of all the aldermen, common council-men, and other officers, in any town; but in future he was to nominate three persons to every vacancy, out of whom their majesties were to appoint one to the office.  All proclamations, patents, injunctions, orders, or other public writings, were to be made in the name of their majesties, signed by the admiral, and countersigned by the secretary or clerk by whom they were written, and sealed on the back with the royal seal.  As soon as he landed, a custom-house was to be built, in which all their majesties stores were to be secured under their officers, over whom the admiral was to have supreme command; and all trade was to be conducted by him, or by such persons as he might appoint, with the assistance of the royal inspector and controller.  The admiral was to have the eighth part of all profit, paying the eighth of all goods carried over for barter; first deducting the tenth which he was entitled to of all things according to his contract.  And finally, he was authorized to send ships to any other part, according as he saw proper or convenient.

While the admiral remained at Seville attending to the equipment of the expedition, he received a letter from their majesties, directing him to cause a sea chart to be drawn with all the rhumbs and other particulars necessary for pointing out the voyage to the West Indies.  Their majesties pressed him to hasten his departure, making him great promises of favour and reward, as the importance of his discovery seemed every day the greater.  This letter was dated from Barcelona on the 5th September, up to which day nothing had been definitively settled with the king of Portugal, respecting the proposed limits between the two nations in the ocean.  The admiral continued his exertions to get every thing ready, and caused many kinds of useful plants to be shipped; likewise wheat, barley, oats, rye, and all kinds of grain and seeds; cows, bricks, lime, and other materials for building; and an infinite number of useful articles.

[1] Almost seven months and a half; or more precisely thirty-two weeks,
    being seven kalendar months and twelve days.—­E.

[2] In this bull, following the vague language of Columbus, the great
    discoverer, the New World is called the Indies, slightly
    distinguished, in grammatical number only, from India in
    south-eastern Asia.—­E.

[3] In the bull, as reported by Herrera, all that should be discovered to
    the west and south of the meridianal line from pole to pole is
    granted to the crown of Castile and Leon.  It is hard to say what
    portion of the globe was conceived to be to the south of such a
    demarcation.  But it is obvious that in granting all to the west of
    this line to Spain, and all to the east of it to Portugal, the pope
    and cardinals granted the whole circumference of the globe
    reciprocally to both crowns.  The sacred college had not hitherto
    adopted the geographical heresy of Galileo, and still entertained
    vague notions of the true figure of the earth.—­E.