Last Christmas, the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) pantomime Combolo tackled the issue of a relative of the Italian-born explorer, Christopher Columbus, returning to 21st century Jamaica with the noble motive of apologising to the Arawaks for their treatment under Spanish colonisation.

During the same period, the very successful playwright Patrick Brown used a Jamaicanised Columbus spin-off – Christopher Cum-Buck-Us – as the vehicle for his revue of the current social norms, in the play of the same name.

But who would have thought then that both plays, two of the biggest hits of the Christmas season, were really the prelude to the actual visit to the island of Columbus’ 20th direct descendant, His Grace Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, Duke of Veragua, Marquis of Jamaica and Grand Admiral of the Ocean Sea?

The duke arrived here last Monday on a week-long official visit, during which he paid courtesy calls on the governor-general, the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and the mayors of Kingston, Spanish Town and St Ann’s Bay.

On Thursday he received the Key to the City of Spanish Town, and on Friday he met with Kingston Mayor Councillor Desmond McKenzie and a number of KSAC councillors in the council chamber on Church Street.

It was revealed that the duke is the most direct descendant of the explorer since, among the various branches of the family tree, he belongs to the main branch, a matter which is said to be documented since the death of Columbus in 1506.

“He is the current visible head of this branch, of what is now the 20th generation,” says information made available by the Spanish Embassy.

“The discoverer of the Americas was Admiral and Governor of the Indies. These titles still exist and the current descendant holds them, as well as the titles of Duke of Veragua and Vega, and also the Marquisate of the Island of Jamaica. Noble honours conferred by the Emperor Carlos I of Spain to the heirs of the great navigator upon his death,” say the Spaniards.

Although Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451, he moved to Portugal in 1476 then settled in Spain in 1485 from where he carried out his expeditions under the Spanish flag during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela. He first visited Jamaica on May 5, 1494.

On Friday, during a chat with the KSAC councillors and officers, Spanish Ambassador Rafael Jover expressed his disappointment with some of the criticisms being levelled against Spanish activities in Jamaica in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Jover felt that some of the blame being levelled on Spanish colonisation of the island should really be levelled at the British, including those in relation to slavery and the Maroons. He claimed that the Spanish authorities could not have had more than 1,000 slaves in total while in Jamaica.

“We are now taking on some of the problems of the British (administration) on our shoulders,” he told Mayor McKenzie. “It is very difficult to understand what happened 500 years ago with today’s eyes.”

However, he said that he had confidence in the “strong sense of history of Jamaicans” and their “political perception” in eventually defining the period. He added that he hoped that the visit of the duke would help in this development.

The duke seemed more composed, obviously much relieved after making his position clear on the matters during a public lecture titled “Spanish Period in Jamaican History”, which he delivered at the University of Technology on Thursday evening.

In that lecture, the duke admitted that the initial treatment of Taino Indians by the Spaniards in Jamaica was “harsh”.

“As they saw how their mode of living was changing, they fled into the woods and their numbers were progressively reduced on account of smallpox, ill-treatment, suicide with cassava juice and being sent to Cuba to help repopulate the island,” he said.

He added that in 1523, “the Crown arranged for 300 blacks to be sent to Jamaica. They were bought from Portugal, most of them having come from the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea.”

“In 1600, there were about 1,000 black slaves on the island. However, the treatment meted out to blacks in Jamaica was better than on the other islands, because there were fewer of them and because of the high purchase price,” he noted.

During his visit to the KSAC on Friday, the duke was more content to talk about his visit. He said that he felt a sense of history when he landed in Kingston on Monday and that he was heartened by the surviving traces of the island’s Spanish past which he had seen.

“I will take back with me from this trip the warmth of the Jamaican people and the sunshine,” he said.

Mayor McKenzie noted that over the years the KSAC and the Spanish Embassy had developed very close relationships, and expressed the wish that the visit would lead to even greater cooperation.

The mayor said that it was important for both countries to recognise the centuries of good relationship between them, and expressed hope that the duke’s visit would help to resolve some of the issues which persisted about Columbus’ explorations and the period of Spanish settlement.

The KSAC presented the duke with a bottle of rare Appleton rum, Jablum Jamaican coffee, as well as a copy of an audio cassette recording of the music from the LTM pantomime, Combolo.

The presentations were made by Mayor McKenzie, councillors Audrey Smith and Tasha Schwapp, and personnel director Phyllis Deslandes. The duke presented the council with a book on Spanish castles, in return.