Most High and Mighty Sovereigns,
In obedience to your Highnesses' commands, and with submission to
superior judgment, I will say whatever occurs to me in reference to the
colonization and commerce of the Island of Espanola, and of the other
islands, both those already discovered and those that may be discovered
hereafter.
In the first place, as regards the Island of Espanola: Inasmuch as the
number of colonists who desire to go thither amounts to two thousand,
owing to the land being safer and better for farming and trading, and
because it will serve as a place to which they can return and from which
they can carry on trade with the neighboring islands:
1. That in the said island there shall be founded three or four towns,
situated in the most convenient places, and that the settlers who are
there be assigned to the aforesaid places and towns.
2. That for the
better and more speedy colonization of the said island, no one shall
have liberty to collect gold in it except those who have taken out
colonists' papers, and have built houses for their abode, in the town in
which they are, that they may live united and in greater safety.
3. That
each town shall have its alcalde...and its notary public, as
is the use and custom in Castile.
4. That there shall he a church, and
parish priests or friars to administer the sacraments, to perform divine
worship, and for the conversion of the Indians.
5. That none of the
colonists shall go to seek gold without a license from the governor or
alcalde of the town where he lives; and that he must first take oath to
return to the place whence he sets out, for the purpose of registering
faithfully all the gold he may have found, and to return once a month,
or once a week, as the time may have been set for him, to render account
and show the quantity of said gold; and that this shall be written down
by the notary before the aIcalde, or, if it seems better, that a friar
or priest, deputed for the purpose, shall be also present
6. That all the
gold thus brought in shall be smelted immediately, and stamped with some
mark that shall distinguish each town; and that the portion which
belongs to your Highnesses shall be weighed, and given and consigned to
each alcalde in his own town, and registered by the above-mentioned
priest or friar, so that it shall not pass through the hands of only one
person, and there shall he no opportunity to conceal the truth.
7. That
all gold that may be found without the mark of one of the said towns in
the possession of any one who has once registered in accordance with the
above order shall be taken as forfeited, and that the accuser shall have
one portion of it and your Highnesses the other.
8. That one per centum
of all the gold that may be found shall be set aside for building
churches and adorning the same, and for the support of the priests or
friars belonging to them; and, if it should be thought proper to pay any
thing to the alcaldes or notaries for their services, or for ensuring
the faithful perforce of their duties, that this amount shall be sent to
the governor or treasurer who may be appointed there by your Highnesses.
9. As regards the division of the gold, and the share that ought to be
reserved for your Highnesses, this, in my opinion, must be left to the
aforesaid governor and treasurer, because it will have to be greater or
less according to the quantity of gold that may be found. Or, should it
seem preferable, your Highnesses might, for the space of one year, take
one half, and the collector the other, and a better arrangement for the
division be made afterward.
10. That if the said alcaldes or notaries
shall commit or be privy to any fraud, punishment shall be provided, and
the same for the colonists who shall not have declared all the gold they
have.
11. That in the said island there shall be a treasurer, with a
clerk to assist him, who shall receive all the gold belonging to your
Highnesses, and the alcaldes and notaries of the towns shall each keep a
record of what they deliver to the said treasurer.
12. As, in the
eagerness to get gold, every one will wish, naturally, to engage in its
search in preference to any other employment, it seems to me that the
privilege of going to look for gold ought to be withheld during some
portion of each year, that there may be opportunity to have the other
business necessary for the island performed.
13. In regard to the
discovery of new countries, I think permission should be granted to all
that wish to go, and more liberality used in the matter of the fifth,
making the tax easier, in some fair way, in order that many may be
disposed to go on voyages.
I will now give my opinion about ships going to the said Island of
Espanola, and the order that should be maintained; and that is, that the
said ships should only be allowed to discharge in one or two ports
designated for the purpose, and should register there whatever cargo
they bring or unload; and when the time for their departure comes, that
they should sail from these same ports, and register all the cargo they
take in, that nothing may be concealed.
In reference to the transportation of gold from the island to Castile,
that all of it should be taken on board the ship, both that belonging to
your Highnesses and the property of every one else; that it should all
be placed in one chest with two locks, with their keys, and that the
master of the vessel keep one key and some person selected by the
governor and treasurer the other; that there should come with the gold,
for a testimony, a list of all that has been put into the said chest,
properly marked, so that each owner may receive his own; and that, for
the faithful performance of this duty, if any gold whatsoever is found
outside of the said chest in any way, be it little or much, it shall be
forfeited to your Highnesses.
That all the ships that come from the
said island shall be obliged to make their proper discharge in the port
of Cadiz, and that no person shall disembark or other person be
permitted to go on board until the ship has been visited by the person
or persons deputed for that purpose, in the said city, by your
Highnesses, to whom the master shall show all that he carries, and
exhibit the manifest of all the cargo, it may be seen and examined if
the said ship brings any thing hidden and not known at the time of
lading.
That the chest in which the said gold has been carried shall be
opened in the presence of the magistrates of the said city of Cadiz, and
of the person deputed for that purpose by your Highnesses, and his own
property be given to each owner.
I beg your Highnesses to hold me in your protection; and I remain,
praying our Lord God for your Highnesses' lives and the increase of much
greater States.
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