Analysis: Beginning in 1942 with Christopher Columbus, the New World was conquered by Spain’s Empire which established much of South America, the United States and the Caribbean. When the Spanish first arrived, their mission was to see what the land had to offer as well as convert the indigenous people. What was not expected for the Spaniards to bring was disease and hardship of the land’s people. Spain began to abuse the land, turn its people into hard labor workers and to gain wealth from all the many riches the New World had to offer. Once the Spanish empire gained control of the New World it became the most powerful and biggest European empire since ancient times. Spain took from the land and used its wealth for their own personal gain. But it was only a matter of time before problems began to take place within the New World. Introduction: American civilization was unlike any other that existed during the previous years. While Americans are descendants of people from all the continents of the world, American culture promotes European culture more than any other culture. This culture was not brought by the Europeans, but through the Spanish instead. During the course of a hundred years, the Spanish succeeded in conquering the indigenous societies of Latin America and present a strong presence in what is now the United States. Christopher Columbus is a disputed issue today, honored by some as one of the great, while others see it as a historical scoundrel responsible for the conquest of the Americas with the Spaniards that thanks were given by the discovery of the New World. Whether imagining Colon in the role of hero or villain, you cannot deny its importance in the discovery of the new continent. Columbus opened the Atlantic t... ... middle of paper ... ...d States. Conclusion: In conclusion, knowing that the Spaniards but those of the New World and those of Africa in hardship and torment the end result was not in their favor. As the Empire finally collapsed a new form of government and conduct took over the place in which was scarred by the Spanish’s nuisance. But, the Spanish empire did leave the New World with some good. The empire resulted in mixing cultures, religions, and even beliefs among all of the different groups of people that were together during this time and if you look at today’s society many of the people in the Americas would not be here without the Spanish empire. Many are said to be mixed the indigenous people as well as the Africans. But not only did the Spanish Empire bring different cultures together but it set the bases of international trade by providing new trade routes throughout the ocean.
Many consider Columbus a Hero, others believe he was selfish and self centered. Myint author of “Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?” and Ransby author of “Columbus and the Making of Historical Myth.”, are faced with the same dilemma. From a young age children are taught about Columbus and his greatness, but the books fail to document the atrocities committed in the process. Most of the books use biased language; little evidence and vague language is used to hail Columbus as a great hero. Myint provides a more objective stance, while Ransby condemns Columbus entirely. However, both suggest to consider Columbus a hero is a mistake.
Who is Christopher Columbus? You may already have prior knowledge of him, but if you do not, Christopher Columbus was a Spanish explorer who made four voyages to the Americas. His voyages led to the Columbian Exchange and colonization. Many cultures, ideas, technology, and foods were spread between the Americas, the “New World,” and Europe, Africa, and Asia, the “Old World”. Even though many great things were exchanged between the Old World and the New World, many diseases from Europe were introduced to the Natives. Does this make Christopher Columbus a hero, or a villain? The answer is not that debatable. A closer look must be taken at Christopher Columbus 's life to be able to judge such things. This essay will take a look at his life,
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was a self-made man who worked his way up to being the Captain of a merchant vessel. He gained the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for an expedition to the Indies. With the support of the Spanish monarchy, he set off to find a new and faster trade route to the Indies. Upon the arrival of his first voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, a “royal official and an early supporter of his venture,” in February 1493 (35). The epistle, letter, entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” was copied and then distributed in Spain before being translated and spread throughout Europe. The Letter is held in such regard with the people as it is considered the first printed description of the new world. Through his description of the nature of the islands, Columbus decided the future fate of the islands. His description of the vast beauty of the nature around him, declares both the economic and nationalistic motivations for colonizing the new world.
Cultures had been flourishing thousands of years before the Europeans arrived to the New World. Great empires such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas inhabited the vast lands of Central and South America. These three major powers controlled the land before Columbus or Cortez were even born. Although the Pre-Columbian civilizations and the Europeans shared some similar ideas, life was very different in the New World compared with that of Middle Age Europe.
Despite being one of the most renowned explorers in history, Christopher Columbus’ legacy remains controversial. The debate on whether Columbus should be celebrated has captured news headlines for decades. While many view him simply as a gifted Italian navigator who laid the seeds for the colonization of the New World, history paints a much more complicated picture. His journal entries and eye-witness testimony reveal Columbus to be a man of intolerance and indifference towards those deemed inferior to himself. Christopher Columbus’ treatment of Indigenous’ people, in addition to his ethnocentric worldview, allows for the conclusion that he should not be idolized as a hero in the modern age.
In some respects, we can attribute the founding of America and all its subsequent impacts to Christopher Columbus. Columbus a hero in the United States, has his own holiday and we view as the one who paved the way for America to be colonized. However, people tend to forget the other side of Columbus, the side that lusted after gold and resources that often belonged to the native inhabitants he came across in his exploration. In his insatiable greed, he and his crew committed countless atrocities, such as torture and killing of defenseless natives. Columbus’s discovery of these new lands contributes profound and negative effects as future colonists arrived. “Zinn estimates that perhaps 3 million people perished in the Caribbean alone from raids, forced labor and disease” (Zinn, 1980). Columbus was seen as a cruel man, who saw the peaceful inhabitants as right for the conquering and lead to the devastation of the native population, yet is celebrated every October.
This was the positive effect of the encounter and it was largely responsible for the doubling of the world’s population over the next three hundred years. There were also many negative effects to the “Columbian Exchange”. A major consequence was the spread of disease in the New World. Diseases carried by Europeans and Africans devastated the population of the Americas. As Europeans traveled through the Americas, epidemics came with them.
It is hard to believe that even the Spaniards imagined that one journey in 1492 will change theirs and world’s history so dramatically. The moment that Spanish foot stepped on American soil started years of prosperity and glory for the Spanish empire but at the cost of the destruction of American societies. The encounter with the new world was controversial historical moment that created one united history instead of two world histories. The discovery led many Spaniards to the new world with the intention of settling the lands but eventually this was the start of devastating of cultures, human populations and traditions. Using power and coercion they spread fear and destruction in the aim of gaining wealth, social precedence and Christian conversion. The justification for the massacres of the indigenous people in the name of religion was no more than greed to gold, fame and status. The actions of those who claimed to be “the most humane and excellent nation” was no more than cruel actions made by savages that had no moral sense.
Spain was a global superpower in matters of wealth and their successes stemming from the arts and academia to travel and territorial conquests. Of these accomplishments, their most prized achievement was acquiring a heavy portion of Latin America where their influence originated from the northern borders of Mexico deep into South America. They abused the resources they found, cheated the natives all the while demolishing their culture and population. In turn this gave birth the rise of a number of rebellions by the oppressed against the conquistadors to take back the land and implement laws and social standards that benefited the people and return to them the rights that they had been stripped of.
There have been circular arguments,internaionally, concerning whether Columbus discoverd or invaded the west Indies. through this essay I will explore all counter arguments for this particular topic. Its complex yet simple, one step at a time.
The Spanish empire in the Americas faced huge political, social and economic problems in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The empire was stretched to its limit politically and socially with the threat of an uprising from the slave population in its empire. The economy also played a major role and the outlook was just as bleak for Spain with the American colonies drifting towards independence.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, even after centuries later, little is truly known of the mysterious voyage and findings of the new world.1 By examining “Letter from Columbus to Luis Santangel”, one can further contextualize the events of Columbus' exploration of the New World. The letter uncovers Columbus' subtle hints of his true intentions and exposes his exaggerated tone that catered to his lavish demands with Spain. Likewise, The Columbian Voyage Map read in accordance with the letter helps the reader track Columbus' first, second, third, and fourth voyage to the New World carefully and conveniently. Thus, the letter and map's rarity and description render invaluable insight into Columbus' intentionality of the New World and its indigenous inhabitants.
Spanish armies had a taste for conquest. ”It has been argued that after 750 years of fighting against the "infidel," the Spanish were psychologically committed to "conquest" but needed new territories. Christopher Columbus, who set sail in 1492, who may have witnessed the Fall of Granada, may have thought that in the East (which he thought he would reach by sailing West which of course he would have done if he had not stopped on the way) he would find the legendary Prester John, and persuade him to attack the Muslim world from the East while European Christians did so from the West.[9] Instead leading the Spanish to the Americas, Columbus set in motion the Spanish conquest of what they called the New World. There, fresh from defeating the Muslims as crusaders for Christ, with "sword in one hand and Bible in the other" they "arrived like thunderbolts among the unsuspecting native population." What followed has been described as cultural genocide, "the Spanish robbed the Indians of their language, their culture and their dignity."[10] 1492 changed the history of the world.”750 years of war would leave a desire for conquest in your mouth so it is easy to see why the Spanish would want to conquer more. Spanish conquest of the new world can be seen as good and bad, depending on who you are it can be because what they did was basically genocide, it could also be classified as good because they
We first start by looking at the individuals who participated in the conquest, primarily Columbus, Cortes, and Pizarro. We often place these people on pedestals so to speak and admire what they were able to accomplish. However, when we delve into it all, Restall notes that in many cases, in particular Columbus, we realize that his greatest accomplishment, supposedly “discovering the New World,” was an accident. “In fact, the most exceptional thing about Columbus’ geographical vision was that it was wrong. His achievements were the result of historical accident and his role in the historical process was far larger than he was. ” Restall puts tremendous focus on the role that the predecessors to Columbus, Cortez, and Pizzaro played in the success of the conquests. Many writers ignore this factor and place much, if not all of the success in the hands of these few. The reality is that many of these “successes” were in fact accidents, and those that were not were aided by years of prior attempts and failures. In Columbus’ case, he failed dozens of times and had a very small network of people. The fact that he was able to get another chance at an expedition is a miracle.
The discovery of the new world brought the Europeans resources, money, and people. Discovery of the new was such an impact on the European exploration because of land. Countries would now have more land in their name with lots of resources. Discovery the new world made the European come up with the ideal of slavery. This was a negative for the people who lived on the land because they were either killed, brought into slavery, or kicked off the island (3). Crops and resources was another reason why the discovery of the new world was important. Exploring the world gave the Europeans resources that were very convenience. Gold was the greatest convenience resources found during the European exploration (3). When the Europeans were traveling across they weren’t just looking for land and money. They also learned from the Indians and others about their culture (3). Learning about another culture made the explorers bring back some of their culture and share it with the old world. The explorers found lots of resources and crops that they didn’t have, they also found out that the Indians didn’t have things they had, and this is what lead to the Columbian