On Bohio, Columbus finally found a thriving material culture worthy of his dreams and the appetites of the Spanish monarchs. He saw gold, elaborate stone and woodwork, “ceremonial spaces… stone-lined ball courts… stone collars, pendants, and stylized statues… richly carved wooden thrones… elaborate personal jewelry.…” Convinced that the island was “his best find so far, with the most promising environment and the most ingenious inhabitants,” he declared to Queen Isabella, “it only remains to establish a Spanish presence and order them to perform your will. For… they are yours to command and
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