Right from the very beginning, these new lands were wild. The fate of the first garrison Columbus left in Hispaniola in 1493 warned as much. Once the admiral left, his men fell quickly to raiding the local tribes for gold and women, and bickering among themselves. They were soon murdered en masse by a local leader called Caonaobó.55 When Columbus came back to Hispaniola on his second mission, he did not immediately avenge their deaths. But he was no benevolent visitor either. Despite having specific orders not to maltreat the native people, Columbus did so: demanding tribute from them in gold,
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