ButthecountrieswhichColumbusdiscovered，eitherinthisorinanyofhissubsequentvoyages，hadnoresemblancetothosewhichhehadgoneinquestof。Insteadofthewealth，cultivation，andpopulousnessofChinaandIndostan，hefound，inSt。Domingo，andinalltheotherpartsofthenewworldwhichheevervisited，nothingbutacountryquitecoveredwithwood，uncultivated，andinhabitedonlybysometribesofnakedandmiserablesavages。Hewasnotverywilling，however，tobelievethattheywerenotthesamewithsomeofthecountriesdescribedbyMarcoPolo，thefirstEuropeanwhohadvisited，oratleasthadleftbehindhim，anydescriptionofChinaortheEastIndies;
andaveryslightresemblance，suchasthatwhichhefoundbetweenthenameofCibao，amountaininSt。Domingo，andthatofCipangomentionedbyMarcoPolo，wasfrequentlysufficienttomakehimreturntothisfavouriteprepossession，thoughcontrarytotheclearestevidence。InhisletterstoFerdinandandIsabellahecalledthecountrieswhichhehaddiscoveredtheIndies。HeentertainednodoubtbutthattheyweretheextremityofthosewhichhadbeendescribedbyMarcoPolo，andthattheywerenotverydistantfromtheGanges，orfromthecountrieswhichhadbeenconqueredbyAlexander。Evenwhenatlastconvincedthattheyweredifferent，hestillflatteredhimselfthatthoserichcountrieswereatnogreatdistance，and，inasubsequentvoyage，accordingly，wentinquestofthemalongthecoastofTerraFirma，andtowardstheIsthmusofDarien。
InconsequenceofthismistakeofColumbus，thenameoftheIndieshasstucktothoseunfortunatecountrieseversince;andwhenitwasatlastclearlydiscoveredthatthenewwerealtogetherdifferentfromtheoldIndies，theformerwerecalledtheWest，incontradistinctiontothelatter，whichwerecalledtheEastIndies。
ItwasofimportancetoColumbus，however，thatthecountrieswhichhehaddiscovered，whatevertheywere，shouldberepresentedtothecourtofSpainasofverygreatconsequence;
and，inwhatconstitutestherealrichesofeverycountry，theanimalandvegetableproductionsofthesoil，therewasatthattimenothingwhichcouldwelljustifysucharepresentationofthem。