CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Sailed this day nineteen leagues, and determined to count less than the true number, that the crew might not be dismayed if the voyage should prove long.

For this purpose I determined to keep an account of the voyage, and to write down punctually every thing we performed or saw from day to day, as will hereafter appear.

I ordered each man to be presented with something, as strings of ten or a dozen glass beads apiece, and thongs of leather, all which they estimated highly; those which came on board I directed should be fed with molasses.

But in truth, should I meet with gold or spices in great quantity, I shall remain till I collect as much as possible, and for this purpose I am proceeding solely in quest of them.

I found that part of it towards San Salvador extending from north to south five leagues, and the other side which we coasted along, ran from east to west more than ten leagues.

I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvellous Presence.

I am not solicitous to examine particularly everything here, which indeed could not be done in fifty years, because my desire is to make all possible discoveries, and return to your Highnesses, if it please our Lord, in April.

I saw a boy of the crew purchasing javelins of them with bits of platters and broken glass.

Riches don't make a man rich, they only make him busier.

No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Saviour, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service.

After having dispatched a meal, I went ashore, and found no habitation save a single house, and that without an occupant; we had no doubt that the people had fled in terror at our approach, as the house was completely furnished.

Tomorrow morning before we depart, I intend to land and see what can be found in the neighborhood.

These people are very unskilled in arms... with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished.

By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.

Stood off and on during the night, determining not to come to anchor till morning, fearing to meet with shoals; continued our course in the morning; and as the island was found to be six or seven leagues distant, and the tide was against us, it was noon when we arrived there.

Their houses are all built in the shape of tents, with very high chimneys.

Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.

For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.

Gold is a treasure, and he who possesses it does all he wishes to in this world, and succeeds in helping souls into paradise.

The air soft as that of Seville in April, and so fragrant that it was delicious to breathe it.

For the good of the souls of said cannibals … the greater the number sent over to Spain the better … They [the Caribe Indians] are a wild people, fit for any work, well proportioned and very intelligent, and who … will be better than any other kind of slaves.

Your Highness ought not to consent that any foreigner does business or sets foot here [the New World] except Christian Catholics.

I have always read that the world, both land and water, was spherical, as the authority and researches of Ptolemy and all the others who have written on this subject demonstrate and prove, as do the eclipses of the moon and other experiments

I ought to be judged as a captain who set out from Spain to the Indies to conquer many warlike peoples of very contrary creed and customs, where by divine will, I have placed under the sovereignty of the King and Queen, Our Lords, another world, by which Spain, which was once called poor, is now the most rich.

They would make fine servants .... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.