Christopher Columbus Book Report

     Columbus was like a God in the eyes of the Native Americans and they believed that he could save them. They followed him around and wanted to find out more about these strage people who had landed on there territory. The natives saw no harm in Columbus and his men and offered them most of the things they had as gifts. They were willing to give the Europeans anything they wanted. All of the things the Europeans had were new to them. For example in Columbus’s own journal, I Take Possession for King and Queen, he states that:

In his letter, Columbus praised the land and the natives in the New World, knowing that his letter would have likely been seen by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He also knew that if they approved of the colonization of the land, he would receive more funding and would get to keep ten percent of the revenue achieved from the land. Columbus also highlighted the natives’ lack of weapons, stating, “They have no iron, nor steel, nor weapons, nor are they fit for them…” In addition, he claimed that they were very timid and seemed to think he was a god, meaning they were very compliant and easy to enslave. Similarly, Guns, Germs, and Steel notes that the Spanish conquered the Inca empire in their quest for gold and glory.

As soon as Christopher landed in the “New World,” he claimed the territory for Spain, immediately. It seems he failed to realize there were already land occupants among it so how can he claim this for place for Spain, and to make matters worse he decided to enslave the land’s civilization. According to biography.com “The natives were soon forced into slavery, and punished with the loss of a limb or death if they did not collect enough gold (a portion of which Columbus was allowed to keep for himself).” He came to their place of inhabitant claimed it for Spain’s then took advantage of them and enslaved them to find gold. Thus proving how much of a selfish man he was and how much of a villain he actually was rather than the esteemed hero with a holiday we are instilled to believe from a young age.

Columbus viewed the culture of the native people of the islands as inferior to his own which resulted in a belief that he and his men have the right to harm and treat them harshly. ‘…On my arrival, I had taken some Indians by force from the first island that I came…’ By enslaving some of the Indians, Columbus showed that he believed that he had the right to enslave them because they were inferior to him in some way. ‘…to bear witness that he before all others took possession of that island for the King and Queen…’ With this statement, Columbus stated the belief that the Island did not even belong to the native people to begin

Columbus never even walked on what we now call the United States of America. Where ever he did land, he was motivated only by his own greed. Columbus came for the gold, spices, and slaves. In his diary, he mentioned gold 75 times just in the first two weeks, alone (Katz 13). Indians who weren’t able to find gold, were punished by having their hands cut off. Most slaves died en route to Spain. Many Indian females were taken as sex slaves, some as young as nine and ten years old. Columbus forced cooperation from the Indians by disfiguring them and using them as examples. Even worse, he used hunting dogs to tear the Indians apart. Many natives committed suicide, and murdered their own children to save them from such a horrible life. Those who survived the voyage were worked to death. Still, another huge portion of these Indians died from disease brought over by Columbus and his

Columbus’s big plan for Hispaniola since the beginning was to take advantage of the natives and take their land, and the gold he believed was located there. He built the first fort in the Western Hemisphere, and left some of his men to find and store gold there. Columbus had to ask for a little more help from their majesties, he convinced them by saying he would take them “as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask” (Zinn,6 ) Columbus’s plans affected the natives, in many ways; first of all they were going to lose their land, and also they were going to be taken captive for slave labor.

The natives that Christopher Columbus had come against were not in opposition of him but wanted to be able to hear him out and see what he could offer them. From his first voyage, Columbus had sent Indians back to Spain with him as a trophy to flaunt to the King and Queen of Spain for the recognition he should receive up on his return from the New World. In the Letter from Christopher Columbus (1493) he gives a description of how he gains their trust, “they are timid and full of fear… As soon as they see that they are safe, and have laid aside all fear, they are very simple and honest, and exceedingly liberal with all they have, none of them refusing anything he may possess when he is asked for it,” (Page 300). Columbus and his men were never

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed west and found himself on the shores of a new world. His mission was to secure new land for Spain. Other European countries heard of his findings, they too crossed the ocean in hopes of securing new opportunities in this newly discovered land such as fur trading and gold mining. Little did they know that a community of indigenous people had already settled in this land thousands of years before. The Europeans decided to negotiate with the natives in order to set up their own communities in the land but the Native Americans held beliefs about society and religion that were far different from their European peers. Europeans thought the Indians to be “Noble Savages, gentle and friendly, but uncivilized, brutal, and barbaric” (citation). They could not see past their own

When Christopher Columbus entered the Americas in 1942, one of his first tasks were to deal with the Indigenous people, who, compared to the Europeans, were much less advanced. Europe began waging wars of conquest to get resources for trade, and missionaries were brought in to teach the Indigenous people Christianity. Although some Europeans viewed the civilizing of the Native Americans and the new World necessary and just, many others believed that taking dominance over their culture was wrong.

This shows the Spaniards being cognizant of the Native struggle and being advantageous (Document B). In document E, according to Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese merchant, The King of Portugal believes that anybody who doesn't believe or obey him will be destroyed and taken over. In 1514, the King of Portugal took over a proud king from the East coast of Africa by force and killed and captured many people. In 1519, Hernan Cortes wrote to King Charles V of Spain saying that he stumbled across a large town filled with innocent women and children and he proceeded to do them harm and treat them like animals and take over the town with the help of God. This lead to the people recognizing the power of God, leaving them hopeless and hostile (Document F). In 1494, Christopher Columbus stumbled upon a new land called Hispania, which is an Island located in present day Haiti and back then, just a land in the New World. Columbus describes to the to the Spanish Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, that this Island is filled with products that can benefit the Spanish such as honey, iron, plains, fields, and land for building houses (Document C). This message presents the ambition that the Spanish had only two years after

The Spanish were the first European settlers in the Americas when Christopher Columbus in October 12, 1492 while searching for a new route to Asian Indies, discovered new land. Columbus wrote to the king of Spain telling him that the Americas was kind of heaven, full of thousand of different kind trees, with prosperous land. This letter has helped understand the motives of the Spaniards for colonizing the Americas, the virgin continent, untouched lands, full of gold and precious metals as Columbus described in his letter. Columbus also told King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that the natives we simple, timid people who went about naked and lived simple lives in an environment like that of the Garden of Eden, and that they can also be made Christians. The monarchs saw this as an opportunity to impose their modes of civilization upon this vast population, justifying the colonization of the New World as the white man’s duty. Motivating and accelerating the occupation to the Americas. Since in fact the Spaniard kingdom initial motives to venture out into the oceans were richness and to acquire goods that were rarely available. The Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella were also wanted to establish missionaries to purify and reform.

The natives had no basis to recognize the extreme value of these items to Columbus and his men – nor how far these “visitors” would go to gain/take such “things” (Halstall). Columbus immediately noticed the natives had no real weapons, and remarked that he and fifty of his men could easily conquer these obviously friendly and peaceful people. Communication was mostly by sign, but intrinsically was achieved because the natives did not perceive any threat to their wellbeing (Primary Doc. 1).

In Columbus’ letter to King Ferdinand of Spain, he starts off by describing the many islands he has found and taken possession of. Columbus wants to prove to the king, who has funded this journey for him, that he has found something and that what he has “found” is of worth. Although, he claims he found these islands, he did not find these lands empty. The land had already been occupied by the Native Americans and because of a language barrier between the two groups, Columbus was able to use that against them and prove its legality of his possession of the land. The Indians on the other hand had no idea what these Europeans were up too.

The people on the island had no clue what a sword was so they would cut themselves when they would touch the blade. Christopher Columbus thought it was going to be easy if needed to fight with them. They had no way of protecting themselves. He and his men ended up killing these poor people little by little. Even when they tried to help them out by directing them to find gold or help them when they got hurt. On his trip when he arrived in Hispaniola the Taino people living on the island welcomed and were gentle with him and his men. When Columbus left the island he left forty of his men and those men raped and fought the Tainos after they helped them out.2 On his second trip Columbus set up a permanent colony and again his men raped, stole gold ornaments and food that provoked war with the Tainos. The Spanish killed tens of thousands out of population and the ones who did survive the Spanish ended up chopping off their hands if they did not provide their allotment.3 At the end the Spanish wiped out the islands either by killing the people or they left to surrounding countries.

Christopher Columbus wrote this letter in the hopes of outlining his discoveries to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. They along with other backers helped him in his pursuit of finding a quicker route to the Chinese trade markets. Columbus wanted many things from his voyage, fame and fortune being the front runners. The King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella wanted the the fame and fortune like Columbus, and also the ability to bring their religion to many lands all over the globe. His crew set sail from Spain in the three well known ships listed as the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria. Columbus sailed from new island to new island for many months on end, in what we now know as the modern day Caribbean. Christopher Columbus’s efforts were groundbreaking, and his letter served to further his efforts of another voyage by showcasing his success of discovering the Indies, routes, the people, and their natural resources. The promise of new trade routes, silver, spices, silk, and other merchandise were replaced with his belief he “conquered” new islands, set up a colony, and brought back a small supply of gold and slaves.