Historical Context
• Columbus’s Arrest: In 1500, Francisco de Bobadilla was sent by the Spanish monarchs (Ferdinand and Isabella) to investigate complaints against Columbus. He arrested Columbus and his brothers, putting them in chains and shipping them back to Spain due to severe mismanagement, tyranny, and mistreatment of both indigenous populations and Spanish settlers.
• Standards of the Era: Critics of the "judge him by his own time" defense note that even in the 15th and 16th centuries, Columbus's actions were considered harsh enough by his own contemporaries to prompt legal intervention and imprisonment by the Spanish authorities.
