What 1502 book did Columbus compile to document royal grants owed to him?
Answer
Book of Privileges
Answer
Book of Privileges
What 1502 book did Columbus compile to document royal grants owed to him? The book was the Book of Privileges.
Christopher Columbus completed the Book of Privileges in 1502, shortly before beginning his fourth voyage. Prepared in Seville with help from judges and notaries, it gathered records of the favors, offices, revenues, and other benefits Columbus believed the Spanish Crown owed him and his heirs.
Those claims rested largely on agreements made before and during his voyages, especially the Capitulations of Santa Fe. Columbus considered his discoveries and planned conquests grounds for extensive hereditary rights, but the Crown repeatedly limited or removed some of his authority. The book therefore served both as documentation and as a legal foundation for later demands.
The compilation became important in the pleitos colombinos, prolonged legal disputes between Columbus's descendants and the Spanish monarchy. It is sometimes confused with the Book of Prophecies, a separate work from around the same period focused on religious interpretations of history and exploration.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026