Columbus Disillusionment

On the voyages of Columbus, there was great tension amongst Columbus and his crew, as they ventured into the New World. Some of the causes of these conflicts were the stresses of exploration, disillusion about the New World, and competition and competing ideals amongst Columbus and crewmembers. This history reveals some of the challenges to come that European empires would face as they began to create overseas empires because those would also be full of conflict and tension regarding reactions to preconceptions about the Americas and continued competition between Europeans, and their competing ideals.

One of the causes of tension on board Columbus’ first voyage were merely the stresses of exploration, particularly the consequences of the miscalculations

of distance made by Columbus. As evidenced in Columbus’ journal, Columbus did not have a proper idea of the distance to the Indies. He had obviously miscalculated how long his voyage would be, and he seems to try and save face by telling the crew different distances than he had recorded. He tells the crew that they sailed fewer leagues than they really had, and consistently points out the signs that land is near, such as the sighting of a pelican, which does not travel further than twenty leagues from land. Columbus does not seem to be very aware of his miscalculation, as he also keeps pointing out the signs that land is near. Tension among the crew becomes evident, until the men “lost all patience,” and Columbus found he had to reassure them with the promise of the profits they would reap. The tensions due to the stress of exploration were furthered by other stressors, such as the unfavorable sailing conditions. The crew was already growing impatient with the lack of progress made, but with the food slowly decaying and the unusually regular winds and calm seas, they began to grow especially irritable and anxious that the conditions would not allow them to return to Spain. When land was still not reached, the crew grew mutinous, and even his officers began to scrutinize him, until he once again had to remind them of the profits that could be gained, such as the life annuity of 10,000 maravedis to the first man to sight land. Although they did eventually come upon land, and believed it to be the riches of Asia, the tension on board was clear.
Another cause of tension and conflict is the disillusion of Europeans toward the state of the Americas. With the glowing reviews provided by Columbus, it was easy enough for him to assemble a willing crew for his second voyage, but others on board did not provide quite so favorable accounts. One of the major aspects the European seemed to be disillusioned with on the second journey was state of relations with the local populations. The physician Chanca describes the deserted village of an island where remains of human arm and leg bones were found. Instead of finding the great treasures Columbus wrote about on his first journey, Chanca and the others encountered a number of Carib captives who fled to the Europeans out of fear of the Caribs. Chanca was horrified at what he saw, and a distinction was drawn between the Caribs, or cannibals, and the Indians. More tension developed among Columbus and the crew because of the things the Europeans witnessed on the islands, that did not reflect what Columbus had reported from his first journey. The second journey reflected the disillusionment of the Europeans because the violence they witnessed injected a harsh reality into the encounters between the Europeans and the Indians, which was not what they were expecting from the promising accounts of Columbus first journey, and would foreshadow tensions to come.
The tensions among the Europeans that stemmed from their disillusionment about the new world reveal the beginning of the challenges that European empires would face as they began to expand overseas.

One of the main sources of disillusionment that would reveal most about the challenges to come is the relationship between the native peoples and the Europeans. Columbus’ crew did not realize the complexity of the relationships that they would face with the Indians, especially since Columbus embellished his interactions with the native peoples from his first voyage. He describes them as bringing gifts, giving thanks to god, and even praising them as if they had “come from heavens”. He gives several other accounts of the natives bringing gift to the Europeans, and overall being of a mild disposition. It is easy to see where Columbus’ later crews would have formed their preconceptions about the Indians, and why they may have been shocked when they traveled to the Caribbean themselves. This tension helps predict the future difficulty involving the relationships between Europeans and Indians, because their relationship would never be an easy one after that. By expanding their empires into the Americas in their relentless quest for gold and other profits, the Europeans faced the issue of what to do with the Indians. A great number were killed by foreign disease, more would be killed by violence as the empires expanded into Mexico and further, and the others would be forced to labor under the encomienda system. Although this system worked out rather well for the Europeans, since their empires increased on an enormous scale and they did find great profit, a large number of Indians would still suffer, and some Europeans like de las Casas would not be afraid to speak out about it. The preconceptions they had about the native people would lead to difficulty for later Europeans because the relationship they developed with them would reflect a greater unequal power structure.

Since they were so shocked by what they had seen, and would label the Indians barbaric or uncivilized, it would influence the power dynamic of the future relationships, in which many Indians would suffer. In all, the difficulty the Europeans would have with the Indians was foreshadowed by the tension among Columbus’ crew due to their preconceptions about the native people.
A final issue of conflict among Columbus’ crew that would predict difficulties to come was competition and competing ideals. With the promise of great rewards, there was also the certainty of great competition between crewmembers. This can be seen in each of the three voyages, starting with the first where Columbus had promised a silk jacket to the first man to spot land, but then claimed that he was actually the first to spot land. It is claimed that someone else spotted land first, but Columbus claimed it for himself, proving early competition amongst him and the crew. Two prominent conflicts between Columbus and others involved were between Columbus and Roldán and Columbus and Bobadilla. There was competition between Columbus and Roldán at Española, where Roldán had led an uprising, leading to his supporters and other disaffected settlers ready to abandon the colony. This increased competition between Columbus and the settlers because they were threatening his standing with the monarchs, by proving that things were not as good as Columbus wanted them to seem. There was also competition with other crewmembers, such as the archbishop Fonseca, who believed Columbus to be improperly extending his authority and acting in disregard of royal orders, which was hurting the Spanish settlers. More conflict arose over competing ideals, especially slavery. Columbus acted in defiance of the queen’s orders when slaves continued to be taken. He clashed with the monarchs on the subject of slavery, because he believed it to be a prosperous business enterprise, and Isabella particularly believed the native people should not be taken as slaves. She was furious with Columbus, and ordered all intended slaves freed. The final conflict came when the monarchs had had enough of Columbus and Bobadilla took him home in chains.
This conflict over competition and competing ideals would predict the many years of this to come in the Americas. Spain and Portugal competed with each other for territory, and the conquistadores would continue to compete with the native people, as well as with each other. One example is the tension between Cortés and Velázquez, in which Cortés’ expedition was recalled, but he continued on to Mexico in defiance of the orders. Another example of competition in the Americas is when Pizarro was killed by the supporters of a fellow Spaniard, who wanted Pizarro’s power. Competing ideals would also prove to continue to be a difficulty to the expanding empires, especially over issues such as slavery. Although the encomienda system would be put in place, there would still be outspoken advocates against enslaving the native people, such as Montesinos and de las Casas. Early competition caused conflict among Columbus and crewmembers, but would also predict more competition and the continued issue of competing ideals as the European empires continued to expand.
Ultimately, Columbus and his crew would experience tension and conflict over the stress of exploration, disillusionment with the New World, and competition. These would help predict the difficulty European empires would face as they continued to expand in the Americas, and faced continued tension and dispute over relationships with the Indians, each other, and the continued issue of competition and competing ideals.