Nearly two and one half years had passed since he and Agnado had left
the island in the hands of their successor, Bartholomew Columbus. During
that time no change for the better had come to it. The mistakes on the
part of officers, and the rebellions on the part of the people, now made
a longer list than ever. Not a man among them, from Bartholomew down to
the meanest commoner, appeared to know how to build up a well-ordered,
self-respecting community. The spirit of cooperation was entirely
lacking. No one thought of the common good, only of his own interests;
and those in power had not been trained to handle large groups of men
who needed wise directing. In those days, and especially in Spain, the
general education was not the sort to develop each individual man toward
self-reliance, but to make him part of a big organization where he need
not think for himself, but need merely obey orders. If, then, those
appointed to issue the orders were not men of wisdom and sense, things
were bound to go wrong. Bartholomew Columbus, whom the sovereigns had
appointed lord lieutenant for life, had not been a very wise governor,
as will soon be apparent.
It was only a little while before the Admiral sailed home with Agnado
that gold mines had been discovered on the south coast of Espanola.
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