Christian View of the Natives in the New World
Some would say that Christopher Columbus was a devout Christian. He believed that "his was a mission that would put Christian civilization on the offensive after centuries of Muslim ascendancy" (Dor-Ner 45). Columbus' original mission was to find a western route to the Indies. But when that failed, his mission became clear: convert these new people to Christianity. Throughout this paper I will show the view of the natives by Columbus and Christendom and how these views changed over a span of fifty years.
Columbus made it very clear that he was doing this not only for Ferdinand and Isabella, but also for the faith that he was subject to (Dor-Ner 150). He may not have always had the backing of the Papacy, but he always claimed to be doing, whatever it was that he was doing, for the Church.
In 1492, when Columbus first arrived, the first thing he saw were a bunch of naked people. I guess to someone who is used to "civilization" this would be somewhat shocking. His first impression of them was recorded in his log. He says that all he saw were young people, handsome and well built, and they seemed to be friendly and well-dispositioned (Dor-Ner 152). So first contact was not a hostile thing.
This friendly attitude towards the natives did not last long. There was a settlement left on the island of Hispaniola, after the first voyage, called Navidad. The settlers were supposed to be cementing relations and trading with the natives. On the night of November 27, 1493, when Columbus was on his second voyage back to visit this colony, he was met with only silence. All that was found were the ashes of the town and the remains of the settlers bodies (Dor-Ner 206-207).
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...es or even killing them, but it was a start. It took fifty years for people to even declare that the beasts that they were killing were indeed human and capable of understanding religion. They went from being looked at as a friendly people, to slaves and evil abominations, to truly innocent men who need and want to receive the Word of God. It took five hundred years for people to truly realize that what we did was just plain wrong.
Bibliography
Davies, Nigel. Voyagers to the New World. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1979.
Dor-Ner, Zvi. Columbus and the Age of Discovery. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1991.
Dyson, John. Columbus: for Gold, God, and Glory. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991.
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Sublimus Dei. http://www.listserv.american.edu.
In Alfred J. Crosby’s book, The Columbian Exchange, the author examines the impact of the New World on the Old World, but also the impact the Old World had on the New World. One key distinction Crosby notes is how the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus challenged the intellectual systems of Christianity and Aristotelianism. Most notably, the discovery of a world that was, in fact, “new” was so contradictory to scholarly work of the past, such as Aristotle or found in the Bible, that assumptions were made on where to fit the New World into a Christian and Aristotelian world. For example, previous findings under Aristotle, which were still utilized into the 15th Century, had “quite logically supposed the equatorial zone of
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was a self-made man who worked his way up to being the Captain of a merchant vessel. He gained the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for an expedition to the Indies. With the support of the Spanish monarchy, he set off to find a new and faster trade route to the Indies. Upon the arrival of his first voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, a “royal official and an early supporter of his venture,” in February 1493 (35). The epistle, letter, entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” was copied and then distributed in Spain before being translated and spread throughout Europe. The Letter is held in such regard with the people as it is considered the first printed description of the new world. Through his description of the nature of the islands, Columbus decided the future fate of the islands. His description of the vast beauty of the nature around him, declares both the economic and nationalistic motivations for colonizing the new world.
Although this essay is historically accurate it lacks important details, which might paint a different view of Columbus. Boorstin writes favorable of Columbus and depicts him as a heroic and determined figure who helped shape history, but he neglects to include Columbus’ unethical acts committed in the world that was not supposed to exist, the Americas. When Columbus first discovered the New World, he took care that the royal standard had been brought ashore and he claimed the land for Spain in front of all, including the indigenous population who had been sighted even before Columbus made landfall. According to the medieval concepts of natural law, only those territories that are uninhabited can become the property of the first person to discover them. Clearly this was an unethical act. Thus, the first contact between European and non-European worlds was carried out through a decidedly European prism, which ensured Spanish claim to the islands of the Americas. Faced with a colony in an inhospitable area, the Spanish soon inaugurated the practice of sending regular military parties inland to subdue the increasingly hostile natives. Members of the indigenous population were captured and enslaved to support the fledgling colony. The object of Columbus’ desire changed from exploration and trade to conquest and subjugation.
Howarth, William. "Putting Columbus in his place." Southwest Review, Spring/Summer 92, Volume 77, Issue 2/3, p153.
Without intention, in 1492 Christopher Columbus initiated an event that is perhaps the most important historical turning point in modern times to the American Continents. . “For thousands of years before 1492, human societies in America had developed in isolation from the rest of the world. ”(P. 4) Christopher Columbus and other European voyagers ended all this beginning in 1492 as they searched for treasure and attempted to spread Christianity. For the first time, people from Europe, Africa, and the Americas were in regular contact. Columbus was searching for one thing and discovered something entirely different.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, even after centuries later, little is truly known of the mysterious voyage and findings of the new world.1 By examining “Letter from Columbus to Luis Santangel”, one can further contextualize the events of Columbus' exploration of the New World. The letter uncovers Columbus' subtle hints of his true intentions and exposes his exaggerated tone that catered to his lavish demands with Spain. Likewise, The Columbian Voyage Map read in accordance with the letter helps the reader track Columbus' first, second, third, and fourth voyage to the New World carefully and conveniently. Thus, the letter and map's rarity and description render invaluable insight into Columbus' intentionality of the New World and its indigenous inhabitants.
...10) K101 An introduction to health and social care, Unit 4, 'Developing Care Relationships', Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Social care and healthcare are both included in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. In England, there are two bodies that handle matters relating to social welfare. The National Care Standards is tasked with registering bodies that provide social care. The performance and progress of the organizations are monitored by the Social Services Inspectorate. The analysis of the social aspects of care involves collecting data that is analyzed so as to identify the differences that cause variation in the health of different people. The data collected may not be simple to understand. As a result, it requires a deeper analysis so as to establish the social factors affecting health (Larkin, 2011).
Leadbetter, D. and Lownsbrough, H. (2005) Personalisation and Participation: The Future of Social Care in Scotland, London, Demos.
...) K101 An introduction to health and social care, Unit 5,’Working with life experience’ Milton Keynes, The Open University
Morris, C; Michie, V. (2011) Level 3 Health and Social Care Diploma: London, GBR: Hodder Education.
The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 7, ‘Understanding the Past’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Her Majesty’s Government (2011) ‘Health and Social Care Bill.’ Bill 132. The Stationery Office, London
Gallagher 2009 cited in Share, P & Lawlor, K. (eds) Applied Social Care An Introduction for students in Ireland (2nd ed) Dublin: Gill & Macmillan (2009).
Walsh, A & Clarke, V. (2009) Fundamentals of Mental health Nursing New York: Oxford University Press.