Forging The New World: A History By Christopher Columbus

They believed the natives were nothing more than savages and were only good enough to be slaves. Las Casas didn’t like this. He said that the “Spaniards, with their cruelty and execrable work, have depopulated and made desolate the great continent.” For forty years more than “twelve million persons, men and women and children, have perished unjustly and though tranny by the infernal deeds and tyranny of the Christians.” The only reason why the Spaniards “killed and destroyed such infinite numbers of souls is solely because they have made gold their ultimate aim, seeking to load themselves with riches in the shortest time.” They took everything away from the natives, enslaved them and killed those who did not obey them. Everything he said about the Spaniards were completely true. They were just money hungry bullies took advantage of the Indians because the Indians thought they came from the heavens and refused to harm them. And that is just

Even though the Indians were seen as uneducated because they were different it is in no way a reason to justify the Spaniard 's goal of waging war against them. In contrast, the Indians were able to learn new ways from the Spaniards such as getting new weapons to protect themselves with, learn about the sciences, record keeping, and the alphabet. Third, the Conquistador 's justified their opinion by their goal of spreading the Christian faith. This can

This section highlights that history has created a false narrative depicting the natives as a victimized people, which they were to some extent but only in the fashion that they did not possess the same technology for warfare, immunity of communal diseases transmitted, and they were not anticipating combat. All other factors considered, the natives stood to be a potential threat. In regards to knowledge obtained by Spaniards prior to arrival and knowledge gained from observation, it would be remiss had they not prepared for battle. This argument is not to be misconstrued in approving their actions; I do recognize colonization as an evil for both the reasons employed and its damaging effects, but rather to change the narrative surrounding that of the native people. While they did experience a tragedy, I feel that it is erroneous to write them into history as being incompetent resulting from their

The Spanish came to the New World with the idea that they were going to practically enslave, convert, or kill the natives. Because of this the Spanish’s treatment for the natives was terrible and very early on. They would use natives to help them find gold and do other manual labor activities. The missionaries would attempt to convert them to Christianity and because a lot would not comply they would end up killing them. Early on the British settlers’ relationship with the native Americans is very different. At first, they were friendly. The first British settlers in a way to live on the Native Americans. North America them was very different from Great Britain, and the Native Americans had lived there for very long time. So, the British settlers took advantage of that and began to trade with the Native Americans and use them in order to help their new settlement survive. Although the Spanish and British relationship with the natives differed at first eventually they both ended up doing the same exact thing. They both killed the Native Americans and cause their societies to be displaced. Even though there and goals were different they both used the exploitation of Native Americans in order to achieve these goals.

“Victors and Vanquished,” through excerpts of Bernal Diaz del Castillo The True History of the Conquest of New Spain and indigenous testimonies from the Florentine Codex, represents the clash between European and indigenous cultures and how there was no simple “European” or “indigenous” view. Rather, there were a variety of European and indigenous opinions and interpretations that were influenced by personal interests, social hierarchy and classes, ethnic biases and political considerations.

Las Casas viewed the indigenous people in a good light, having said that they were humble and peaceful. He also stated that, for the most part, they were the type of people who wanted to mind to their own business and not get concerned with others. He was a spokesperson for the indigenous people in the new world, feeling the pain that these Spanish intruders forced upon them. The Spaniards didn’t share the same view, they were very cruel and unjust in the way that they treated the indigenous people. They had no respect for their culture or for what the indigenous people had created. Even so the indigenous

The approaches Britain and Spain had towards colonization were reflected in their treatment of Native Americans. Ultimately, both countries were primarily interested in the expansion of their empires, the enrichment of their economies and their own political power, and their treatment of the natives is indicative of these aims. As Spain’s only purpose for colonization was to conquer land for their empire, the

The final Spanish conquistadors’ motive that greatly affected the people living in the new world was glory. This motive is plain to see in documents 3 and 5. In document three Cortez talks about how the war that he and his men are fighting in will bring them fame. In document five it’s the same thing it is Cortez who is plowing through the Indians land conquering everybody for respect in Spain. Now when you look at how did this affect the Native Americans you see that the Spanish conquistadors’ obsession with glory ended up harming Indians because the Spanish wanted conquer Indian lands so that they could win respect back in Spain.

One of the weaknesses of this book was the way in which a strong opinion of the author frequently came to the surface. The impression given when reading was one of bias in that the Spanish were wrong to come in and refine everything. This was reflected in the fact that periodically within the book, when the Spanish conquistadors did something to the Indians, it was pointed out how inhumane it was. Yet, when the Indians retaliated in some way, it was quickly pointed out how justified they were. The mentioned advantages that the Indians gained through the Spaniards were infrequent and underdeveloped.

Christopher Columbus was a very famous Italian explorer during the 1400s.Now you might well be asking yourself why did he sail the ocean blue in 1492 and what or who is Columbus.Well, Columbus was an Italian explorer born between August and October in 1451 in Genoa or known today as Italy. Columbus started sailing when he was only a teen and traveled to Portugal, which he soon made his home.Columbus wanted to gain royal sponsors that could aid him in his funds for Columbus first voyage.It was a rough time for Columbus to gain sponsors, though as the first ones Columbus asked was France and England, which both declined his aid for his voyage.After a long time of searching and asking he finally landed himself in Spain, where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decided to aid Columbus voyage.Why is this, Why would King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sponsor Columbus what did they see that everyone else didn’t.Well, there are two main reasons why King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decided to sponsor Columbus.The Main two was to help find a new, faster way to Asia so that Spain could trade with them, Columbus also promised them that he would bring many riches back from his travels.

Nobody from Spain new that there were people in these lands but there were. While Columbus expected these Indians to bring harm, they did not do any of that. It was the opposite of rough and tough, they were kind, caring people who were very generous to the Europeans and wanted to make a friendship with them. In Columbus’s journal he said, “Anything they have, if it be asked for they never say no, rather invite the person to accept it, and show as much lovingness as though they would give their hearts. . . . Nor have I ever been able to learn whether they held personal property, for it seemed to me that what-everyone had, they all took shares of. . . .” (Meltzer 91) These Indians were very considerate to the new comers and would invite them over as if to show them that they were very peaceful people. However once Columbus landed in the Americas and met the Native Americans (Indians) the Indians would not have an easy life, there life would soon turn into a disaster and there would be no peacefulness ever again. Slaves and servants started forming and the life of a Native American got tough. “Indians were the first to explore North America.” Columbus thought he was the first and that he would go down in history being the first to explore it.However the Indians were the first, they lived there after all and knew how and what it was like to live in the Americas. "But Columbus and most of the white explorers and colonizers who would come after him were not able to see that. They saw the Natives through a European looking glass; the image was badly distorted. The whites would debate whether the Indians were human. Some would say the Indians were a sort of two-legged animal without soul or spirit. If the Indians were subhuman, then the white need have no qualms about his treatment of them." (Meltzer 88) Columbus did not like these Native Americans he thought of them as the wild and he thought that they were not

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

The treatment that the Native Americans suffered under the hands of the Explorers was unjustified and brutal. The Native Americans could not fight back because they knew that they had no chance of victory. When the Native Americans first met the Explorers they were very welcoming towards them, they saw them as human beings not as objects they could prosper from. Even after the Explorers experienced the Natives’ kindness first hand they still saw them as savages. In the article La Relacion, the explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca lost some of his men and he told the Natives and they understood his pain, which was surprising to Cabeza de Vaca because he viewed them as wild animals. The Natives never questioned the Explorers intentions they always gave them what they needed. An example of this would be in Chief Red Jacket’s address to the White Missionaries where he basically says that they have the explorers a home and resources and when they asked for more the Natives were a little worried but nonetheless they still got more. Today many Mexicans face discrimination

After reports of Columbus’s discoveries had reached them, the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella enlisted papal support for their claims to the New World in order to inhibit the Portuguese and other possible rival claimants. The Spanish-born pope Alexander VI issued bulls setting up a line of demarcation from pole to pole 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Spain was given exclusive rights to all newly discovered and undiscovered lands in the region west of the line. Portuguese expeditions were to keep to the east of the line. Neither power was to occupy any territory already in the hands of a Christian ruler. No other European powers facing the Atlantic Ocean ever accepted this papal disposition or the subsequent agreement deriving

As Christopher Columbus takes the Atlantic Ocean by sail, many scholars take him as to be the “First” European traveler to have set both feet on the ground of the Americas. As Columbus reaches land on October 12,1492, he first sets foot in the Bahamas, on an island he claims “San Salvador”. While on the island, Columbus successfully takes control of the land and its “habitant” people, with the support of the Spanish. When Columbus writes the letter to Luis de Santangel, the minister of finance for the Spanish crown; he describes the island as “large and flat, with bright green trees and much water” (Columbus p26). Columbus does not mention anything else that is important with his discovery; he only describes reaching the “New World” as an idyllic fantasy-like adventure, where on the island, nature is working together peacefully. When news came back from Columbus about his fantasy-like voyage to the “harmonious” island, it received massive attention by traveling literature, such as a poem called “Bermuda” by Andrew Marvell; it gave European settlers who were back home an ideal depiction of what a voyage would be like going to the New World. However, when the settlers ventured off on a voyage, they did not experience the “welcoming” feeling as the poem claims it to be; instead, they experienced terrible tragedies such as having to deal with mother-nature, starvation, and excruciating punishments.