Christopher Columbus and His Goals

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Christopher Columbus and his goalsCertainly, Columbus was a devout Catholic. He lived during the period of the great Spanish Inquisition, which led to the defeat of the Jews and Muslims. Perhaps he wanted to continue the Spanish legacy and spread the faith toward the west. However, personal ambitions may have also sparked Columbus's interest in finding a water route to the Indies. He asks for gold many times from the natives and searches all the islands in hopes of discovering more. He views the natives as a source of economical benefit, hoping to employ them for practical purposes. Even though there are not any indications of immense amounts of gold and spices in the New World, Columbus continues to ask for more Spanish support in order to pursue his desire for fame. Throughout his logbook, Columbus brings to light another reason for his exploration. He mentions his divine purpose as his right to the New World. He thinks that God has chosen him to discover and cultivate this new found land. Columbus has chosen to include both his God given right and his own intentions in his journals, but he uses his divine purpose to justify his desire for wealth, glory, and manipulation of the Indians. He has in essence covered his selfishness with a holy sentiment prevalent among many contemporaries of his time, thus creating a pure self-image for himself.

Columbus justifies his many of his actions through his divine purpose. He believes that he has discovered the Garden of Eden mentioned in the Bible, "For I believe that the earthly Paradise lies here, which no one can enter except by God's leave." (221). Eden can be viewed as heaven on earth; humans living in eternal bliss loving each other and God. Unfortunately, once Adam and Eve eat ...

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...By converting them to his own religion, Columbus makes the Indians more like the Spanish and thus easier to be of service. He does not instill his religion in the natives to demonstrate God's love, but rather so that he can exploit them. Columbus utilized his belief in his divine right to exploit the Indians for practical purposes rather than genuinely trying to lead them toward the path to salvation.

Throughout his logbooks, Columbus claims that God led him to discover the New World in order to justify his own ambitions. Since God is the embodiment of all that is good, following him can certainly not be seen as selfish or inappropriate. Columbus's quest for gold, exploitation of the natives, and desire for glory are certainly not saintly goals. However by masking these actions under the righteous authority of God, Columbus attempts to make them appear justified.

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