Analysis Of Jan Van Der Straet's Discovery Of America

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Recommended: Effects of colonization on native people

. In “Discovery of America” by Jan Van der Straet, America is represented by the woman that is waking up to the arrival of European settlers conveying that they claim this land by the white flag the settler is holding up. The picture shows a lot of wildlife and spears around them along with built fires meaning these indigenous people lived a barbaric life. Because the indigenous people live such a barbaric lifestyle, they had no stories that they told about themselves that gave themselves a purpose in this world. This picture conveys that the indigenous people hunt, kill, eat and sleep every day. The indigenous woman has basically been asleep the entire time the European explorers have explored on to her land. She would have absolutely no …show more content…

For example, in Columbus’ first Voyage he states, “I passed from the Canary Islands to the Indies with the fleet which the most illustrious king and queen our sovereigns gave to me. And there I found very many islands filled with people innumerable, and of them all I have taken possession for their highnesses, by proclamation made and with the royal standard unfurled, and no opposition was offered to me”(P.35). This Passage explains how Columbus finds islands that indigenous people have already settled on and uses complete domination to claim the land his. Columbus would only take over an island if it was something worthy to him. Columbus states, “I determined not to wait for a change in the weather and retraced my paths as far as a certain harbor known to me. And from that point I sent two men inland to learn if there were a king or great cities. They traveled three days’ journey and found an infinity of small hamlets and people without number, but nothing of importance. For this reason the returned” (P.36). In “Discovery of America”, the land looks very high with very lofty mountains. The lands also seem to have great wildlife for hunting, and eating. This is why in the picture the European

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