One man caught stealing corn had his nose and ears cut off, was placed in shackles and was then auctioned off as a slave. 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. She was stripped naked and paraded around the colony on the back of a mule.
"Bartolomé ordered that her tongue be cut out," said Ms Varela. "Christopher congratulated him for defending the family."
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. 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.
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Columbus and his brothers were forced to travel back to Spain. Columbus was in chains but, although he never recovered his titles, he was set free and allowed to sail back to the Caribbean.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/aug/07/books.spainWhen he returned from his third voyage with hundreds of slaves, Isabella was furious. “Who is this Columbus who dares to give out my vassals as slaves?” she said (Resendez, 24-28). She ordered that all of them be returned home and some of them were. But it was already too late for others. They died of disease and cold (Downey, 287).
Columbus wanted to be the only man in charge out there in the West, but Isabella was rapidly losing confidence in him, so she also sent out other explorers, and together they charted thousands of miles of coastline. Even so, Columbus ultimately led four expeditions. He didn’t get any better at following instructions. Her investigation into his handling of justice led to him getting sent home in irons where Isabella left him in jail for six weeks (Downey, 294).
https://herhalfofhistory.com/2025/01/16/14-4-isabella-i-sponsor-of-columbus/
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