Upon arrival to Spain, Columbus reported his discovery of Ayiti and the adjoining islands to his sponsors. The two monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain, gleefully announced their discovery of the new lands to the reigning pontiff. Pope Alexander VI, a Spaniard, gave Spain the seal of approval, and broad powers over these and other new lands that might be later discovered. This was done through Papal Bulls issued on May 3 and May 4, 1493. Spain was mandated to conquer all lands west of the line of demarcation which was set at "one hundred leagues west and south from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde." These Papal Bulls also empowered the King of Spain and his agents to subjugate all peoples found in these lands and bring them into the Roman Catholic faith. This mandate was consummated with utter ruthlessness, which resulted in not only converting the native populace of Hispaniola to Catholicism here; but also prematurely dispatching them to the world beyond.

Second Voyage of Christopher Columbus

On his second voyage to Hispaniola in 1493, Columbus visited La Navidad, only to discover that the colonists he left there had been killed during a dispute with the indigenous peoples of the island. The intolerance of the colonizing Spaniards, and their abusive behavior towards the Arawaks and Tainos, led to their responding violently to the estranged peoples. Not deterred by this development, Columbus proceeded to found another settlement further east of the first one, and named it Isabella, after his sponsor, Queen Isabella of Castile.

While returning to Spain this time around, Columbus took a large number of captured Arawaks as slaves for his sovereign. Out of six hundred captives taken aboard a ship from Hispaniola to Europe, more than two hundred died en route while the rest got very sick upon arrival. Some of them were latter released and sent back home, while the rest were conscripted into forced labor as galley slaves by the order of Queen Isabella. This was the beginning of decimation of the indigenous populace of Ayiti. The colonists took a cue from the Queen and so they invaded the hinterland of Hispaniola, captured all the natives they could lay their hands on, and these were in the words of Horace, "sub eugum misi sunt" (sent under the yoke of slavery).

Third and Fourth Voyages of Christopher Columbus

The third voyage of Christopher Columbus to Hispaniola in August 1498 marked the beginning of his travails, and the waning of his influence in the Spanish royal court. The colonists he settled there became disenchanted with his tyrannical rule and began to grumble against him. Some influential ones among them on their return to Spain complained to their royal majesties. As a result, Columbus was subjected to a royal probe. H e was found guilty of maladministration, and was then stripped of his enormous powers. Although he continued his exploration of the West Indies during his third and fourth voyages to the New World, Columbus had had much less influence in the royal court of Spain, nor did he enjoy the privileges he once took for granted as the absolute authority on Hispaniola.

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