Columbus To Acosta Thesis

“One of the great themes of historical literature over the past five centuries has been the assessment of the European discovery of the Americas as one of the two greatest events in human history.” (2). A similar, better-known pronouncement was penned by Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Hernan Cortes’s private secretary

Vespucci’s colorful description of everything that he witnessed in the new world, starting from the beautiful places he explored, the strange race of people he encountered, to the animals and the favorable climatic conditions of the lands, inspired many to explore the new territories to obtain power, land, and riches. While the new world provided many with the opportunity to acquire wealth through trade, others saw this as a possibility to spread Christianity among the indigenous people. Yet, there were others, who aspired to build powerful empires on the new lands of

In 1491: New Revelations of The Americas Before Columbus, Charles C. Mann attempts to rewrite the traditional narrative of the America’s before the arrival of the Europeans. By focusing on the mistakes of other writings, and creating a new concept of the New World, as well as explaining the life of Puritans in New England, and human intervention in landscapes, Mann does an impressive job at creating a readable, factual account of what life before Columbus was really like.

In this paper, I will discuss how three influential scholars in this order: Augustine, Aquinas, Galileo, delimit science or the bible and the ways their beliefs overlapped or didn’t.

Exploring and settling the New World were exciting concepts in the 15th and 16th centuries. Questions of who could get there first, who had the right to make claims, and who would protect the new investments were of paramount concern. Spain began making forages into the New World with the famous voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Not long after, and due to the success of explorer’s like Hernandez Cortez and Francisco Pizarro in Mexico, Spain would quickly become the richest and most powerful nation in Europe. The thirst for gold and silver would lead the Spanish crown to push for more treasure expeditions and to look for a fabled passage that would make transportation of their fortune faster and more secure.

1492 was a turning point for the Spanish, Columbus’s successful settlements in the new world encouraged further expeditions to discover resources and spread Christianity abroad. As we learned last week the

In 1493, Columbus wrote a letter on his voyage back to Europe, describing the newfound continent as “many islands inhabited by men without number”. The letter was published throughout Europe, thus spreading the discovery of America quickly. According to the map in document D, the letter originated in Lisbon on March 14, 1493. Within the year, it traveled to eight major cities across Western Europe, published in over five different languages. Without the printing press, the news would have taken years to circulate Europe, as information often did before the invention. Due to the rapid communication of the news, the Waldseemuller’s world map from 1507 included America and other major geographical discoveries. It was “the first known map to record the existence of the American continent”. The Waldseemuller illustrates a diffusion of information because the publication of Columbus’s letter allowed the cartographers to incorporate America on their maps. Thus, the printing press had a major effect on discoveries in the 15th century. The discovery’s publication on the map inspired other aspiring explorers. Ultimately, exploration clearly represents Renaissance worldviews, as Columbus’s discovery is a prime example of its relevance during the era. These major discoveries symbolize the passion for exploration and curiosity many Europeans

The New World was surrounded in mystery. The hope of prosperity, a new start, or a chance to solidify a legacy drove thousands to shed the “Old World” they knew. This action of embarking beyond the familiar boundaries and happening upon a land untouched by the rest of the known word was pure chance. In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of Guanahauni and the world would never be the same. The effects of the Columbian Exchange are still evident in today’s geographic landscape.

In the 16th century Spaniards Herman Cortes and Christopher Columbus set out on endeavoring journeys in search of new worlds. Christopher Columbus encountered, in the Caribbean islands, a group of extremely simplistic Native Americans. Herman Cortes however encountered a much more advanced Native American group in Meso America; we formally know this area to be Mexico. In my essay I will be comparing and contrasting several aspects between both of these Native American Civilizations including sophistication, technology, housing, weapons, religion and their reaction to the Spaniards. Letters written by Columbus and Cortes will be used to make these comparisons.

Christopher Columbus is known for being an explorer and is said to have made one of the most important voyages in world history without even wanting to. Something else that is also believed is that he “opened up” the Americas to European nations, which changed the course of American history. Before he went on his voyage though, he was in need of resources. So he asked Portugal, France, Italy among many other countries but they all denied Columbus and thought his statement was incorrect. Columbus’ statement was that he had found a faster way to get to Asia than the Portuguese had, which was going around the continent of Africa. Columbus lived a majority of his life in Spain, so when it came to setting sail for the west, Spain was one of the first nations he asked for funding. Though it took Columbus a little more than a few years to convince a nation to fund his voyage, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand from Spain subsequently granted to endow him in 1492. He would then leave for “Asia” on August 3, 1492. There are many unanswered questions and thoughts on why Spain decided to finally fund Columbus’ voyage, especially since he was an explorer that was born in Italy.

Columbus and de la Casas make two very different observations of the new world. Columbus made many detailed descriptions in his letter to the King Ferdinand, who had financed his journey with the intentions of completing three very clear goals. The first, “to procure riches for the Spanish empire,” the second, “to find a new route to the East Indies,” and lastly, “to convert native peoples to Christianity (Casper et al., 4).” de la Casas had a much different intention than Columbus for why he journeyed to the new world. He traveled as a son of a poor merchant and observed all of the wrong doings that were happening to the native people. He later returned to Spain for the remainder of his life to write about all of the awful things that

The “new world” that Columbus boasted of to the Spanish monarchs in 1500 was neither an expanse of empty space nor a replica of European culture, tools, textiles, and religion, but a combination of Native, European, and African people living in complex relation to one another. »full text

Spanish exploration and settlement of the western hemisphere lasted from 1492 until 1898, from Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the loss of its last colonies in the Spanish-American war. As with all major seafaring European nations, they were in pursuit of the fabled Northwest Passage, a direct route to Asia. This was how Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the Americas, on his quest for this route. The Spanish were after more though, specifically gold and spread of the Christian faith. With this page we will discuss multiple historical figures, places, and ideas that emphasized what the Spanish found most important at the time, God and gold.

Hayashi, Y. Science and Religion in “The Birth-mark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter”. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.kushiroct.ac.jp/library/kiyo/kiyo37/hayashiscience37.pdf

In the book The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov, Todorov brings about an interesting look into the expeditions of Columbus, based on Columbus’ own writings. Initially, one can see Columbus nearly overwhelmed by the beauty of these lands that he has encountered. He creates vivid pictures that stand out in the imagination, colored by a "marvelous" descriptive style. Todorov gives us an interpretation of Columbus’ discovery of America, and the Spaniards’ subsequent conquest, colonization, and destruction of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico and the Caribbean. Tzvetan Todorov examines the beliefs and behavior of the Spanish conquistadors and of the Aztecs.