A History of the United States Author:Edward Channing Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: secured such authority to discover and conquer them as the Spanish monarchs could give.1 Furthermore, there can be little doubt that Columbus really was in searc... more »h of Cipango, Cathay, and India. In the first place, he secured letters from the Spanish monarchs to the potentates of the East. In the second place, when he reached Cuba, he dispatched messengers to seek out the Grand Khan or other Eastern princes and make known his coming. It is inconceivable that he should have taken all these pains unless he were in earnest in the announced purpose of his search. His own mind made up, howsoever that was done, Columbus set about to secure the necessary political authorization and financial assistance. Pertinaciously his suit was pressed upon the sovereigns of Spain, France, England, and Portugal. Dissenting in all else, these monarchs were united as to the impracticability of his scheme. Finally, however, the proposed enterprise attracted the notice of four powerful personages at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella; these were the Count of Medina-Celi, a great Spanish grandee, Luis de Sant Angel, treasurer of Ara- gon, Father Juan Perez, once the Queen's confessor, and the Marquesa de Moya, at the moment her confidential friend. Somewhat by accident, all four suddenly united to induce Isabella to listen favorably to the Genoese adventurer.2 1 These words of the commission are taken from Christopher Columb1a: his own Book of Privileges, 42 (the Spanish and English texts are also given in Thacher's Columb1a, i,441) : — "PrlmeramenteqneVuestrasAltezas "Firstly, that Your Highnesses, as como Sefiores que son delas dicbas mares actual Lords ot the said oceans, appoint Ofeauas fazen dende agora al dlcho Don from this date the said Don Christopher Christoval Colon sa Almiran...« less