appearance of favour and respect, and pretended to restore him to his full power, he yet would have stript him of all if shame had not hindered, considering the engagements which both he and the queen had come under to him when he went out upon his last voyage.  But the wealth and value of the Indies appearing every day more obvious, and considering how great a share of their produce would accrue to the admiral in virtue of the articles which had been granted previous to his discovery, the king was anxious to acquire the absolute dominion to himself, and to have the disposal of all the employments in the new world according to his own will and pleasure, which by the agreement were in the gift of the admiral as hereditary viceroy, admiral, and governor-general of the Indies.  The king therefore began to propose new terms to the admiral by way of equivalent, which negociation God did not permit to take effect; for just when Philip the first came to reign in the kingdom of Castile, at the time when King Ferdinand went from Valladolid to meet him, the admiral, much broken down by the gout, and troubled to find himself deprived of his rights, was attacked by other distempers, and gave up his soul to God upon Ascension day, the 20th of May, 1506, at the city of Valladolid.  Before his death he devoutly partook of the holy sacraments of the church, and these were his last words “Into thy hands O Lord!  I commend my Spirit.” And through his infinite mercy, we do not question but he was received into glory, to which may God admit us with him.

His body was conveyed to Seville, where it was magnificently buried in the cathedral by the order of the Catholic king, and the following epitaph in Spanish was engraven upon his tomb, in memory of his renowned actions and the great discovery of the Indies.

  A CASTILIA YA LEON
  NUEVO MUNDO DIO COLON.

 Columbus gave a New World to Castile and Leon.

These memorable words are worthy of observation, as nothing similar or any way equivalent can be found either in the ancients or among the moderns.  It will therefore be ever had in remembrance, that he was the discoverer of the Indies; though since then Ferdinand Cortes and Francis Pizarro have found out many other provinces and vast kingdoms on the continent.  Cortes discovered the province of Yucutan and the empire of Mexico now called New Spain, then possessed by the great emperor Montezuma; and Francis Pizarro found out the kingdom of Peru which is of vast extent and full of endless wealth, which was then under the dominion of the powerful king Atabalipa.  From these countries and kingdoms there come every year to Spain many ships laden with gold and silver and rich commodities, as Brazil wood, cochineal, indigo, sugar, and other articles of great value, besides pearls and other precious stones:  owing to which Spain and its princes at this time flourish and abound in wealth beyond all other nations.