Interviewer: Tell us more about your crew and your ships. How pivotal were they to your success on the first voyage?
They were fundamental. Without my crew, I would not have been able to reach Asia. In particular, the other two captains, Martín Alonso and Vicente Yáñez. The ships were excellent. All three of them were equipped with the top naval technology of the age and came in prime condition. They were named the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Martin Alonso captained the Pinta, Vicente Yanez captained the Nina and I captained the Santa Maria, which was the largest of the three ships.
Interviewer: What were the native inhabitants of Asia like?
The Indians were interesting. I had observed quite a few things. For example, I took some prisoners, those who were wearing gold earrings, in order to direct me to the source of this gold. Also, I observed that they would make good servants. They repeated much of what we said to them, they were determined to learn the language. They were quite intelligent, however not so adept in combat.
Interviewer: Did you not encounter any hostility from the native inhabitants? Considering that you were foreign.
Most of them were quite hospitable, they introduced us to their cultures and were open to answer questions, such as when I asked those Indians in San Salvador about scars on their bodies. However, there was some resistance to when I began to take some as prisoners to bring back to Europe. The Indians in the Samana Peninsula, however, confronted us with only violence. They did not agree to trade the desired amount of weaponry, therefore we were forced to stab two of them to death. Overall, it was relatively easy to reply to aggression as all of these Indians lacked much modern weaponry and military knowledge.
Interviewer: What was the reaction upon arriving back in Europe? Was it what you expected?
I wasn’t sure. I knew that I would receive recognition, however I did not know how much. The news quickly spread throughout Europe upon our arrival and I cemented my position as one of the most illustrious explorers that the world has ever seen. The hard work had paid off tremendously.
Interviewer: This was just the first voyage, for you had three more. What were the purposes of these voyages?
It was to form settlement and colonies upon these explored regions. On these voyages, we carried more supplies upon more ships, plus more people who would be required in order to colonize. These included priests, farmers and soldiers. There were also some Africans taken from our colonies down in Africa, in order to work on the plantations established by these farmers.
Interviewer: It is noted that you have been previously accused of tyranny and genocide. What is your response to these accusations?
As I mentioned before when explaining the Capitulations of Santa Fe, I was made the Viceroy and Governor of the regions that I had explored. These accusations correspond to when I was carrying out my role as the Viceroy and Governor. My response is very simple. In order to maintain order, we must exert force. We must set examples as a show of strength. If tyranny and genocide, massacre and mistreatment are all required, then they will be enacted. I will not act in morality over profitability, for the latter is my only objective.