Christopher Columbus Summary

     I showed one my sword, and through ignorance he grabbed it by the blade and cut                himself...They traded and gave everything they had with good will, but it

While trying to adapt Native Americans to European customs, Columbus and his followers took advantage of the Indians. The Spanish burned the Natives sacred objects and would not allow them to practice their own religions. They also abused the Natives, enslaving them, taking land from them, and raping their women. Because of the conquistadors quest for gold and other riches,

According to Meredith, Columbus had said that the Arawak Indians willingly traded everything that they owned and that they seemed a poor people.# He later states in his log to make himself appear humble that he gave gifts to one particular man, a red cap, a string of glass beads, and two hawks’ bells which were together worth less than 3 cents.#

When Columbus and his men arrived to the islands, he noticed that the natives were generous, and accommodating because they willingly traded everything they owned and brought them such things like: food, water, and gifts. Since the beginning the natives offered all of their hospitality to Columbus

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

Christopher Columbus account on the meeting of the Arawak for the first time consists of many tragic events in history. However, there are two different points of view that should be considered upon the opinion of Christopher himself, and Bartolome de Las Casas. Comparing and contrasting the two documents one can truly see that the truth would always come to light. In Christopher Columbus voyage, he had mentioned that the Native Americans were nothing more than loving as they were willing to give as much as they could without any resentment. As they were always lavish with everything in their possession. In the second passage, Bartolome de Las Casas has also indicated that the Indians were rational and wise individuals. They never had any desire or feeling of hate toward another

When Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas he stole land, kidnapped people and started a massacre. This all started August 3, 1492, when Columbus started his trip to India. According to Document B, “I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King...no one making any resistance.” This was written by Christopher Columbus in 1493. In this quote he is referring to the people of the islands he discovered, saying that he has kidnapped them for the King. It also states, “ In the island, which I have said before was called Hispana, there are very lofty and beautiful mountains, great farms...and well adapted for constructing buildings.”, which describes reasons they should take over the land. Additionally, according to Document C,

He first laid foot on Caribbean soil and encountered the Taino people, who densely inhabited the islands of Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. Justified by El Requerimiento, Columbus and other conquerors seized entire lands originally owned by natives (Document 5). Following this, he put the natives to work on extremely dangerous silver mines. Mercury, a toxic element to humans, was used to extract silver from the earth. As a result of this, many workers got mercury poisoning. In an effort to prevent their children from working in the mines, many families would mutilate their offspring. Haciendas, which were essentially Spanish plantations, also caused death and destruction to the area. Natives were used as the main labor forces on them and were treated as slaves. The harsh working conditions combined with the ruthless hacienda owners led to the death of hundreds of thousands of natives. Any natives with an intent of rebellion against the Spanish conquistadors were burnt at the stake (Document 7). The deaths of natives grew exponentially as time passed. In the years following Columbus’ voyages to the Caribbean, the entire Taino group was

to gain access to resources, such as gold, that was available in the Americas. Native people were forced to

in the heat. The climate of the area is 26 degrees, and even cold on the mountains. These people are very pleasant and agreeable to Columbus. They viewed Columbus as godly and a miracle. They practiced no idolatry. Columbus goal is to convert these people to the holy religion of Christ. They are prepared to become of Christ without hesitation. They were welcoming to Columbus and offered him access to various islands, and items that they possessed. These people were satisfied with the little things that Columbus had to offer. They also gave him gifts and in return, they wanted nothing at all. They offered Columbus two ounces of gold, forty pounds of cotton, bottles, jugs, and jars. Columbus gave them what he had brought to the islands, because

Columbus sold the natives of Arawak tribe from what now called Haiti when he and his crew member found that there was no gold to bring back to the king and queen. In Chapter 1 of Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progression by Zinn it states that “In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and

Columbus had captured a few Indians in hopes that they would show him where the gold and spices were located. Columbus promised the King and Queen of Spain various amounts of gold and slaves. The article, “Columbus and the Indians”, states, “They had to fill up the ships returning to Spain with something, so in 1495 they went on a great slave raid. Afterward, they picked five hundred captives to send to Spain. Two hundred of the Indians died on the voyage. The rest arrived alive in Spain and were put up for sale by a local church official” (6-7). Columbus and his crew were after one thing: slaves and gold. When the sailors realized there was not enough gold for the entire country in “India”, the crew gathered up all the men, women, and children to sail them home and sell them as slaves to the Spaniards. Columbus traded slaves that he took away from families in order to lessen his failure by finding and creating a trade route (Minster 1). In order to not get reprimanded by the monarchs of Spain, Columbus came up with a backup plan to lessen his punishment. Since he promised the country golds and spices and he did not find any, Columbus decided to take the next best thing: Native Americans. Any natives and all natives were captured and stored on ships for the journey home. Christopher Columbus enslaved and traded Native Americans in order to lessen the penalty he would receive from the

They were willing to trade everything they owned. They were will built, with good bodies and handsome features. They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want”. In this quote, Dr. Zinn gives what he believed to be another motivation of Columbus, which was the motivation to make the Indians into slaves for monetary gain. Dr. Zinn believed this to be the motivation of what he termed the “Europe of the Renaissance”. Dr Zinn states; “theses traits, speaking of the Arawak, did not stand in the Europe of the Renaissance, dominated as it was by the religion of popes, the government of kings, the frenzy for the money that marketed Western civilization and its first messenger to the Americas, Christopher Columbus.

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.