s original voice. From the analysis of Las Casas and Columbus, we can see that there
are many grammatical, descriptive, and lingual markers that Las Casas left in his transcription of
the Journal that would only have come from Columbus. When we look at the Columbus Letter,
we are shown the Admiral’s own words and voice. This gave us a valid comparison between the
Journal and the Letter. With the analysis of the Capitulations of Santa Fe, we are shown exactly
what Columbus valued (which is also expressed by the Journal) and how demanding he was, even
to the Catholic Monarchs. Finally, through all of these analyses, it can be said that Las Casas’s
abridgment contains much of Columbus’s voice and, especially comparing the sections where Las
Casas “transcribed” Columbus’s own words with the Columbus Letter, it is evident that Las Casas
was faithful in his version of the Admiral’s Journal of theFirst Voyage. In light of this information
and as shown with the additional documents about Columbus, if we as an audience listen carefully,
we can hear the voice of the Admiral in the Journal as well.

19. Astra 19
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20. Astra 20
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