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Taking risks in life
Disadvantages of taking a risk
Taking risks in life
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The most vital part that has developed mankind is risk taking. Indeed, taking risks means that losses are almost inevitable. Yet, the very possibility of gaining from the result of risk taking means that risks are necessary. In fact, while taking risks may cause significant losses, it is the very possibility of gain that has made risk taking so essential to the development of humanity. Back in the 1400’s, no one had any idea that the world was round. Yet one bright mind had this idea, and then promptly smiled and sailed westward, unknown to many others what would happen to him. Conventional wisdom said his ship would only sail to the edge of the earth. Yet, Columbus was willing to take that risk, in hopes of finding a new route to India.
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
It is thought by many that Christopher Columbus was a skilled sailor on a mission of greed. Many think that he in fact did it all for the money, honor and the status that comes with an explorer, but this is not the case entirely. Columbus was an adventurer and was enthused by the thrill of the quest of the unknown. “Columbus had a firm religious faith and a scientific curiosity, a zest for life, the felling for beauty and the striving for novelty that we associate with the advancement of learning”. He had heard of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. He believed that Japan was about 4,800 km to the west of Portugal. In 1484, Columbus wanted support for an exploratory voyage from King John II of Portugal, but he was refused. In 1485, Columbus took his son Diego and went to Spain to get some help.
Christopher Columbus began many of his adventures with preexisting sources and models from well-known philosophers and explores, mixture of inventions, misrepresentations and concealment (Bodmer,10). Despite his knowledge of geography and cosmology, he used models that were complex and contradicting, providing factual and mythical reports of what he could expect to find on the islands he would soon explore. The most detailed information which was creditable based on objectivity and accurate accounts were described by Marco Polo. The book ‘Travels’, would become a resource used by Columbus to compare his discoveries, for here it would reveal actual and potential problems that were identified by Marco Polo (Bodmer, 13,14). According to Polo, land that was located beyond the reach of commercial expeditions would belong to the first man who could reach them, according to the rules of the imperialistic pattern of appropriation (Bodmer, 16). As Columbus’s imagines of finding lands rich ...
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, which started a huge push by European nations to gain power and wealth, mainly in the way of building Empires in the New World. This was called the Age of Exploration and lasted from the late 15th to the early 17th century. Spain, under King Ferdinand II of Aragon, was the first nation to do this. Juan Ponce de León was a conquistador and one of the earlier voyagers to the New World in the European Age of Exploration, he accomplished several notable things in his life, but overall and looking in hindsight he is seen as a failure when compared to other conquistadors.
Having engaged in a relentless and detailed examination of Christopher Columbus’ four voyages across the Atlantic, the reader can now undoubtedly claim to have ascertained a greater level of knowledge and appreciation than he before could have ever held. Although the reader is bereft of a happy or joyous ending, he can find solace in a better comprehension of past events, those men who characterized them, and the implied lessons for a future that will inevitably become a part of history itself. Columbus: the four voyages, by Laurence Bergreen, is a remarkable biography that provides all of that, and then
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.
In the mid 1400’s Spain and Portugal began to take separate routes of discovery. Prince Henry of Portugal, in reaction to the shortage of bullion in Western Europe, was interested in sending his captains to the African coast in search of gold. As a result, many Portuguese ports were established along the African coast and “The Portuguese were able to exploit at least a part of the African caravan trade they had sought.” (p.340) While Portugal was focused on expansion along the African coast; the Spanish were the first to discover the “new world” despite the lack of geographical knowledge the Spaniards and Columbus in particular possessed. This “new world” wasn’t quite what Columbus had though it was, however; as Columbus maintained to his death that he had reached Asia. He hadn’t, “He had landed at one of the Bahaman Islands, San Salvador.” (p. 342) Columbus’ distorted reality proved to...
The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. It was written by Thomas Jefferson with input from other delegates and it stated that “All men are created equal…”. The declaration of Independence was written as an argument for the people claiming that they had the right to do away with King George III’s unfair government and declare independence from it. This event was significant because it guaranteed the governments safety to the people of the United States and it guaranteed that all individuals are treated equal regardless of their skin color, ethnic background, or
In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue sea . When Christopher Columbus sailed to the americas because he wanted to find some gold to bring back to his home . According to “ the letter Columbus wrote himself , he stated that “ everything that has been done and discovered in his voyage of mine “. This shows that everything that he was supposed to do he had completed . Additionally , according to document C “ the letter the Bartolome” were mainly about how spaniards came and were acting like wild beast . The spaniards and the indies were acting in like a bad way . “they are still killing , terrorizing and destroying the native people “. also that was stated in document C “ in 40 years , at least 12 million men , women and children
In 1492, an event took place that would change forever the way the world is viewed, and the way people viewed themselves. When Columbus set foot on that Caribbean island on an August morning over five hundred years ago, he set in motion one of the greatest migrations the world has ever seen. Two separate and distinct worlds met that day, even though both had populated their separate continents. One world, the old world, was made up of Europeans looking for fame and fortune, not necessarily for new and uncharted lands. Divine supports this idea by stating, “They (explorers) came not as colonists but as fortune hunters seeking instant wealth, preferably gold, and they were not squeamish about the means they used to obtain it” (Divine, p.9). The other world, the new world, was made up of “Indians”, or the people native to this newly found hemisphere. They had their own cultures, and treated the newcomers like Gods, not knowing who or what they were. In document two of Gorn, Columbus supports this by saying, “ …and others in loud voices called to all the men and women: Come see the men who cane from the heavens” (Gorn, p.9). The opportunistic and power hungry old worlders took quick advantage of this, eventually either subjugating or outright slaughtering these unsuspecting natives. In document two, Bartlolme de Las Casas states, “And they (Spaniards) committed other acts of force and violence and oppression which made the Indians realize that these men had not come from Heaven” (Gorn, p.13). Why did these adventurers choose to take advantage of the natives they encountered, rather than try to peacefully coincide and cooperate with them? I will try to answer this troubling question while chronicling the documents of Columb...
I claim that Christopher Columbus was a greedy, cruel and vicious man who deserves very little credit for his discovery.
In the years leading up to and including 1491, European explorers had been researching and studying the world, however they lacked a real understanding of the true size and geography of our planet. When explorers finally began setting out on their expeditions in the late 1400’s, the world began to experience serious change. Before Columbus is credited with the discovery of America in 1492, the Americas were untouched by Europeans, but within a few hundred years permanent settlements would be founded on American soil despite the presence of the native people. In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail on a voyage searching for a route across the Atlantic to Asia for the Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Instead of reaching Asia, Columbus actually landed on present-day San Salvador Island.
taking small risks to enjoy large benefits. Our society should ask themselves the question would
I will begin by looking at the concepts of Power, Agency and Risk. The concept of “Power” can be described as the capacity to act and can be understood in two related but distinct forms, as “power over” something exercised by one actor at the expense of another and as the “power to” or the capacity to act and take control over one’s own situation. Next “agency” is the capacity to act freely according to one’s own choices and desires. Whereas the concept of Risk or “Rational risk actors” are people who have the capacity to recognise and manage their own exposure to risk. (Mythen, G 2012, ...
To take a chance, one is accepting the possibilities of what could happen from the choice they have made.