Columbus Revealed It is a known fact to the world that Columbus landed off the coast of the Americas in 1492. Yet it is also known that he met native people who had already been living here for some time. So the question that remains is who actually is credited for discovering America? This paper will focus on possible explanations to this question and the reasons for discovery and settlement. The purpose of this paper is to inform the readers about Columbus and his reasons for exploration, the Native Americans reaction to Columbus, and how the two of these things interacted with one another. During the 15th and 16th centuries, national leaders from powers around the world were thinking about the opportunities that can arise from exploration by sea. They were interested in goods such as spices, gold, food, and slaves to trade with Asia and the countries off the Coast of Africa. At this point in time it was very difficult and dangerous to travel long distances across land due to the treacherous terrain and the chance of being killed by attackers who were interested in robbing people. So the idea of traveling by sea seemed like a much more suitable option. During the 1400’s and 1500’s wealthy people searching for an even greater wealth wanted to find a route from the coast of England to the coast of Asia. The Portuguese accomplished this task by sailing along the coast of Africa south around The Cape of Good Hope. However Columbus had a better idea. Columbus, born 1451 in Genoa, spent most of his time sailing for many different people and purposes. He was trained to sail and studied mathematics, astronomy, cartography, and navigation at Libson. Columbus had the idea to sail west of the coast of England and end up... ... middle of paper ... ... violent rule and harsh treatment of slaves, he is also responsible bringing new diseases to the New World. These diseases were unknown to the native immune system and did a great deal of damage to the number of indigenous people living in America. In conclusion although we have been taught that Columbus’s voyages were for expansion of the Catholic religion, it is clear that the sole purpose of his exploration was to gain himself financially and to gain wealth for Spain and Ferdinand and Isabella. During his exploration Columbus had little concern with the native people living in America already and was responsible for the murder and slavery of many of these people. It is important for this realization to be made by people being educated about the history of Columbus’s explorations, and important not to forget about the innocent lives that were lost in the process.
Ransby believes “Columbus 's image has been scrubbed clean and sanitized by many generations of American historians so that he can now be offered up as a sterling example of the glorious era of discovery.” (Ransby, 1992/2015, p.14). Objective evidence is also a major component in this article. Columbus’s journal proved he wanted to exploit, and enslave the Indians. A population of 300,000 dwindled to a mere one by 1540. (Ransby, 1992/2015, p.12). Many scene of rape, murder and beating were also described in journals of sailors that travelled with
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.
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.
Christopher Columbus has been discredited with discovering America, because for thousands of years, Native Americans had thrived on the land he claimed he discovered. There are also claims that the Phoenicians, Jews, Romans, Hoei-shins, Vikings, and the Portuguese landed in America long before Columbus; but these claims have yet to be backed by solid evidence. Columbus was not the first person to be on the shores of America, or maybe not even the first European; but when he landed, he brought the new land to the attention of a growi...
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.
For generations upon generations, students have been taught about the “hero” Christopher Columbus who had discovered our new world. However, to say he was a hero would not exactly be the truth; Columbus was an eccentric man who cared much more about his profits than the well being and even lives of the natives. It is documented in journals that he and his crew had slaughtered entire villages at a time, and that he had even killed people just for the point of testing how sharp his sword was. Not only did Columbus and his crew have a thing for violence, on multiple accounts crew members wrote down every single successful rape of women; and used the voyage to help begin a slave export for the royalty of Spain.
It is thought by many that Christopher Columbus was a skilled sailor on a mission of greed. Many think that he in fact did it all for the money, honor and the status that comes with an explorer, but this is not the case entirely. Columbus was an adventurer and was enthused by the thrill of the quest of the unknown. “Columbus had a firm religious faith and a scientific curiosity, a zest for life, the felling for beauty and the striving for novelty that we associate with the advancement of learning”. He had heard of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. He believed that Japan was about 4,800 km to the west of Portugal. In 1484, Columbus wanted support for an exploratory voyage from King John II of Portugal, but he was refused. In 1485, Columbus took his son Diego and went to Spain to get some help.
“When Worlds Collide the Untold Story of the Americas after Columbus.” Red Hill Productions. Pbs.org, 2010.Web. 30 April 2014.
After reading the two letters written by Christopher Columbus in the midst of his many voyages, I have found many similarities and differences between the two. The first letter was written to Luis de Santangel on February 15, 1493 at sea. Ten years later, the second letter was written to Ferdinand and Isabella. This letter, regarding his fourth voyage, was written on July 7, 1503. The tone in this letter compared to the first letter was abysmal. Some did not believe it was written by the same person. This makes what happened in that ten year gap become very important. It is what happened during that time that will lead one to discover the changes in attitude made by Columbus between the two letters he wrote.
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.
Written sometime after A People’s History of the United States, the play on words might indicate the authors’ intent to refute the biased nature of the older book, and redeem the major players. Chapter one begins covering the year 1492-1707 with the age of European discovery. Schweikart and Allen focus of the catchy phrase “God, glory, and gold” as the central motives for exploration, emphasizing the desire to bring the Gospel to the New World. They paint native settlers as “thieves” and “bloodthirsty killers who pillage for pleasure” (Allen 1). The narrative continues, discussing the explorers from Portugal and Spain and their contact with the Arabs and Africans. The authors quote Columbus as saying “[he] hoped to convert them ‘to our Holy Faith by love rather than by force’” (4) a contrary portrayal to that in A People’s History of the United States. The authors continue on to discuss the French and English and the foundations for success in the New World; how people lived in the Colonial South. They write about the physical labor, the natural resources, and the food. Schweikart and Allen enlighten the readers about early slavery, the start of the House of Burgesses, the founding of Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Pequot Indian War, the English Civil War, Bacon’s Rebellion, Pennsylvania’s settlement, and the
Christopher Columbus’ only real claim to fame (other than, perhaps, one of the earliest perpetrators of genocide) is that he began a period of conquest and colonization in the Americas. Columbus made no secret of his plans for the first native peoples he encountered, the Arawak. He wrote to his patrons, “With fifty men all can be kept in subjection, and made to do whatever you desire” (Colbert, 1997, p.6).
Reaching towards the peak of trade, Europe faced difficulties in trading with Asia due to sections of multiple trade routes being dominated by Muslims. This meant that men were lost and it took a great amount of time to be able to give and receive the products being traded. This was when Christopher Columbus proposed a solution, believing that a route which sailed west through the Atlantic Ocean, would be a much safer and faster way of trading with Asia.
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...
Although this essay is historically accurate it lacks important details, which might paint a different view of Columbus. Boorstin writes favorable of Columbus and depicts him as a heroic and determined figure who helped shape history, but he neglects to include Columbus’ unethical acts committed in the world that was not supposed to exist, the Americas. When Columbus first discovered the New World, he took care that the royal standard had been brought ashore and he claimed the land for Spain in front of all, including the indigenous population who had been sighted even before Columbus made landfall. According to the medieval concepts of natural law, only those territories that are uninhabited can become the property of the first person to discover them. Clearly this was an unethical act. Thus, the first contact between European and non-European worlds was carried out through a decidedly European prism, which ensured Spanish claim to the islands of the Americas. Faced with a colony in an inhospitable area, the Spanish soon inaugurated the practice of sending regular military parties inland to subdue the increasingly hostile natives. Members of the indigenous population were captured and enslaved to support the fledgling colony. The object of Columbus’ desire changed from exploration and trade to conquest and subjugation.