Christopher Columbus Otherness

The idea of ‘otherness’ is a term that is used to describe the way people tend to view people or even nature that are unfamiliar and barbaric. In earlier colonial years, individuals described foreigners as being the ‘other’ who were not like them. They had the inability or refusal to see similarity between them and the ‘others’. Who are the ‘others’? They were identified as barbarians, savages, minority groups or people of color. Labeling these cultures for their exoticism imposed a divide between two groups: ones that embodied the norm, us, and those who didn’t, them (Staszak). Ironically, the phenomenon of us versus them is like a mirror, each entirely different yet connected by their reflection. The reflection shouldn’t be left unnoticed

for it reveals the common differences between us.
This created a motive for discrimination against identity and ‘otherness’. Identities are something that we are all born with. It is often thought as being natural and innate. We are born into this world in which we all belong. People are an important part of our pride and self-esteem. Having a social identity within a group creates a sense of belonging in the world. We can also increase our image by discriminating against groups that we don’t belong to. Therefore based on social categorization we can divide the world into ‘us’ versus ‘them’. By categorizing people into parties we fail to recognize the similarities and differences within and between the groups. When in actuality we belong into many different groups. The construction of the social identities established a group of individuals known as the ‘other’ who were defined as having qualities of being different and another group of individuals who defined themselves as being superior to all others. “Those who by virtue of their difference from the dominant group, have been disempowered, robbed of a voice in the social, religious, and political world” (Onbelet). Difference is mistakenly seen as a weakness or a superior strength never as equal to one another.
In earlier years, the European exploration led to an expansion of global mapping and with these new distant civilizations there became a new view of the world. Influenced by adventure and the excitement of exploration, Christopher Columbus set off to discover the New World. He believed that with his superiority and strong faith in God that once he arrived in the Caribbean he could make a change for the good of others and his country. Columbus set out on his expedition with three goals: find a western sea route from South to East Asia, find cheaper ways to transport riches, as well as convert the people of the East to Christianity. What was for Europeans a discovery was for the native inhabitants of the Americas largely a disaster.
Columbus's initial interactions with the natives was rather peaceful.

Their culture seemed friendly and humble. While on his first voyage he visited several other islands, including what is now Cuba and Haiti, and founded the small settlement of Navidad on the island of Hispaniola (Entertainment Guide). He then secured an agreement with the local Taino chief to allow Columbus to leave men in this permanent settlement. After returning to Spain and informing his benefactors of his discovery, Columbus headed back to the islands in 1493. When he arrived at Navidad he found everything destroyed and all his men killed by the natives. Columbus believed that the Tainos were potentially profitable trading partners so therefore he chose not to retaliate. Instead he started a new settlement on the island and took some of the natives and transported several of them back to Spain as slaves. By Columbus’ third voyage he was desperate to see a financial gain on his explorations and began to attempt intense exploitation of the local Tainos for gold. He established a system of gold tribute owed to the Spanish settlements that was punishable by death if unmet (Entertainment Guide). His behavior was tyrannical and he consistently used violence as punishments against the natives for not finding him large amounts of

gold.
Columbus' contact with the New World can only be seen as a disaster for the native populations.

Not only were the Caribbean people ruthlessly overworked in a futile search for gold, successive epidemics of European diseases like smallpox wiped out as many as 90 percent of natives within a generation of Columbus's arrival. But not to say all of Columbus’ actions were horrific. He recognized the ‘others’ and their actual existence in his letters home. By documenting the Taino customs by living among the native people, observing their way of life and recording what he learned of the people. In letters he would describe their interactions, their way of life as well as what he experienced on the island. Unfortunately, because of Columbus’s exaggerated reports and promises, his sense of duty began to spiral downward. It could have been because of his refusal to be the “other” on the island. His insecurity led to a massive genocide rather than an international culture and knowledge

experience.
Unlike Columbus, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu had a more uplifting experience with her travels. Today, she is remembered for her series of letters while accompanying her husband, an ambassador from England, on a tour to Turkey. She documented her experiences as a traveler at each city. Letters were sent to friends of hers, one in particular Alexander Pope. She was struck the behavior of women in the bathhouses. She compared the bathhouses to coffeehouses because of how freely they conversed. Montagu normalized the women’s manners especially in an environment that is eroticized by men. Here, unlike Columbus she related the similarity between two cultures. She was also intrigued by the method of inoculation against the small pox disease and later introduced the methods into England to help of physicians (The Norton Anthology of English Literature). Lady Mary Montagu immersed herself into the Turkish culture, setting herself aside from typical house wife duties to learn about the Turkish culture. She noted how people were unlike her but never discriminated them for their differences. If anything she was pleased their manners and customs that other women had. There are several scenes and quotations in her letters that clearly show her admiration toward the culture, the freedom that women feel under their culture and the beautiful customs or interactions, exists among the oriental women, but are easily ignored or lost in the culture of West (International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies). In Montagu’s letters, she remarks upon cultural differences, first hand experiences and corrects previous falsifications from her perspective as a women. In actuality what Lady Montagu discovered was the dependence England has on ‘others’. The English are fascinated by the unconventional luxury goods and fashions which represent the need to be involved with other customs. Lady Mary Montagu held an untraditional stereotype as a women who traveled and wrote of her experiences. Additionally of which she learned of the customs, strange or not, and appreciated the beauty and luxury of her life. Through her writing she showed involvement and representation of a true empire.
A common misconception of the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ phenomenon is that we are unlike the ‘other’ and we are therefore separate and above them. It is unfortunate that we see the ‘other’ consistently seen as a something rather than someone. If we continually see the significance of differences between the ‘other’ and us then we refuse to see the reflection that the ‘other’ is just like us. Opening our eyes to this reflection allows one to combine cultures and find unity among groups of people. Over time, if there is still a wall between us and them then we are incapable of change and development. We are all unlike, embracing the uniqueness in everyone is important for a culture. Keeping a positive attitude toward people or things that are ‘other’ that what we believe is normal is an opportunity for experience.