How Does Columbus Use Language

     Columbus was like a God in the eyes of the Native Americans and they believed that he could save them. They followed him around and wanted to find out more about these strage people who had landed on there territory. The natives saw no harm in Columbus and his men and offered them most of the things they had as gifts. They were willing to give the Europeans anything they wanted. All of the things the Europeans had were new to them. For example in Columbus’s own journal, I Take Possession for King and Queen, he states that:

At the New World Columbus decided to enslave the natives living there because they had a lack of clothing and their technology was not as advanced so he automatically assumed that he was superior. Also Columbus assumed they did not have a religion so he wanted to convert them to become Christians. But these natives had an impressive ways of using the resources they had, such as intricate decorations and a agricultural system. But Columbus still felt that they were uneducated and incompetent so he also made settlements in their land and claimed it as his own. “They are fit to be ordered about and made to work, to sow and do everything else that may be needed.”

Christopher Columbus degrades and belittles the Native Americans by describing them as potential “good servants” and easy targets to implant Christianity in. Columbus sees the Native Americans as only one step above animals, labeling them with only one human attribute, intelligence. Although Columbus calls the Indians “intelligent,” he merely means that they can be converted to Christianity easily because they can somewhat understand him. He sees the Indians as intelligent enough to follow orders sufficiently but not to be able to think on their own, which is the main trait that makes us human. Columbus then completely overlooks the culture of the Indians when he says that they “appeared” to have no religion.

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

Columbus has always been portrayed as an enlightened, peaceful explorer who “discovered” a new world, and became friends with the native people. Howard Zinn’s view on Columbus’s encounter with the natives is an entirely different perspective. Zinn describes Columbus as a man who is willing to torture and kill others to be able to accomplish what he wants; in this case he wanted to obtain gold and other resources to take back with him to Spain.

transformed the modern world: the taking of land, wealth, and labor from indigenous peoples, leading to their near extermination, and the transatlantic slave trade, which created a racial underclass” (Loewen 1). That quote shows all the horrible things Columbus did to the natives. “And his motives were complex. Columbus was seeking adventure, glory, and wealth. At the same time, he believed he was doing God's work. With his Bible, he could convert the citizens of China and Japan” (Gibbon), meaning Columbus only cared about getting rich and having glory, and he doing God’s work by he could convert people to Christianity.

Columbus writes a full description about the names they gave to the islands and the scale of how large

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

When Christopher Columbus entered the Americas in 1942, one of his first tasks were to deal with the Indigenous people, who, compared to the Europeans, were much less advanced. Europe began waging wars of conquest to get resources for trade, and missionaries were brought in to teach the Indigenous people Christianity. Although some Europeans viewed the civilizing of the Native Americans and the new World necessary and just, many others believed that taking dominance over their culture was wrong.

When Columbus sailed on August 3rd, 1492, he did not expect to discover a new land, and a new type of civilization that had previously never been known to exist. As shown in the textbook he was expecting to discover a new trade route to Asia. The natives to the Americas

Since my endeavors have achieved achievement, I realize that it will please to you: these I have resolved to relate, so you might be made familiar with everything done and found in this our voyage. On the thirty-third day after I withdrew from Cadiz, I went to the Indian ocean, where I discovered numerous islands occupied by men without number, of all which I took ownership for our luckiest ruler, with broadcasting envoys and flying benchmarks, nobody questioning. To the first of these I gave the name of the favored Savior, on whose guide depending I had achieved this and additionally alternate islands. Yet, the Indians call it Guanahany. I likewise called every one of the others by another name. For I requested one island to be called Santa Maria of the Conception, another Fernandina, another Isabella, another Juana, thus on with the rest.

When Columbus saw the people on this land, he assumed they were people from the West Indies, therefore he called them  “Indians”. In Columbus’ letter to Lord Sanchez, he described the people as “savages, [who are] naturally timid and full of fear” (document 13).  In document 2, his letter to Santangel, he goes so far as to say that when he tried to establish trading relationships with the Indians they acted primitive and uncivilized. Columbus also states in document 2 that he hopes they will become fond of the Spanish and establish trade relationships as had been requested. Obviously this would be a difficult feat because of the lack of coherence between cultures. Columbus worked very hard to ensure the development of trade relations.  As seen in document 9, Columbus writes many letters back to the King and Queen of Spain reporting on the status of his mission and updates on the relations with the people. One key detail from this document is Columbus’ opening line where he includes the statement “in obedience to your Highness's’ commands.”  This is significant because it shows that Columbus is working under the King and Queen's commands and that he is not entirely to blame for his actions. Columbus should not be held responsible due to the fact that he was abiding the orders of the King and

The main argument of Columbus in his diary from October 11-15, 1492, is that the natives that populated America before he “discovered” it are ignorant brutes who should be enslaved into servants and taught to be Christian. Columbus clearly supports his thesis as shown by three pieces of evidence. The first piece of evidence he gives is that the natives are ignorant: “They do not carry arms nor are they acquainted with them, because I showed them swords and they took them by the edge and through ignorance cut themselves.” He writes about how they do not even know what a sword is and how they use primitive weapons without iron. Another piece of evidence is that they are poor in everything: “All of them go around as naked as their mother bore them; and the women also . . . Our Lord pleasing, at the time of my departure I will take six of them from here to Your Highness in order that they may learn to speak.” The natives don’t understand about covering their bodies to preserve modesty, and they still need to be taught to speak properly. The final piece of evidence Columbus gives is that the natives are savages. He alludes to the fact that the natives do not understand how the world works and that they are cannibals who are a threat to society. The source did add to my own understanding of the topic. Before I read Columbus’s account of meeting the natives, I did not know that he thought the native inhabitants of the West Indies were deserving of torture, murder, and enslavement;

Once the Europeans arrived, they noticed that the Natives weren’t Christians, so they had to convert them. Missionaries would preach to the Natives about Jesus and Christianity (Doc 2a). They said that you would burn forever in hell if you were not Christian. This was one of the many ways the Spanish Missionaries converted people other than the missions, where many Natives were killed and beaten. Natives would be beaten if they did not obey (Doc 4a). Some people disagreed with the ways the Spanish were converting people, such as Dominican friar Anton Montecino. He said that the Natives did nothing wrong and you have no reason to treat them that way (Doc

The native’s encountered by Columbus and those encountered by Cortes were similar in how they treated the newly arrived Spaniards. They were greatly different, though, in their religious beliefs. The Aztecs seemed to be a very religious group of people. In Cortes’ letter he says, “This great city contains a large number of temples, or houses, for their idols.” Cortes says that those in priesthood wear black and do not curl or comb their hair their entire time in priesthood. Cortes says, “I said everything to them I could to divert them from their idolatries and draw then to a knowledge of our God.” The Aztecs would not convert though, showing the strength of their beliefs. In contrast, those Native Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus did not exemplify any religious beliefs or practices.