The Evolution Of The Cuban Land System

place, it is clear from the writings of Columbus that (a) the primary object of his voyages was the acquisition of gold, thought to be of fabulous quantities in Cathay, which he expected to discover (and thought he had discovered); and (b) whatever labor or toil was necessary in the new country was certainly not to be performed by Spaniards. There is apparent in his records the assumption that the people they were to meet at the journey's end would become subordinate to the will of the Spaniards. Forced labor on the part of the natives-if not actual slavery-was a foregone conclusion.