Five hundred Indians, who came to be taught the language, entering Spain as slaves, were but a poor return for the expenses in which the nation, not to say individuals, had been involved.  The people of Spain, therefore, so far as they could show their feeling, were prejudiced against Columbus and those who surrounded him.  They heard with incredulity the accounts of Cuba which he gave, and were quite indifferent to the geographical theories by which he wanted to prove that it was a part of Asia.  He believed that the rich mines, which he had really found in Hispaniola, were the same as those of Ophir.  But after five years of waiting, the Spanish public cared but little for such conjectures.

As he arrived in Cadiz, he found three vessels, under Nino, about to sail with supplies.  These were much needed, for the relief of the preceding year, sent out in four vessels, had been lost by shipwreck.  Columbus was able to add a letter of his own to the governor of Isabella, begging him to conform to the wishes expressed by the king and queen in the dispatches taken by Nino.  He recommended diligence in exploring the new mines, and that a seaport should be founded in their neighborhood.  At the same time he received a gracious letter from the king and queen, congratulating him on his return, and asking him to court as soon as he should recover from his fatigue.

Columbus was encouraged by the tone of this letter.  He had chosen to act as if he were in disgrace, and dressed himself in humble garb, as if he were a Franciscan monk, wearing his beard as the brethren of those orders do.  Perhaps this was in fulfillment of one of those vows which, as we know, he frequently made in periods of despondency.

He went to Burgos, where Ferdinand and Isabella were residing, and on the way made such a display of treasure as he had done on the celebrated march to Barcelona.  Canabao, the fierce cacique of Hispaniola, had died on the voyage, but his brother and nephew still lived, and he took them to the king and queen, glittering on state occasions with golden ornaments.  One chain of gold which the brother wore, is said to have been worth more than three thousand dollars of our time.  In the procession Columbus carried various masks and other images, made by the Indians in fantastic shapes, which attracted the curiosity which in all nations surrounds the idols of a foreign creed.

The sovereigns received him cordially.  No reference was made to the complaints of the adventurers who had returned.  However the sovereigns may have been impressed by these, they were still confident in Columbus and in his merits, and do not seem to have wished to receive the partial accounts of his accusers.  On his part, he pressed the importance of a new expedition, in order that they might annex to their dominions the eastern part of Asia.  He wanted for this purpose eight ships.  He was willing to leave two in the island of Hispaniola, and he hoped that he might have six for a voyage of discovery.  The sovereigns assented readily to his proposal, and at the time probably intended to carry out his wishes.