On arriving in Santo
Domingo on August 23, 1500, he immediately began to annul dispositions
made by Columbus and sent for the admiral who was in the interior. As
soon as Columbus appeared, Bobadilla, far exceeding his authority,
caused him to be put in chains and confined in a cell of the fortress
of Santo Domingo. He also imprisoned the brothers of Columbus and sent
them to Spain together with the Discoverer, all chained like infamous
criminals. At the same time he made a report attributing malfeasance,
injustice and fraud to all.
The administration of Bobadilla was disastrous. In his efforts to
ingratiate himself with Columbus' enemies he heaped favors on Roldan
and his followers and gave them franchises and lands. He made the
slavery of the Indians more galling than ever, obliging them to labor
in the fields and mines. Columbus' property and papers were
confiscated and Columbus' friend, the explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas,
was imprisoned and his property seized.
The captain of the vessel bearing Columbus treated his distinguished
prisoner with all possible deference and offered to take off the
chains, but the Discoverer, whose heart was breaking under the
indignities heaped upon him and the injustice of which he was the
victim, proudly refused.
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