Iroquois Creation Myths And Christopher Columbus : Creation And Creation Letters

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

According to Document 6, Joel Barlow a renowned historian, Columbus was a remarkable young man who was proficient in geography, astronomy, and drawing, all of them necessary for his pursuit of navigation. His courage and perseverance had been put to test many times making him a universally known and respected man. But, even though he was well respected, he was not a good man. He was barbaric to the Native Americans even when they treated him with respect and fervor. He enslaved them for the good of “Christianity” and manipulated them because they were “idiots”.

     In addition to opening up a New World to Europe and inspiring a spirit of adventure, Columbus’s experience also showed the importance of diversity. Columbus was an Italian, but he learned to sail from the Portuguese, and his trip was funded by the Spanish. He needed the help of several different countries to accomplish what we now know him for today. Conversely, Columbus’s confrontation with the Natives shows how cultures conflict when they do not understand each other. Columbus and his troops massacred thousands of

Despite bearing some similarities, the differences between how the textbook and Howard Zinn describe Christopher Columbus are pronounced. The textbook writes their text from the Christopher Columbus viewpoint unlike Howard Zinn text where he writes from the viewpoint of the victims. The textbook was also less detailed about the actions of Columbus (but still wrote about his deceitful actions) than Howard Zinn’s A Peoples History of the United States. For example, the textbook talks about how Columbus first came to the Bahamas, he forced the Arawaks to search for gold, “If they had gold the Spaniards seized it; if they did not, the Europeans forced them to search for it.” The text doesn’t describe Columbus actions like Howard Zinn did, “This

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” One of the first things we learned in primary school was that Christopher Columbus discovered America. But they also made us read Christopher 's Journals (1493) such as “ They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks ' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” where he described how they met the “Taino indigenous peoples of Hispaniola.” However we as students never questioned how is that Columbus “discovered” America while in his journals (1493) he states that he encountered with peoples that lived there before he arrived , even though it wasn 't really America. Discover is define as “ to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time.” There are many evidences that validates that Columbus did not discover America;One, is the inaccuracy in his studies, they believed and studied that Earth was flat and smaller than it actually was, while “

Many Native Americans tell stories of the creation of earth that explain how they came to be before the Europeans entered North America. Creation myths vary among all cultures; however, they all have one thing in common; heaven and earth. One of the most popular creation myths was the Iroquois creation myth. The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee meaning “People of the Longhouse” (Iroquois Indian Museum, n.d.) consists of six Indian nations that include the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. In the beginning, there was a belief that before the creation of earth, there were two realms, the sky, and the lower world that consisted of water and water creatures. From the sky, a young woman named the Sky Woman was

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 Details His First Encounters with Native People” is a journal reflection in which he is reflecting his personal adventure as a traveler. This letter was published in the year of 1493 by Christopher Columbus written to Luis de Sant’ Angel who was known as an administer official who scrutinized Queen Isabella into financing the voyage.

Throughout history, Christopher Columbus was seen in quite contrary ways. Some would view him as a valiant hero who discovered the New World and vanquished the primitive ways of the savage and barbaric native people. Others would see Columbus in a much different light, describing him as an interloper who spread disease to and enslaved an entire native people. These two statements above describe two vastly different visions of Christopher Columbus. In fact, the hard evidence would support that a bit of both of the above visions are indeed factual. Christopher Columbus was a man with several wonderful achievements, however some of these achievements had several negative repercussions. Columbus's discovery of the New World led to a more diverse society, a new social system, and the exploitation and eventual extermination of the Native peoples.

The descriptions which Christopher Columbus and Alvez de Vaca reveal are entirely different. Columbus wrote information that was insignificant. His explanations are very vague and are only somewhat in depth when something interests him greatly, like his "discovery" of the beautiful Espanola. Columbus wrote about the Indians and their land as if they were "nothing of importance." The majority of his descriptions of explorations were about himself or based on himself.

Document B is a letter from Christopher Columbus to the king and queen of england, who helped fund his voyage to tell them about his findings in the Americas. This letter was written in 1493, it is about Columbus’ voyage to the Americas and what he discovered there. This source was created on August 3, 1493. During the time this source was created Columbus had just landed back at spain after his first voyage. This source reflects the time period because it shows that in that time period they had a very limited amount of communication so all the king and queen knew about Columbus was what he wrote in his letters, so he could tell them anything in his letter and the would take his word for it. Document C is an account from the Spanish Dominican

Columbus was a product of his time, and an agent of the inevitable. He was instrumental in the discovery of the New World; however, we cannot blame the man for all of the outcomes of the New World any more than we can blame a single person for all of the bad deeds of the world. Columbus has taught us many things, but most of all, that no matter what seemingly pure choices are made, there is always a negative. Columbus was simply a man who helped to shape our future by trying to fulfill his dream. I think that Columbus was a very greedy man, concerned only for himself. He brought many bad things to the New World, such as plagues, wars, and slavery, but he also brought his religion as well as exchange crops and animals between the two worlds. It is important for us to discuss this topic in class because it helps us to think critically, as well as learn more about the history of the United States of America. It is also important that we be able to listen to opposing views of a topic, take away key points from each argument, and make an educated decision as to what we

A New Critical Approach toward the Iroquois Creation Story The Iroquois Confederacy, a union of ultimately six different Native American tribes, was a proud and powerful alliance of Indians living to the northeast of Lake Ontario near New England during the 17th century. One tribe was known as the Haudenosaunee, or “The People of the Longhouse,” whose vast domain housed some villages of over 2000 people at one point—a testament to their authority and wide-reaching influence (Baym et al. 17). Of great importance to the Iroquois people were their creation stories, which peacefully coexisted in over 25 versions. One particular “cosmogonic myth” has been accurately re-told by David Cusick, a Tuscarora Indian, and was entitled “The Iroquois Creation Story” (Baym et al. 18). It was recorded in The Sketches of the Ancient History of the

First, Christopher Columbus made the Native Americans the slaves of the European people. In the text it states, “In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs” (Zinn 2). This goes to show that the Spaniards and Columbus rounded up slaves for their own good use and for pleasure. This also shows that he is cruel and really mean. This man was really bad. The text explains, “They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want” (Zinn 1). Enslaving the Native Americans appears to be his intentions since day one. This shows that Columbus only wants the glory and every good thing to himself.

Christopher Columbus’s life was filled with adventures and new beginnings that would leave a remarkable impression throughout history. Born in 1451 in Genoa, Columbus from an early age would become well acclimated to sailing as he began his career aboard a merchant ship and later study mathematics, astronomy, cartography, and navigation. Growing up and experiencing new thing Columbus began to come up with a plan different from all others to set sail across the Atlantic instead of going around the African continent. With his ideas being turned away from both Portugal and England it was Ferdinand and Isabella who took sympathy upon him and financial back his voyage as they both had hopes of gaining fame and fortune. In 1942, Columbus began his voyages and would carefully document each experience in the form of letters that would have a lasting impact on the world. I believe with the dramatic change in tones we see between the first and fourth letters it gives us the reader a true insight into Columbus’s mental and physical emotions over the years. Furthermore, these letters allow us to explore a part of history that is considered monumental while gaining information of what took place over a ten-year journey.