Yet the ones to first embark on this alternative voyage was Spain. After Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the Moors, also known as the Muslim inhabitants, they turned their attention to the ever so popular voyages, conveniently at the same time Christopher Columbus was looking for a sponsor to stipend his long held dream to voyage to the west in order to determine if it was possible to get to China and India quicker (History). Traveling westward at the time was practically unheard of especially since most still believed that the world was flat and you could fall off the face of the world. Despite all of the facts at the time, Christopher was still set on traveling west to find China. With the considerable proceeds from Ferdinand and Isabella, …show more content…
During his first voyage to the new world, Columbus encountered the native people, the Arawaks, of the Bahama island and later wrote in his log “...They are well-built, with good bodies and handsome features… They do not bear arms, and do not know of them...They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want…” (Steven). This thought was the first negative impact that would bring the native peoples population dropping. Christophers sole intent was to find riches to return to Spain, primarily gold. When he met the Arawaks he saw that the people had “...tiny gold ornaments in their ears… [which] ...led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold...” (Steven). Christopher, in a way, collected the native people and whatever gold he could get his hands on to take back with him as proof that he found the lands of Japan and China. This way he could ensure his reward as was promised to him by the King and Queen of Spain, at the time Ferdinand and Isabella. Yet what he did not take into account was the how the people would acclimatize to Europe or even the weather. On the voyage back to Spain, as the “...weather turned cold, the Indian prisoners began to die…”, and once back on the lands of Spain Columbus even gave a …show more content…
(2017, September 13). Retrieved November 24, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations_in_the_Middle_Ages History.com Staff. (2009, March 01). Exploration of North America. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/exploration-of-north-america# Kilroy-Ewbank, L. (2017, September 20). The Renaissance in Spain. Retrieved November 24, 2017, from https://smarthistory.org/the-renaissance-in-spain/ Portugal, History of. (2017, November 21). Retrieved November 24, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Portugal (Wikipedia) Portuguese Renaissance. (2017, November 06). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Renaissance (Wikipedia) Spain, History of. (2017, November 20). Retrieved November 24, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Spain (Wikipedia) Spielvogel, J. J. (2017). Western civilization: a brief history. Boston: Cengage Learning Steven. (2011, February 02). Columbus, the Indians and the 'discovery' of America. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from
Columbus and de las Casas were both explorers of the new world. They both encountered Native Americans and their treatment of them was both similar and different. Columbus viewed the Native American as subhumans. He did not have much respect for the people of the land and treated them as such. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says how he took possession of the native’s highnesses by proclamation. He also discloses how no one fought back which then made native Americans seem weak. He also states how he already took Indians aboard with him.At one instance Columbus had a dispute with Spainards and decided to give up Indians as a peace offering. Which he states in the letter to that tey were not his to give
Christopher Columbus was a European explorer who a more fitting title would be a conqueror. He didn't discover anything as the common believe would say, rather he conquered already inhabited land. Christopher Columbus "exploration" had a bunch of direct and indirect effects. The exploration sponsored by the King and Queen of Spain had direct effects such as giving Spain control over new land and giving Christopher Columbus the fame he so desired, furthermore the so-called exploration also had some indirect effects such as allowing other nations to sail West and it also affected the Natives and increased the slave trade.
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.
Columbus' original plan was to prove that early geographers were wrong and that the world was larger than computed (William Howarth). He had sponsorship from the King and Queen of Spain who were finally convinced by Columbus by his belief that he was a divine missionary, ordained by God to spread Christianity (P. J. Riga). When he got to the New World he had found that there was the possibility that there might be an abundance of gold, and gold was the commodity Columbus pursued with obsessive zeal (William Howarth). It would seem to be an item that he had a lust for more than anything. An elder on Tortuga described "within a hundred or more ...
“When Worlds Collide the Untold Story of the Americas after Columbus.” Red Hill Productions. Pbs.org, 2010.Web. 30 April 2014.
Sokolow, Jayme A. The Great Encounter: Native Peoples and European Settlers in the Americas, 1492-1800. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 2003.
Columbus was once turned down by many other places for voyages, so Columbus decided to move to spain
Columbus described the people as being timid and unfitted to use weapons. He wrote, “They have no iron or steel or weapons, nor are they fitted to use them. This is not because they are not very well built and of handsome stature, but because they are very marvellously timorous.” Columbus described them as though they will not provide any resistance because they do not have the skill to use weapons, and that they very timid people. However, as shown in the first quote, Columbus wrote that they did not put up any opposition; he later wrote in the letter that he took some of the natives by force. If the natives did not put up any opposition to Columbus, why would he need to take them by force? Columbus also notes that they had been very serviceable, and would very much be open to evangelization. An important note, Columbus wrote more and provided more detail about the vast islands he had “discovered” compared to the indigenous people, of which he wrote, “ In all these islands, I saw no great diversity in the appearance of the people or in their manners and language.” In the end, Columbus’s description of the Indigenous people was that are serviceable people would make adequate slaves. Columbus’s letter paints a good picture into his imperialistic mind, as opposed to providing information about the
In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail on a voyage searching for a route across the Atlantic to Asia for the Spain’s Kind Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Instead of reaching Asia, Columbus actually landed on present-day San Salvador Island. He still thought that he had reached India, called the native there “Indians”. Columbus even took some of these so called “Indians” back to Spain with him as slaves, so that he could show the king and queen. During this time Spain signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which confirmed Spain’s claim on the Americas. In 1501 Amerigo Vespucci made a voyage
He wanted to find gold and seize power for spain and the king. “ He was anxious to please the king that he committed irreparable crimes against the indians” (Excerpt 6). Christopher Columbus didn’t know it was America he thought it was India, so he killed to get his way and find gold. Columbus didn’t want to disappoint the king so he searched for gold. “ Columbus never forgot that his voyage was not one of exploration, but of economics.
This is an analysis of Christopher Columbus’s Letter on His First Voyage on page 381. Christopher Columbus wrote a letter to his King and Queen of Spain, while he was in the West Indies. He wrote this letter in February 1493 reflecting on his voyage across the Atlantic in 1492. After reading this letter, I can tell that Columbus felt like he was better than the native people of the different islands he journeyed and that a lot of things they did were very strange to him. I can also tell that the world was a lot different to him and to people in 1492, than it is to people in 2014 because he referred to the native people of the various islands he traveled to as Indians, whereas most people in 2014 know that India and Latin American are not the
On October 14, 1492, Christopher Columbus founded the New World, sparking one of the biggest domino effects in history, and changing the world forever. Columbus 's expedition led to the discovery of the vast natural resources of America, such as precious metals, vast expansive woods, and nutrient rich soil perfect for growing crops and raising livestock. Whenever there are large quantities of resources found, it is not long before colonization follows. This spawned a period of competition for territory, resources, and colonization in the Americas. Columbus was not the first person to discover the Americas. Chinese merchants and Vikings had already been to the Americas, as well as the indigenous people who lived there. He was the first person
When Columbus landed on the new land he put a flag in the ground claiming it for Spain. Then he met the Native Americans and was very friendly to them. “I want the natives to develop a friendly attitude toward us because I know that they are a people who can be made free and converted to our Holy Faith more by love thwn by force,” Columbus wrote in his journal.
The Renaissance, which began in Italy in the 1300s, was one of the largest periods of growth and development in Western Europe. Navigation was no longer limited to traveling about by land. Large fleets of ships were constructed, and great navigational schools, the best founded by Prince Henry the Navigator in Portugal, were founded. People were no longer tied to the lands they lived on, as they were in medieval times. They were freer to learn new skills and travel. These enabled people to go further than they had before. Fleets of ships were sent to the Eastern world to bring back treasures and valuable spices. Routes to Asia were traveled beginning in the early Renaissance.
A reason why is because of violence and slavery.Columbus and his crew were starting to enslave many native inhabitants of the West Indies.Also on his first voyage in 1492 he ordered 6 of the natives to be seized.He thought they would make good servants.In the new world Columbus sent thousands of Taino indians to Spain to be sold as slaves.Many died and those who survived were forced to work in the mine caves and dig for gold.