1499

On May 30, 1498, I left with six ships from Sanlúcar, Spain, for my third trip to the New World. I was accompanied by the young Bartolomé de Las Casa

I led the fleet to the Portuguese island of Porto Santo, my wife's(Felipa Perestrello Moniz) native land. I then sailed to Madeira and spent some time there with the Portuguese captain João Gonçalves da Camara before sailing to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. Columbus (yours truly) landed on the south coast of the island of Trinidad on July 31. From August 4 through August 12, he explored the Gulf of Paria which separates Trinidad from Venezuela. I explored the mainland of South America, including the Orinoco River. I also sailed to the islands of Chacachacare and Margarita Island and sighted and named Tobago (Bella Forma) and Grenada (Concepcion).

I returned to Hispaniola on August 19 to find that many of the Spanish settlers of the new colony were discontented, having been misled by me about the supposedly bountiful riches of the new world. An entry in my journal from September 1498 reads, "From here one might send, in the name of the Holy Trinity, as many slaves as could be sold..." Indeed, as a fierce supporter of slavery,I ultimately refused to baptize the native people of Hispanolia, since Catholic law forbade the enslavement of Christians.

I repeatedly had to deal with rebellious settlers and natives. I had some of my crew hanged for disobeying me. A number of returning settlers and sailors lobbied against me at the Spanish court, accusing me and my brothers of gross mismanagement. On my return I was arrested for a period.