In 1492 the island of Guanahani was discovered by the Spanish. The island was baptized San Salvador.
THE ADMIRAL'S LAST VOYAGE.
Valladolid, May 19th, 1506.
How is my father?
He's conscious, but the fever hasn't subsided.
Yas my brother been told?
Yes, he's on his way.
Your son Diego…
he's here.
How are you, father?
Diego…
when I look at you…
…I see your mother…
… the most beautiful Portuguese woman in the world.
She was taken from me so soon…
Please, father, don't think about that now.
Death is never pretty, Diego.
Though we fill the tomb with gold…
… we do so because life was beautiful.
But in the final trance
it is enough that God is with us,
as the Most Holy Queen Isabel used to say.
Who thinks of gold now, father?
I do.
For that greedy glitter, in the end, make us all equals.
Son…
it's over…
and now your struggle for justice has begun.
Princes often forget what they sign,
what they promise.
Listen to me.
Listen to me carefully.
Dog the heels of King Fernando
until he heeds you and fulfils that which was agreed.
We shall give the King and princes no respite.
Fret not, father.
I am unable.
I cannot do it.
No one can deny you your rights.
Rest easy, father.
It's not worth the while to think on this now.
What took you so long?
In the city, people of all stations asked me about you.
What was your reply?
That you are well.
That you were readying a voyage of great importance.
The greatest of all.
Hernando, son.
Come closer.
Do you know?
Every voyage was the most important,
such as watching you and your brother grow up,
amid navigational maps and portulans.
Those were moments of joy.
The Catholic Kings at last began to take me seriously.
But now,
you and your brother need to be more united than ever.
Hernando, you were a witness to adventure,
but this last voyage… I must make it alone.
I'd like to go with you again.
No.
Write the truth for me.
The whole truth!
I will, father.
I will.
And what of the errors and betrayals?
Let it be known…
Those people
and those lands
preserved the mark of paradise,
and discovering them was like returning there.
But as you know,
intrigues were unleashed,
vested interests,
mutinies,
massacres borne of ambition…
History should be no more than a just claim
well set forth and written even better.
So shall it be.
It's said that Amerigo Vespucci has royal favour for new endeavours.
I know.
He's a good man. Although…
I don't know what worries me more,
his claim of fidelity,
or his brazen interest in my navigational chards.
Such interest…
has turned many a friend into traitor.
Trust not, Hernando.
Trust him not!
Trust no one!
I've been sent by the Inqusition to give you the last rites.
Don't you dare touch that letter!
Give it to me!
It was written by the Queen herself!
Neither here nor in the Indies
was there cause for the Inqusition.
I remind you that the Inqusition…
I am viceroy of conquered lands and admiral of the ocean
and I order these birds of ill omen to fly away!
Get out!
Get out! Get out!
Leave me alone! Leave ... me ... alone!!!
I wish to die peacefully. Get out!
I wish to die in peace! Get out!
This is unheard of!
Let us away!
It shall not rest here!
They shall hear oe this forthwith!
'Tis the fault of deliriums!
How is he?
Very frail, but conscious again.
I thank you for coming.
People come from all corners to bid farewell to your father.
He hasn't moved from there in days.
Go inside, I shall come directly.
What a comfort is that you came, Father Marchena.
No, Admiral.
I am Friar Hernando de Talavera, cofessor to the Queen.
Father Marchena,
only to you…
may I confess a secret that eats at me.
- But I am not… - Father…
… Tell me…
I witheld things before the Kings.
I knew there was dry land to the west,
it had been sighted,
and moreover, it was closer than people imagined.
A captain had come from there,
Alonso Sanchez de Huelva.
I have his logbook, his maps,
and notes stowed away.
I knew that Toscanelli was wrong.
All that proves you were right.
That your intuitions were accurate.
God kindled your dream
in order to open our eyes.
NO, I also commited God and the Church to the adventure.
One had to quell the Muslims
and make more Christians.
"What matters most is paptism."
This I said,
And you responded,
"We shall baptize."
What heaven…
or what hell awaits me?
Perhaps…
… a tragic fate
such as those poor people,
surprised in their innocence,
in their pristine paradise.
God is merciful.
No!
Not yet. Not yet.
Forgiveness shall be yours.
There is no cause to torment yourself any longer.
May God…
…keep you.
I forgot…
I have something for you.
From where?
Is he here?
He's been outside for days,
waiting for you to receive him.
Why did no one tell me of his presence?
Let him in!
Let in this creature of the dawn!
He has gone.
We always come too late…
to that which is most beautiful.
Friar Hernando…
Friar Hernando, help me.
I must get up.
I wish to see for one last time the storks of Valladolid.
Help me.
On May 20th 1506, in Valladolid, the discoverer of New World died.
"Heaven have mercy now and may the earth weep for me".
Christopher Columbus.
Director Ivan Sainz-Pardo