ABSTRACT
It was not until 1509 that Ojeda and Nicuesa, independently, conceived the design of making solid and lasting conquests.2 To encourage them in their resolve, Ferdinand gave to the first the governorship of all the lands stretching from Cape de la Vela3 to the Gulf of Darien, and to the second, that of the whole area between this famous gulf and Cape Gracias a Dios.4 When they landed, they were both instructed to announce to the natives the tenets of the Christian religion, and to inform them that the Pope had granted their country to the King of Spain. If the savages refused to submit humbly to this double yoke, the invaders were authorized to pursue them with fire and sword, and to reduce entire nations to slavery.
