The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci by Bartolomé de las Casas

The Admiral sent five ships[147] with the news of the discovery of the mainland of Paria, and of the pearls. Alonso de Hojeda was then in Spain. I believe myself that he returned at the same time as my uncle, Francisco de Penalosa, knowing that the Admiral had discovered that land and the pearls, and having seen the chart of the new discoveries which the Admiral had sent to the Sovereigns, and that the Admiral said in his letters that it was an island, although he was also inclined to the belief that it was a continent; and being favoured by the Bishop of Badajos, Don Juan de Fonseca, who superintended and managed everything, Hojeda petitioned that he might have licence to discover in those parts either continent, or islands, or whatever he might find. The Bishop gave the licence, signed with his own signature, and not with that of the Sovereign, either because the Sovereigns ordered him to grant such licences, or this one only, which is hard to believe; or because he wished to make the grant of his own authority, and without giving the Sovereigns a share in the matter, the Admiral having complained to the Sovereigns in the year 1495 that it was in opposition to his privileges to give a licence to anyone to undertake discoveries. I do not see how the Bishop was able to grant the licence in the way he did. But I quite see that as he was a very determined and obstinate man, and was hostile to the Admiral's interests, he may have taken this step actuated by his own audacity, and without consulting the Sovereigns. This is possible, but still I doubt it; for, although he was very intimate with the Sovereigns, this was hardly a thing that he would have dared to do on his own authority. The licence was granted with the limitations that it did not include the territory of the King of Portugal, nor the lands discovered by the Admiral up to the year 1495. Another question arises here: Why was not the land excepted which the Admiral had just discovered, and which was identified by the letters and the chart he had sent to the Sovereigns? To this I cannot give an answer.

That the licence was only signed by the said Bishop, and not by the Sovereigns, there can be no doubt, for Francisco Roldan saw it, and so described it to the Admiral, and I saw Roldan's original letter, as I will presently mention.