Columbus_ The Four Voyages - Laurence Bergreen [144]
On the last day of August, the Admiral led his convoy up the Ozama River to Santo Domingo, where he expected a thriving colony to greet him. Instead, “When I arrived from Paria, I found almost half the people in Hispaniola in rebellion, and they have made war on me,” he lamented. Their leader was Francisco Roldán, or, as he was now known, the Rebel Roldán, and in Columbus’s absence, he had been sowing mayhem.
CHAPTER 9
Roldán’s Revolt
It was only a matter of time before Francisco Roldán, or someone like him, appeared on the scene to bedevil Columbus’s Enterprise of the Indies. The conditions in Hispaniola were so extreme and uncertain, the temptations so alluring and numerous, the vision of a Spanish empire so vague and unrealistic, and the men who participated in the voyages so casually selected, that discipline was bound to break down during Columbus’s prolonged absences, when any kind of mischief was not only possible but also consequence-free.
For a time, his son related, Santo Domingo had remained “fairly peaceful.” The settlers expected Columbus’s early return from Spain with supplies, weapons, and news from home. “But after the passage of a year, with their provisions running short and suffering and sickness growing, they became disoriented with their present lot and despaired of the future.” Appointed by Columbus as the mayor, or chief official, of the colony, Roldán had enjoyed the cooperation of Spaniards and Indians alike, or as Ferdinand put it, “he was obeyed as if he were the Admiral himself.” But this eminence led to conflict with Bartholomew Columbus, who, as governor, considered himself the supreme arbiter. As the Admiral’s absence stretched on, and it began to seem that he would never return to this little outpost of empire, “Roldán began to dream of making himself master of the island.” His scheme was profoundly disloyal: he intended to execute both Bartholomew and Diego. With Columbus’s brothers out of the way, Roldán would rule. And he had a plan for bringing Spain to his side.
When Bartholomew traveled to Xaraguá to quell an Indian rebellion and exact tribute, fortune appeared to favor Roldán’s plan. Xaraguá, a sprawling, mostly level expanse carpeted with thick shrubs, and bordered by a beach of glistening, powdery sand, occupied a promontory extending to the south of the island. Its serene aspect proved deceptive; Xaraguá became synonymous with the rebel Spanish forces occupying it, with wicked and dissolute behavior, and with indolence. For those seeking shelter, it held strategic advantages, for it was two hundred miles from Santo Domingo, and the sails of approaching ships could be seen for miles. Las Casas paid tribute to the Indians of the district. They were “not to be equaled for fluency of speech and politeness of idiom or dialect by any inhabitants of the other kingdoms” of Hispaniola. They “excelled in stature and habit of body. Their king was Behechio by name and who had a sister called Anacaona”—the “Golden Flower”—who treated the rude, rapacious Spaniards with “civility, and by delivering them from the evident and apparent danger of death, did signal services to the Castilian Sovereigns.” A Taíno cacique, Anacaona was also the wife of Caonabó, who had both challenged and joined forces with Columbus.
Bartholomew Columbus placed his brother Diego in charge, with Roldán serving beneath him, secretly seething and fomenting a mutiny. Bartholomew’s attention alighted on a caravel lying on the beach at La Isabela; he planned to use the vessel as an escape from the island, if necessary.