Some of the problems when studying history are the texts and documents that have been discovered are only from perspective. Furthermore, on occasion that one perspective is all there may be for historians to study. A good example of this textual imbalance can be found from the texts about the discovery of the New World; more specifically, the letters of Christopher Columbus and Pêro Vaz de Caminha during their voyages to the New World. Plenty of the text from this time is written from the perspective of the Europeans, as the Indigenous population did not have any written text. What this means is that it provided only one perspective, which can drastically hinder how history is interpreted. Columbus’s letter of his first voyage to the Caribbean …show more content…
Columbus described the people as being timid and unfitted to use weapons. He wrote, “They have no iron or steel or weapons, nor are they fitted to use them. This is not because they are not very well built and of handsome stature, but because they are very marvellously timorous.” Columbus described them as though they will not provide any resistance because they do not have the skill to use weapons, and that they very timid people. However, as shown in the first quote, Columbus wrote that they did not put up any opposition; he later wrote in the letter that he took some of the natives by force. If the natives did not put up any opposition to Columbus, why would he need to take them by force? Columbus also notes that they had been very serviceable, and would very much be open to evangelization. An important note, Columbus wrote more and provided more detail about the vast islands he had “discovered” compared to the indigenous people, of which he wrote, “ In all these islands, I saw no great diversity in the appearance of the people or in their manners and language.” In the end, Columbus’s description of the Indigenous people was that are serviceable people would make adequate slaves. Columbus’s letter paints a good picture into his imperialistic mind, as opposed to providing information about the
Columbus and de las Casas were both explorers of the new world. They both encountered Native Americans and their treatment of them was both similar and different. Columbus viewed the Native American as subhumans. He did not have much respect for the people of the land and treated them as such. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says how he took possession of the native’s highnesses by proclamation. He also discloses how no one fought back which then made native Americans seem weak. He also states how he already took Indians aboard with him.At one instance Columbus had a dispute with Spainards and decided to give up Indians as a peace offering. Which he states in the letter to that tey were not his to give
Christopher Columbus is a mythical hero or in other words, not a true hero. The story of Christopher Columbus is part of the many myths of Western civilization. Also the story of Christopher Columbus represents the power of those that are privileged and in most cases white European men that have written this mythical history. Zinn (2009 exposes the truth about Columbus through eyes of the people who were there when he had arrived which were the Native Indians (p.481). Columbus had kept a personal journal for his voyage to describe the people and the journey. What was evident throughout his journal was the Native Americans were very nice, gentle and kind hearted people (Zinn, 2009, 481). As Zinn suggests Columbus spoke of the Native Americans as” they are the best people in the world and
It is thought by many that Christopher Columbus was a skilled sailor on a mission of greed. Many think that he in fact did it all for the money, honor and the status that comes with an explorer, but this is not the case entirely. Columbus was an adventurer and was enthused by the thrill of the quest of the unknown. “Columbus had a firm religious faith and a scientific curiosity, a zest for life, the felling for beauty and the striving for novelty that we associate with the advancement of learning”. He had heard of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. He believed that Japan was about 4,800 km to the west of Portugal. In 1484, Columbus wanted support for an exploratory voyage from King John II of Portugal, but he was refused. In 1485, Columbus took his son Diego and went to Spain to get some help.
After Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean and found the New World the Europeans got to meet the Native Americans. The Europeans who began to come to the New World after Columbus were people like Francis Daniel Pastorius, from Pennsylvania, Francis Louis Michel, from Virginia, and Christoph Von Graffenried, from North Carolina. These people met Native Americans from the New World like Shickellamy, from New York, and Minavavana, from French Canada. All these people had no idea there was another side of the world so it makes sense that there was some disagreement between the two different sides.
The process of committing a violent act is psychological in and of itself, to be able to physically hurt someone you must believe they are less then you. What must you believe to commit murder, much less mass murder or genocide? In an impressive display of cognitive dissonance Columbus went from admiring the Native American using words and phrases such as “well built”, “of quick intelligence”. When justifying going to war he calls them “cruel”, “warlike and numerous”, and “stupid”. Columbus justified the enslavement and murder of the Native people by dehumanizing them, making them less than human. Even when Columbus is complimenting the Caribbean Natives he is already thinking
In 1492, an event took place that would change forever the way the world is viewed, and the way people viewed themselves. When Columbus set foot on that Caribbean island on an August morning over five hundred years ago, he set in motion one of the greatest migrations the world has ever seen. Two separate and distinct worlds met that day, even though both had populated their separate continents. One world, the old world, was made up of Europeans looking for fame and fortune, not necessarily for new and uncharted lands. Divine supports this idea by stating, “They (explorers) came not as colonists but as fortune hunters seeking instant wealth, preferably gold, and they were not squeamish about the means they used to obtain it” (Divine, p.9). The other world, the new world, was made up of “Indians”, or the people native to this newly found hemisphere. They had their own cultures, and treated the newcomers like Gods, not knowing who or what they were. In document two of Gorn, Columbus supports this by saying, “ …and others in loud voices called to all the men and women: Come see the men who cane from the heavens” (Gorn, p.9). The opportunistic and power hungry old worlders took quick advantage of this, eventually either subjugating or outright slaughtering these unsuspecting natives. In document two, Bartlolme de Las Casas states, “And they (Spaniards) committed other acts of force and violence and oppression which made the Indians realize that these men had not come from Heaven” (Gorn, p.13). Why did these adventurers choose to take advantage of the natives they encountered, rather than try to peacefully coincide and cooperate with them? I will try to answer this troubling question while chronicling the documents of Columb...
The students could hardly sit still during penultimate period the day before the long Columbus Day Weekend. The school was gearing up for the annual pep rally held during the last period of the school day before the Columbus Day Weekend. Lots of Calvary Hill teachers would stick it to the students before long weekends and vacations by giving tests and quizzes, others would give up the instructional time and let the kids watch a movie. Peter didn’t test or let the kids waste time with movies, he structured the time with games of Jeopardy and other fun activities that kept the kids engaged and thinking about the content material, while still having fun. When the final bell rang, the students could hardly believe that the period had flown by. They gathered up their materials and headed for the door.
There were many strong pieces of historical evidence that were included in the film in order to support the point of view. Throughout the storyline of the documentary, the narrator laid emphasis on the harmful effects of Columbus’s voyage. The awful diseases that spread, the malnutrition that lead to an immense amount of death, and the arrival of the pigs that negatively affected the fields of the native Americans, were all discussed throughout the film. The narrator referred to many of the actions of the Europeans as “curses” for the native
Christopher Columbus; when hearing that name a large majority of Americans conjure an image of a noble hero who courageously sailed west to get to the far east, furthermore discovering America and bringing the barren land out of its destitution by creating a modernized colonization. Because that is the utopical heroine that is taught in elementary schools, most people do not stop to think about the character of the man who “sailed the ocean blue in 1492” apart from the official holiday in his honor that is observed each year. There are only two individuals in the totality of American history who have federal holidays named after them, so clearly Columbus’s legacy is one of significance, though not entirely accurate. After further research, one can discover information that is contradictory to the elementary version of America’s founder. The United States should not honor Christopher Columbus with a national holiday because he enslaved natives, played a part in the decimation of entire
However, Columbus aims now were achieved in a darker way. Columbus knew the Indians were easy targets and easy to subjugate for they didn’t have the weapon technology or armor but spears made of cane. Even in his logs, Columbus, points out in his logs how hospital, ignorant, and submissive the Native Indians were. Zinn, Howard comments in “A People's History of the United States” that people who accompanied Columbus in his boyages like Bartolome De Las Casas reveals in his logs the inhumane treatment the Arawak Indians received by Europeans under Columbus command. Bartolome claims that Europeans, to tested their sword’s sharpness, cut off Native children’s legs, and Columbus men even bet to see who was able to cut an Indian in half. Moreover, he explain that Columbus commanded his men to cut the Indian hands and hang them as a warning to the enslaved native Indians who didn’t provide tributes or were unable or even refused to look for gold (4-8). In the second and following voyages, Columbus emigrates more Europeans to different island of the new world like Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica, to build new settlements, and have more control and power over the aborigines. When
Columbus is the 15th largest city in the United States and is the capital of Ohio. It encompasses a ten county area and is the central city of the Ohio Metropolitan statistical area and is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Ohio. It is also known as the 4th populated state capital in the United States. It is the county seat of Franklin County. The city is named after the explorer Christopher Columbus and was founded in 1812. It started functioning as the state capital in 1816.
Would you like to be captured and become a slave for some main that came to your land? I doubt that anyone would like for this to happen so could you image the many slaves killed and forced to work for Christopher Columbus. Also, I highly doubt that anyone would like to hop on a ship and go somewhere in Europe that you don’t even know. The natives were good people, and they were a part of the world too. I believe that Christopher Columbus was a villain for coming to the natives land unwanted, he also only wanted to find gold and seize power, and because Columbus in my mind was a hypocrite.
It is important to remember that Columbus was only the man who gave the orders, they were actually carried out by his men. Even after hearing people like Father Bartolomé de las Casas plead on behalf of the Tainos, Columbus’ men still decided to follow orders and torture, enslave, and murder millions of Tainos. Father de las Casas’ writing says that the Tainos are “gentle lambs” and when Columbus’ men attack the Tainos, they “tear the natives to shreds, murder them and inflict upon them untold misery, suffering and distress, tormenting, harrying and persecuting them mercilessly.” Father de las Casas writing is reliable because he witnessed these horrible actions firsthand. Christopher Columbus, when writing to the King and Queen, even says, “Of these [weapons] they do not dare to make use, for many times it has happened that I have sent ashore two or three men to some town to have speech with them, and countless people have come out to them, and as soon as they have seen my men approaching, they have fled, a father not even waiting for his son.” Columbus was on the island of Hispaniola and knew firsthand that his men had no reason to kill the Tainos because there was no way that they would fight back or stand a chance against them. Because Columbus’ men chose to follow Columbus’ orders and attack and kill the Tainos when they had
Though Christopher Columbus and Bartolomé de Las Casas interacted with different groups of Native Americans, or Indians as they were mistakenly referred as, during different centuries, they both encountered similar experiences. Christopher Columbus, the first European to make contact with the Indians of the Bahamas, landed on an island inhabited with docile, rudimentary Native Americans who treated the explorers with hospitality instead of hostility. Christopher Columbus wrote this about the natives; “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, but on the contrary inviting us to ask them. They exhibit great love towards all others in preference to themselves: they also give objects of great value for trifles, and content themselves with very little or nothing in return.” These natives owed the conquistadores nothing but gave generously regardless. Bartolomé de Las Casas also observed similar traits of humanity. “They have been endowed with excellent conduct…. for they are not stupid or
They did seem more primitive than the people of Spain because of their lack of clothing. When Columbus says, “…, and all of them I have taken possession for their highnesses,” (Brophy, pg. 383) he is saying that the people of the Canary Islands do not have the same appreciation for wealth, land, and possessions like the people of Spain do. In the letter he relays to the King and Queen of Spain how the islands look. He tells other factual information like the demographic of people on the new islands and the high population of natives he encountered. He states that the people of the islands are not that diverse, that means that physically they all share common features such as skin color and hair color. He also states factual information when he talks about the physical geographical features and climates of the new land. He talks about the mountains and sierras that exists and also talks about the harsh sun and tropical climate. He writes in his letter that the “Indians” do not wear clothes and do not have any iron weapons. He refers to the natives as Indians various times in his letter, so I think that he thought that he landed in India. I am surprised that at this point that India was not explored enough for Christopher Columbus and his crew to not realize that he was in a whole different area. At first I was surprised that he had anything positive to say about the natives who he viewed as primitive, there was various times when he referred to the natives as generous. Columbus said, “And this does not come because they are ignorant; on the contrary, they are of a very acute intelligence and are men who navigate all those seas… ” (Brophy, pg. 383), that was surprising because in certain parts of the letter it seems that he was looking down on the natives. It was surprising that he actually