He misled his crew about his intentions and the progress of their expedition. He claimed credit for having been the first to spot land in the Bahamas, when he had done no such thing. He took advantage of the good nature of people he met in the new lands; any passing anthropological interest he had in them was second always to his cynical eye for ways in which he and future Spanish expeditions might exploit their resources and labor. And when he came back to Spain, he exaggerated his achievements and the potential of his discoveries, claiming Hispaniola was bigger than the entire Iberian
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