With his route well-outlined and his plans carefully matured, Columbus
turned naturally to the King of Portugal, John II., as a man interested
in all nautical enterprise, and especially interested in finding a route
to the Indies. That crafty monarch listened to Columbus attentively and
was evidently impressed, for he took possession of the maps and plans
which Columbus had prepared, under pretense of examining them while
considering the project, placed them in the hands of one of his own
captains and dispatched him secretly to try the route. That captain,
whose name has been lost to history, must afterwards have been chagrined
enough at the manner in which he missed immortal fame, for, after
sailing a few days to the westward, he turned back and reported to his
royal master that the thing could not be done. His was not the heart
for such an enterprise.
Columbus, learning of the king's treachery, left the court in disgust,
and sending his brother, Bartholomew, to lay the plan before the King of
England, himself proceeded to Spain, whose rulers, Ferdinand and
Isabella, were perhaps the most enlightened of the age. Of Bartholomew's
adventures in England little is known. One thing alone is
certain--England missed the great opportunity just as Portugal had. And
for long years it seemed that, in Spain, Columbus would have no better
fortune.
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