Columbus vs. de Vaca Essay examples

Cabeza de Vaca changed drastically though his journey. When he starts off he’s very much focused on doing this for God and king, but he slowly becomes less concerned with that. He also develops a more accepting and worldly mind. When he first meets Native Americans he terrified that they’re going to sacrifice him#, because that’s the stereotype of the natives, but they are in fact very kind and offer him and his men fish and roots to eat. However, the Cabeza de Vaca from the end of the book would know better. He develops a lot of empathy for the natives and their plight at the hands of the Spanish,

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 spirit and values of a nation are reflected in the nation’s heroes. Christopher Columbus has been regarded as an American hero since 1792. Every year Columbus Day is held on the second Monday in October to honor the man and his legacy. However, many people debate whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated in the United States because he opened up the New World to Europe, inspired a spirit of exploration and adventure that still lasts today, and he showed the importance of diversity and understanding of different cultures.

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca wrote his letters for entirely different reasons. His sole purpose was to inform others (of his sufferings and his discoveries of the Native Americans). He also wanted to “justify his conclusions regarding Spanish policy and behavior in America” which is mainly addressed to Charles V. De Vaca believes that “[his] only remaining duty is to transmit what [he] saw and heard in the nine years [he] wandered lost and miserable over many remote lands.” Therefore, he conveys to Charles V the many incidents that occurred throughout his struggle for survival while in Texas. In De Vaca’s opinion, he thinks that the information he is revealing will be useful to others and will be “of no trivial value for those who go in [his majesty’s] name to subdue countries.”

Christopher Columbus and Bartolome de la Casas are similar in most ways but have a major difference. They were both explorers of the New World and came to convert the natives into Catholics. The two explorers worked on the Spanish’s behalf. Columbus wrote accounts of the New World in his journal. La Casas wrote the Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. Both gave accounts of the native people they saw. Columbus’s journal entries aim to give a positive light on the Spanish and their relationship with the natives. La Casas’s Brief Account does the opposite. While this is true, both explores worked faithfully in favor of the Catholic Church, but they each held different beliefs on the treatment of natives as slaves.

On the surface, Cabeza de Vaca persistently tries to confirm his allegiance to his monarch throughout his writings. He wants to be viewed as a worthy and patriotically sound individual by his monarch and society. Cabeza de Vaca strives to showcase how even though his journeys are immensely more rugged than that of his counterparts he can still have success and achieve his goal (44). He is ultimately trying to show how he is furthering the social and cultural domestication of Native American tribes, and therefore; furthering the reaches of the crown. For example, following several stints of hard labor Cabeza de Vaca finds himself bleeding from the objects he has been transporting during his tasks. Cabeza de Vaca the states, “My only solace

On Aug. 3, 1492, Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa María, commanded by Columbus himself, the Pinta under Martín Pinzon, and the Nina under Vicente Yanez Pinzon. After stopping at the Canary Islands, he sailed due west from Sept. 6 until Oct. 7, when he changed his course to the southwest. On Oct. 10 a small rebellion was quelled, and on Oct. 12 he landed on a small island in the Bahamas. He took possessions for Spain and brought natives aboard, discovered other

Christopher Columbus and Cabeza de Vaca were both well experienced explorers of the New World. They both traveled to the New World to find out what was out there and if what they would find, could help them and their country. In the narratives, “Letter of Discovery” by Christopher Columbus and Castaways by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, they exemplified the overall environment of the New World. Each explorer had quite the experience within the New World and interactions with the natives but they were not quite the same. Columbus’ journey consisted of learning about the new land and obtain resources to bring back to his country. Cabeza de Vaca also wanted to find resources and goods but mainly wanted to explore the land and try to understand if it was possible to create a society alongside the natives. As they went into the New World, they had found new discoveries but their purpose of the journey lead them down paths that would give off two different perspectives.

Christopher Columbus was a well-known traveler who originated from Italy. Christopher Columbus had a legacy that was troubled with disagreements for reason of his treatment towards the native population. His journeys encouraged mass amount of Europeans to obtain interest in taking over the Americas. Throughout his letter written to Sant’ Angel, Columbus explains his emotion in being very satisfied with the results he has revised throughout his first voyage. Christopher Columbus then goes into detail concerning his appreciation to the royal King and Queen, Ferdinand and Isabella as he mentions, “I passed over the Indies with the fleet which the most illustrious King and Queen, our lords, gave to me” (Columbus 8). Christopher Columbus creates a powerful image for the King and Queen because he trusts that the maintenance of Ferdinand and Isabella throughout his journey was an incredible aspect that resulted in his spectacular accomplishment.

Christopher Columbus set out on his voyage in 1942 on the West Indian islands, to find a new world for the Europeans. When he landed on the Caribbean Island the Indian Natives that lived there were at first scared but greeted him in a friendly manner. The conquest and settlement of the Western Hemisphere opened new opportunities for other Europeans such as the French, Dutch, English and Spanish to come to the island and colonize the Indian's land. For the Europeans to colonize and move in on Native land they had to find a way to interact with the Indians. Through their interaction they found cultural understandings and confusions that were documented by both the Europeans and the Indians. In the book, "Major Problems in American Colonial

The second Monday in October is celebrated across America as Columbus Day. It is a celebration of the man who discovered America. In school, children are taught that Christopher Columbus was a national hero. In actuality, the man was a murderer. It is true that he found a land that was unknown to the "civilized" world, yet in this discovery, he erased the natives inhabiting the land. With slavery, warfare, and inhumane acts, Christopher Columbus and the men who accompanied him completely destroyed a people, a culture, and a land. These are not actions that should be heralded as heroic.

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.

However, de Vaca’s tone towards the Indians is a scared tone. When de Vaca and his men first encounter the Indians, they were very frightened. He states in his narrative, “we could not hope to defend ourselves” (de Vaca 74) . de Vaca and his men were very poor in health. They were only eating rice every now and then. There was no way they could have fought the Indians off with no health at all. So they thought

     As Cabeza de Vaca continues, his encounters seemingly becomes harsher and he starts to relate these outcomes to God. Cabeza de Vaca also relates the losses to not only the surprising attack of the Indians and their camouflage within the surroundings but also to weaponry they used and the way they used them, “ The bows they use are as thick as the arm, of eleven or twelve palms in length, which they will discharge at two hundred paces with so great precision that they miss nothing”(pg.131). In chapter eight of Cabeza de Vaca log is where you start to see the experiences are in the name of God. Cabeza de Vaca starts to describe the land and the troubles of it including the harsh conditions of resources not being available, “ I cease here to relate more of this, because any one may suppose what would occur in a country so remote and malign, so destitute of all resources, whereby either to live in it or go out of it; but most certain assistance is in God,

Christopher Columbus is an Italian Explorer who had convinced King Ferdinand, the Second and Queen Isabella the First to fund a voyage to Asia to establish trade with China, Japan, India, and the Spice Islands to get valuable spices and silks. Spain went with a foreign explorer because of his benefits over the local explorers. To see what these people's motives are and what they want I will do a background check for the King, the Queen, and Columbus. I’ll also go through why the King and Queen went with Christopher Columbus’s pitch for his voyage. This will shed more light on why King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella chose Columbus.