 The Indies were discovered in the year 1492. 49 years have passed since the first settlers penetrated the land, the first being the large and most happy isle called Hispaniola, perhaps the most densely populated place in the world. There must be close to 200 leagues of land on this island, and all the land so far discovered is a beehive of people. It is as though God had crowded into these lands the great majority of mankind.