In this essay I am going to talk about one of the most important men in history. He was so important that without him the world would not be what it is now and throughout history his discoveries have inspired others to become fierce adventurers of the sea. Columbus had one of the brightest ideas of the time, he had the idea that he could reach China by sailing west from Europe. This idea meant that there would be a westward passage from Spain to west across the ocean to China in a cheap and easy way in order to return cheap goods from China into Europe. The story of Columbus’s journey across the Atlantic was one of the greatest journeys of exploration in history as in just a few months, he has changed the world map forever but this was not enough for Columbus as he wants the new world to give him wealth too and he now sets about to find it. He is on the lookout for likely places to find riches and colonies. Without Christopher Columbus Europe would off never found America. The story of Christopher Columbus is the story of discovery, the story of discovering new animals and plants and the natural treasures that Columbus and his followers have found in America. The journey of Christopher Columbus began 500 years ago in 1491. Before Christopher Columbus and the rest of Europeans set foot in America, the land that they discovered was a land of almost unbelievable wealth as they discovered two vast continents teeming with life, they have discovered more than 500.000 miles of coastline that was surrounded clear waters that were rich in fish and life. Christopher Columbus pioneered the discovery of hundreds of thousands of new species and great forests that stretched in every direction. This new world that they have discovered...
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...t will win him a fortune because of its natural riches but
Columbus even went as far as building a new city to stamp his victory on the land and its people. In its time, Conception de la Vega was to become the richest gold mining center in the Caribbean. The city was an example of how the Spanish colonization was becoming successful as they basically pacified the Indians in South America and they put them to work in mining gold and they were able to spend that gold on Spanish products and to turn their colonies into a European style city. Columbus’s explorers were outnumbered quite often and with insufficient gunpowder they were met by the steel of swords, quite often there were violent confrontations with hand to hand fighting. Columbus’s greatest asset is that his single minded vision took him thousands of miles across the ocean but it was also his greatest flaw.
Reading both passages of the two explorers, Christopher Columbus and Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, gives a great description of how the world was back in the 1500s. Now, although both were Spaniard explorers, each had different experiences and discoveries. One of the differences is how they approached exploring the new world. For instance, Columbus went to find new land in the west, while Cabeza de Vaca went as an expedition to already found lands. In addition, Columbus had a lot of success, while Cabeza de Vaca since the beginning, because of Narváez, “endured many disasters” (Baym, et al., 2013, p. 28). Furthermore, Christopher Columbus considered most important to find more land, and especially the route to reach Asia.
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.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian sailor and explorer who travelled across the Atlantic Ocean in 1942, in search of a quick route to India Spice trading, which was at the time the largest industry in the world. Columbus made a total of 4 trips between 1492 - 1504. Columbus throughout time has been revered as a hero, and the reason that many of us are even settled on this land, but there are many dark truths that will be touched upon throughout this report. Columbus starts his journey in August 1492, when he sets sail from Spain under the sponsorship of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. His original plan was to simply find a new route to India, so he could further prosper from the booming spice trading industry.
Christopher Columbus was a famous navigator and explorer who was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Columbus wanted to claim land for Spain so he could be rich and spread religion. He originally set out to find the East Indies for many reasons. One was that he hoped to establish trade routes and colonies in order to gain wealth. Another was that there were now bigger guns that could be strapped on ships so he felt that his voyage had more of a chance of being successful. The main reasons for his exploration was that he wanted to find a western route to Asia to find the riches that Marco Polo talked about in his book. So basically he was not courageous, he was just greedy. He intended on arriving in Japan on his first voyage, but instead, he arrived at the Bahamas archipelago. He ended up making numerous voyages and claiming the lands he visited for the Spanish Empire. Columbus continued voyages creating the first lasting European conta...
...us brought America to the attention of the civilized world, to the growing, scientific civilizations of Western Europe. The result, ultimately, was the United States of America. It was Columbus’ discovery for Western Europe that led to the arrival of ideas and people on which this nation was founded on. The voyages of Christopher Columbus contain one of the great adventure stories of all time. His first journey across thousands of miles of unknown ocean, in the middle of the rebellious grievances and tensions of his crew, was not only one of the most significant achievements of recorded human history, but was also a demonstration of Columbus's dominance as mariner and navigator. For a while he had faults and defects, which brought turmoil to his personal life, but there was no flaw, no dark side to the most significant of all his qualities, of course his seamanship.
Every schoolchild knows that “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” This voyage was the gateway to an age of exploration, triumph, and ruin. Columbus’s voyage introduced the world to a new land and many opportunities. Powerful countries immediately scrambled to grab as much of it for themselves as they could. Two of the most powerful ones were England and Spain. Both wanted a piece of the new land, a way to grow economically or to escape persecution. Even though they had similar goals in mind, England and Spain had vastly different strategies.
Depending on how you look at it, Christopher Columbus was either a great man of adventure and achievement Or the kind of person that does not see shame in killing and enslaving thousand of Native Americans. Christopher Columbus came to America in hopes of finding new land, new opportunities, and gold. On the view of the Spaniards side he was helping them expand a money thirsty empire. He was helping route and map new uncharted land. He was bringing his ships back so full of gold that they almost sunk. On the view of Native Americans he was looting and plundering their valubles, family members, houses, pictures and basically anything he wanted. He sacrificed many Natives, crushing their whole world for the purpose of expanding his and make himself known. Christopher Columbus was a destroyer.
Columbus’ goal in his mission to America was somewhat heroic: “Christian missionary and anti-Islamic fervour, the power of Castile and Aragon, the fear of Portugal, the lust for gold, the desire for adventure, the hope of conquests, and Europe’s genuine need for a reliable supply of herbs and spices for cooking, preserving, and medicine all combined to produce an explosion of energy that launched the first voyage” (Flint). Although Columbus’ mission may have been heroic, what really matters is what Columbus did when he got to America, which was kidnap, enslave, and kill Native
America's national memory is filled with icons and symbols, avatars of deeply held, yet imperfectly understood, beliefs. The role of history in the iconography of the United States is pervasive, yet the facts behind the fiction are somehow lost in an amorphous haze of patriotism and perceived national identity. Christopher Columbus, as a hero and symbol of the first order in America, is an important figure in this pantheon of American myth. His status, not unlike most American icons, is representative not of his own accomplishments, but the self-perception of the society which raised him to his pedestal in the American gallery of heroism.
Since Elementary School, the epic tale of Columbus’s harrowing journey that ultimately lead to the discovery of America has been recited to us time and again. However, as more information has been unearthed about Columbus, his status as an American hero has been put into question. Not unlike most European explorers, Columbus came across many Native American tribes on his journeys. Since Columbus was under pressure to find new lands and amass large amounts of gold, he and his team of explorers viewed the indigenous people as nothing more than a means to an end. Columbus forced much of the native population to convert to Christianity, as well as using extremely harsh and often brutal methods to keep the Native American people in line. Since Columbus’s voyage also took place during a time where slavery and human trafficking was practiced, Columbus and his men enslaved many native inhabitants of the West Indies and subjected them to arduous work for the sake of profit. On his first day in the New World, Columbus had six natives enslaved because he thought they would be adequate workers. Appallingly, Columbus oversaw the selling of native girls into sexual slavery. Young girls aged 9-10 were in the highest demand Columbus even references this in his personal journals stating, “A hundred Castellanos are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand.” (Columbus). The Spaniards subjected the natives to work in the gold mines until they died of exhaustion. If a Native American worker did not deliver their complete quota of gold dust by Columbus' deadline, soldiers would cut off the man's hands and tie them around...
...ristopher Columbus’ letter opened the door of colonization of the Americas to the Spanish. The Spaniards wasted no time in colonizing a large majority of the South American continent, Central America, Western North America, and the islands Columbus so famously ‘discovered’. Theses colonizers exploited the resources and the people of this colonies, believing that this process would benefit their country. The byproduct of their colonization, along with many European countries, led to many of the issues of the economy, societal strife, and conflict the people of the present encounter. Colonization led to one of the biggest issues of today, shift from interconnection to interdependence. Columbus’ letter starts at the beginning of the process and belief of colonialism; providing the economic and religious foundation for this idea that shaped the world so drastically.
Although Columbus was increasing the wealth and strength of Spain, he was “a catastrophe for the indigenous inhabitants of the lands” (Belasco 67). He had no remorse for the natives as he proceeded to establish plantations, enslave them, slaughter them, and create a new colony called Espanola on their lands. According to Schuman, Howard, Barry Schwartz, and Hannah d’Arcy, Christopher Columbus “deserves condemnation for having brought slavery, disease, and death...
This personal diary from Christopher Columbus provided insight to how the europeans thought as they discovered new land and people. The Europeans focused on glory, riches, and power. They traded with the indians receiving items to trade in Europe, discovered the weaknesses of the indians, and learned about gold they could acquire from a nearby king. Through a personal narrative of the events in the Indies the Europeans importance at the time was
Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen-hundred-ninty-two. He came over from Spain in three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria and discovered America, or at least that was what I was taught in elementary school. Since then there has been much controversy going on over the issue of weather or not Christopher Columbus really “discovered” America because when he landed in San Salvador he was not alone. Native Americans already inhabited the land and they had been there long before Columbus, but this doesn’t mean that he should be atacked stripped of his dignity.