Christopher Columbus Flaws

Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, sailed for Spain looking for an alternate route to Asia. While looking for Asia, Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean unknown to Europeans although inhabited by Native Americans. Columbus’s arrival on the island of the Bahamas earned him credit for discovering the New World, or the Americas. Based on an examination of four sources, Christopher Columbus had a positive and encouraging character. In the first source called Journal of the First Voyage to America by Christopher Columbus, Columbus chooses optimism; he sees the beauty in the island rather than the flaws. The second source called “Columbus” by Joaquin Miller portrays Columbus as encouraging and poised; no matter how sick and tired his crew became he never gave up; instead he continued to look forward to the future. Lastly, the source called “Prayer of Columbus” by Walt

Whitman and the source called “Columbus, Christopher” suggest Columbus had a strong faith and based everything he did on his religion.
First, the source called Journal of the First Voyage to America by Christopher Columbus describes Columbus’s initial thoughts when he arrived at today’s Bahamas. Columbus wrote about the beauty of the island: “Groves of lofty and flourishing trees and abundant, as also large lakes, surrounded and overhung by the foliage, in a most enchanting manner” (Columbus). Columbus looked at the land in a positive view and chose to see the beauty of the island rather than the flaws. The Natives of the island had fled in fear and abandoned their village, but Columbus did not raid the village and take advantage of the free resources: “I ordered that nothing which they had left should be taken, not even the value of a pin” (Columbus). When the Natives began to approach Columbus he gave them a gift in return for water instead of demanding it: “Presently we saw several of the natives advancing towards our party, and one of them came up to us, to whom we gave some hawk's bells and glass beads, with which he was delighted” (Columbus). Journal of the First Voyage to America represents Columbus’s first impression of the island as told from the point of view of someone actually there at the time and thus proves reliable as a primary source. This source revealed Columbus’s character through his thoughts and actions. Journal of the First Voyage to America proved that Columbus had a good character, he did not take advantage of the Natives resources, and he saw the beauty of the island.
Next, in the source “Columbus” by Joaquin Miller, Columbus remains at sea having not yet reached land.

His crew had lost hope that they would ever find land and would remain lost at sea but Columbus reassured them: “What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,/ If we sight naught but seas at dawn?”/ “Why, you shall say, at break of day,/ ‘Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on” (Miller)! According to this source, Columbus never lost hope in his expedition; he always believed that they would make it to land and achieve his goal. Columbus taught his crew and the world that even if everyone has lost hope and gives up, if you believe it you can do it: “He gained a world; he gave that world/ Its greatest lesson: “On! sail on” (Miller)! “Columbus” by Joaquin Miller retells what Columbus and his crew experienced at sea. Although Miller clearly has an admiration for Columbus, he includes Columbus’s neglect for his crew; thus displaying the credibility of Miller’s account. In the end Miller shows that Columbus had good character because he encouraged his crew to not lose hope when giving up seemed the

easiest.
Finally, Columbus, a very religious man, mainly sailed to spread Christianity. In the source, “Prayer of Columbus” by Walt Whitman, Columbus prays, pleading that he does everything for God. Columbus based his whole voyage on his faith: “Thou knowest how before I commenced I devoted all to come to Thee,/ Thou knowest I have in age ratified all those vows and strictly/ kept them,/ Thou knowest I have not once lost nor faith nor ecstasy in Thee,” (Whitman). Columbus explains how he gave his whole life to God: “All my emprises have been fill'd with Thee,/My speculations, plans, begun and carried on in thoughts of Thee,/ Sailing the deep or journeying the land for Thee;/ Intentions, purports, aspirations mine, leaving results to Thee” (Whitman). According to another source called “Columbus, Christopher,” Columbus explored in order to spread Christianity: “Part of Columbus's desire to explore was to bring Christianity to the world's peoples. He firmly believed, inspired by the prophecies in the Book of Isaiah, that the second coming of Christ would not be realized until every last individual was converted to Christianity” (Columbus, Christopher). The source by Walt Whitman and the source called “Columbus, Christopher” show how Columbus based everything he did on his religion and how religion shaped his character. Religion influenced Columbus’s personality and drove him to sail. “Prayer of Columbus,” may seem unreliable due to Whitman’s admiration of Columbus’s faith, however it also uncovers a weak, worried, weary human side of Columbus, that gives the readers a well-rounded portrait that we can trust. The secondary source “Columbus, Christopher” describes Columbus’s voyages and reasons for voyaging. This source comes from a school-approved website making it reliable.
As shown above, the man credited for discovering the Americas, Christopher Columbus, proved an optimistic, poised, and faithful man. Columbus offered a positive first-hand account of the island he landed on, describing it as more beautiful than any other he had seen. This shows Columbus’s optimism, as he only saw the beauty in the island. The poem by Joaquin Miller shows how Columbus would’ve encouraged his crew and how he never got worried when they lost hope. “Prayer of Columbus” by Walt Whitman and “Columbus, Christopher” describe Columbus as faithful, doing everything for God. Based on those four sources, Christopher Columbus had a good character.