How Did Christopher Columbus First Voyage

The letter Christopher Columbus wrote back to Spain to report his findings in the New World sparked intrigued me and sparked my imagination. Why I have been so absorbed in this letter I can not explain. This letter is supposed to be about describing an unknown land, a land that has not been seen by anyone besides the natives, but it seems that there is more to it than that. Columbus is known in elementary schools as the man who found the New World, and is regarded as a hero. To the contrary, historians who have done more research on Columbus say that he was driven by fame and fortune and that he was tyrannical in his ways with the indigenous peoples of the places that he came to find. I feel that the contradictory tones Columbus uses

Columbus viewed the culture of the native people of the islands as inferior to his own which resulted in a belief that he and his men have the right to harm and treat them harshly. ‘…On my arrival, I had taken some Indians by force from the first island that I came…’ By enslaving some of the Indians, Columbus showed that he believed that he had the right to enslave them because they were inferior to him in some way. ‘…to bear witness that he before all others took possession of that island for the King and Queen…’ With this statement, Columbus stated the belief that the Island did not even belong to the native people to begin

Columbus’s big plan for Hispaniola since the beginning was to take advantage of the natives and take their land, and the gold he believed was located there. He built the first fort in the Western Hemisphere, and left some of his men to find and store gold there. Columbus had to ask for a little more help from their majesties, he convinced them by saying he would take them “as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask” (Zinn,6 ) Columbus’s plans affected the natives, in many ways; first of all they were going to lose their land, and also they were going to be taken captive for slave labor.

Columbus’s early letter, refers to the Native Americans as Indians. He was stereotypes In Christopher Columbus, Journal (1492) Source: E. G. Bourne, ed., The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot (New York, 1906).“men and women naked as their mothers bore them. It is true that the women wear a thing of cotton only so big as to cover their genitals and no more.(Tuesday 6 November)” Cristopher Columbus it was describing American Indians as uncivilized people due to the fact that they did not behave appropriate, incomparizon to them.Columbus though that American Indians can be converted into a civilize people, Servitude and Christians in order to control their behavior. Cristopher Columbus describe the American Indians as a people with good character,

The natives that Christopher Columbus had come against were not in opposition of him but wanted to be able to hear him out and see what he could offer them. From his first voyage, Columbus had sent Indians back to Spain with him as a trophy to flaunt to the King and Queen of Spain for the recognition he should receive up on his return from the New World. In the Letter from Christopher Columbus (1493) he gives a description of how he gains their trust, “they are timid and full of fear… As soon as they see that they are safe, and have laid aside all fear, they are very simple and honest, and exceedingly liberal with all they have, none of them refusing anything he may possess when he is asked for it,” (Page 300). Columbus and his men were never

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

In document C, Christopher Columbus describes a land that he has discovered an island called Hispana to Spanish Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in 1494. The land is vast filled with trees, plains, animals, honey and varieties of metal. These lands made it very suitable for farming, planting, and building houses. Columbus also says “This Hispana, moreover, abounds in different kinds of spices, in gold, and in metals.” Columbus is describing to the Monarchs that there are vast amounts of material in the New World that the Spaniards would find useful to them. When King Charles V creates The New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians, this makes the Indians seem more protected and comfortable with Spain. This leads to being generous towards the Spanish and giving them the goods that they need. On the other hand, while the Iberians get what they want in the trading with the Indians, they can give them items that don't have much value for them, but to the Indians they seem valuable (Document D). The strong Spanish military also helped the expansion of trading and goods in the New World such places like Mexico (Document G). The Iberians could also decide to take these goods by force. In document I, an Indian portrays an image of a European kicking an Indian in the neck with a chest on her back. This displays the the

The Spanish were the first European settlers in the Americas when Christopher Columbus in October 12, 1492 while searching for a new route to Asian Indies, discovered new land. Columbus wrote to the king of Spain telling him that the Americas was kind of heaven, full of thousand of different kind trees, with prosperous land. This letter has helped understand the motives of the Spaniards for colonizing the Americas, the virgin continent, untouched lands, full of gold and precious metals as Columbus described in his letter. Columbus also told King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that the natives we simple, timid people who went about naked and lived simple lives in an environment like that of the Garden of Eden, and that they can also be made Christians. The monarchs saw this as an opportunity to impose their modes of civilization upon this vast population, justifying the colonization of the New World as the white man’s duty. Motivating and accelerating the occupation to the Americas. Since in fact the Spaniard kingdom initial motives to venture out into the oceans were richness and to acquire goods that were rarely available. The Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella were also wanted to establish missionaries to purify and reform.

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,

The natives had no basis to recognize the extreme value of these items to Columbus and his men – nor how far these “visitors” would go to gain/take such “things” (Halstall). Columbus immediately noticed the natives had no real weapons, and remarked that he and fifty of his men could easily conquer these obviously friendly and peaceful people. Communication was mostly by sign, but intrinsically was achieved because the natives did not perceive any threat to their wellbeing (Primary Doc. 1).

Columbus was a user. He only talked to the people of the new country just to gain their gold. In Document 1 it states “ I was very attentive to them, and strove to learn if they had any gold” This shows he played a game with them, meaning he pretended to be their friend just to gain their trust but really came down to it he was only using them for their gold. He never meant well for the natives, to him they were almost like a stepping stool for him to get to a higher purpose. Columbus had established himself to be a racist man, but unfortunately the natives were unaware of this. Therefore the were used as a pawn in a large game he was playing.

The first analyzed source Columbus's October 21, 1492 journal entry ,written by Columbus himself, is bound to have bias. The journal entry describes the “New World” with very lavish vocabulary. He describes a lake: “Groves of lofty and flourishing trees are abundant, as also large lakes, surrounded and overhung by the foliage, in a most enchanting manner.” (Columbus). Columbus makes it sound as if these islands are the best and most extravagant places. He writes like this in order to keep the queen and king of Spain happy and funding his expedition. Columbus does not describe the condition of his crew almost as if he doesn’t care. The journal being a primary source, has lots of bias due its the purpose.

The Spanish’s ambitions of exploiting the natives and their land’s resources are further seen in Columbus’s letter to Ferdinand and Isabella in April 1493. He said that if he is further funded by the Spanish monarch, he will give them “as much gold as they have of need, and in addition spices, cotton, and mastic…, and as many heathen slaves as their majesties may choose to demand” (Columbus 1493) from the islands he encountered. In his letter, he repeatedly mentions the “fertile” lands and natural resources he found, rather than stating the huge amount of people that can be converted to

The course in itself was highly educational, because I learned how the U.S evolved into what it is today. Furthermore the topic discussed in class that impacted me the most was, learning about the Indigenous people of the Americas. As a child, I was taught that “Indians” or Native Americans were already settled when Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas. However, through the reading that was assigned in the book, 1491 by Charles C. Mann I learned that the Americas was not originally found by Columbus. There is evidence that civilizations have settled before his arrival, one of them being the Clovis culture.

Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas, which he mistook for Asia, and was warmly welcomed by the Arawak indians. At first sight, Columbus remarked how good of servants they could be, and as it turned out, would be. Like most explorers at the time, Columbus was looking for gold and capturing slaves on the behalf of his patron country, Spain. Columbus exaggerated to Spain the wealth of the land, telling them that there was an abundance of gold when all he really had to show were a few thousand slaves that very quickly fell sick and died. Not even capturing and forcing the indians to collect gold could bring forth the wealth of gold Columbus dreamed of.