Iron marines tyrant archive#

'Even those who loved him had to admit the atrocities that had taken place,' Ms Varela said.Ĭolumbus and his brothers were forced to travel back to Spain. Ms Varela, one of the two Spanish historians to have studied the document, described life in the colony as 'horrifying and hard'.īobadilla collected the testimonies of 23 people who had seen or heard about the treatment meted out by Columbus and his brothers.

The 48-page document gathers evidence from Columbus' enemies and supporters of his seven-year reign. Bobadilla had already been named governor of the Indies, replacing Columbus, at the time of the report.

Iron marines tyrant archive#

The report, by Francisco de Bobadilla, lay undiscovered in a state archive in the Spanish city of Valladolid until last year. The document was written by a member of an order of religious knights, the Order of Calatrava, who had been asked to investigate the allegations against Columbus by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, who ruled Spain together at the time. The evidence has been found in a previously lost report drawn up at the time for the Spanish monarchs as they became worried by growing rumours of Columbus' barbarity and avarice. 'Christopher congratulated him for defending the family.' 'Bartolomé ordered that her tongue be cut out,' said Ms Varela. She was stripped naked and paraded around the colony on the back of a mule. A woman who dared to suggest that Columbus was of lowly birth was punished by his brother Bartolomé, who had also travelled to the Caribbean. One man caught stealing corn had his nose and ears cut off, was placed in shackles and was then auctioned off as a slave.

'Columbus' government was characterised by a form of tyranny,' Consuelo Varela, a Spanish historian who has seen the document, told journalists.