Christopher Columbus 's First Voyage

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.

Encomienda System- Nicolás de Ovando created this system with a main goal of being allowed to give Indians to colonists only if they christianized them. This system gave the government permission to force the natives to work for the colonists, after the colonists would come into the natives towns and conquer it for themselves.

In this report Christopher Columbus writes a letter to the King and Queen of Spain. The journey

The legacy of Christopher Columbus has been a divisive topic for many years. Indeed, according to Laurence Bergreen, the Columbian legacy has been divisive since the time of his voyages. In an excerpt from his book Columbus: The Four Voyages, Laurence Bergreen juxtaposes his extensive historical knowledge with a deep understanding of modern American culture to demonstrate that, for all his successes and failures, Columbus is significant as a reminder that we are all deeply complex and contradictory beings.

All throughout history, whether present or past, books are filled page to page with people we consider heroes, as well as villans. Some quick people that come to mind when thinking of the fall of their legacy lead me to people like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Andrew Jackson and Napoleon Bonaparte. No matter what the subject; whether it be considered history of a sport, US history or even some celebrities lives, there will always be the one who was a hero in the spotlight and then the real truth comes out. Herofication dates back to the times of the beginning of America where Christopher Columbus, the man who we celebrate on Columbus Day to the public eye today is seen in a positive light. Contrary to popular belief, Columbus wasn't the nicest

n Encomienda was a land and resource grant given from the Spanish government to conquistadores during the Spanish Reconquista. The Conquistador served as an absent ruler for colonies created from the grant, so a Spanish encomendero worked as the active ruler and middle man for the conquistador. Also, the Encomienda was supposed to help end forced labor in the American colonies, however, it led to a form of slavery. Indians and African slaves worked farmland to pay tribute to the encomendero so that they could gain protection for their village. Christianity also had a large impact on the Encomienda, with villages being required to convert to Christianity.

The encomienda system was a practice that controlled Native American labor and was practiced during the colonization of the Americas. This system enabled the Spanish to gain a foothold in the Americas and ultimately maximize their

Christopher Columbus was first thought to be a great hero for discovering the new world. But the Native Americans that resided there had occupied the land for years. Was he really a hero? Though he might have located the Americas what he did while he was there was cruel and unacceptable. Arguing that his actions were in line with the Christian faith, Columbus turned a blind eye to the thousands of afflicted Tainos, Lucayan, and Arawak. A cruel man and unfair ruler he treated the natives and inferior with unreasonable punishments. Only those who ignore all the facts and the conduct of Columbus while he was in the Americas could claim that he was a hero.

This history of Mistreatment can be traced as far back as 1492 to Christopher Columbus. The true importance and history of Christopher Columbus is highly debated and is often misconstrued by the bias of textbooks writers. As students, most of us were taught the rhyme “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue”. Columbus was portrayed as one of the first American hero’s in our classrooms without question. Many of us can clearly recall Columbus Day celebrations in which students made arts and craft and sang songs about this hero by the name of Christopher Columbus. There is a much darker side to Columbuses exploration of the Americas that textbooks and teachers tend to leave out or fill with twisted recollection of events with rosy retrospection

The word enconmienda means the Spanish going to the New World. The Spanish tried to designate the status of the Indian population in the American colonies. The original plan of encomienda was to cut down on the unwilling labor assigned after the discovery of the New World. 'The encomienda influenced several kinds of colonial economic relations, although it varied geographically in Spanish America, and chronologically between 1493 and the early nineteenth century.(Baskes)" The first encomienda in the Americas, was distributed by Christopher Columbus. The conquistadors accepted rewards from a number of Indians. The rewards that the conquistadors received were in gold. The encomienda system severely rooted in Spanish American history. It is considered by many historians as one of the most damaging institutions that the Spanish colonists implemented in the New World(Busbin). The Spanish crown approved of the grants of the encomiendas because the conquistadors needed to be rewarded.

For my first point, both trade systems contributed to changing the social hierarchy of Latin America. As new colonies developed, parent countries instilled their class systems in the new societies that formed because of the introduction of both Europeans to govern and slaves to replace the natives that died of disease or labor. Europeans who came to govern were at a higher social class than the ethnic groups, native or enslaved, so a culture was naturally created around the concept that the more European you were, the better off and more highly valued you were. This led to both the labor class being comprised almost entirely of 100% Africans and Native Americans, and the creation of new social classes like mestizos and mulattoes. Moving on, the Transatlantic Trade system created a need for mass production of sugar and precious metals, and this brought about a need for plantations and people to work them.

The greed for gold and the race for El Dorado were the main inducements of the Spaniards who, at the peril of their lives, crossed the ocean in unfit vessels in a mad pursuit after the gold and all other precious property of the Indians” (Peace 479). The royal rulers of Spain made it a rule that nothing would jeopardize their ability to rob the land from the native people of Latin America. The missionary process, “had to be encouraged, but the missionaries could not be permitted to dominate the colony at the cost of royal rule” (Gibson 76). The European governments established missionaries to cleanse their minds of any guilt aroused by the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children. When European “ships arrived in the 16th century to colonize the land and exploit its natural resources, they killed indigenous people and brought black slaves from Africa. Millions of indigenous people were slain and their cultures completely destroyed by the process of colonization” (Ribero). The overall devastations caused by the Christianization of the native inhabitants created a blend of cultures within the indigenous civilizations which gradually isolated old native ways into a small population of oppressed people. The Christianized people became a symbol of loyalty to the European powers and were left alone simply on their religious status. This long term mission of total religious replacement caused very strong and advanced

In high school we learned the basis of what Christopher Columbus did, which was discover America. Imagine telling the controversial issues to kids in elementary school? It would confuse them. I think that he became a hero because over time he had to. We had to sell something until more research was conducted and discoveries were found. Do I personally think he is a hero? Not particularly. I think he had a mission and would not stand for distractions. His actions were that of someone with no empathy for others. He used people to get what he wanted and that is still common today. A hero by definition is "a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities" none of three sources of controversy

This was a turning point in his life where renouncing the encomienda, or legal system justifying the occupation of natives under Spanish rule (Encomienda) became paramount. His political ventures began in the year 1515 where the Spanish government allocated him authority to establish a colony off the Venezuelan coast where the alleviation of the natives suffering and exploitation could begin (Baym 39). At this juncture in his fight to end slavery, some countermeasures were presented. One of which was the importation of African slaves to ease Indian suffering. This idea was not conducive to Casas’ cause and he soon redacted it. As stated in Casas History of the Indies, “black slavery was as unjust as Indian slavery, and was no remedy at all” (Las Casas). In this instance, Casas was aware of the injustice of slavery no matter the person.

It has been taught that in,"1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue". However, this does not mean that he was the first European to reach the New World. As we know it, Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer, discovered the New World before Columbus. That is the subject in which this paper is highlighting.