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The impact of colonialism
Research paper on christopher columbus
Research paper on christopher columbus
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Im sure we've all heard of the stories of Christopher Columbus and what a remarkable discoverer he was, but Howard Zinn author of History is a Weapon, unravels the truth about who Christopher Columbus truly was. In 1492, Columbus was granted the opportunity to travel to the Indies. The first island he arrived on was home to the Arawak natives. Once Columbus stepped foot on the island, he and his men were given ideas like cotton and spears, along with food as a welcoming gesture to the Spaniards. Once the welcoming party was over, Christopher took a few natives by force in hope that they would be able to provide him with the information to find the gold they came in search for. After bringing the King and Queen the gold he acquired, he
In this paper we will discuss the different point of views on the revolutionary war period that lead up the creation of the constitution between Howard Zinn and Larry Schweikart. It is true that the constitution as created by the rich, however the rich were more educated than the poor at the time, making them the reliable leaders of the society. This said, the rich might have tweaked the Laws to their slight advantage. Schweikart explains the creation of the constitution in order to fulfil the needs of the population. However Zinn emphasizes the fact that the government is controlled by the elites who benefit the most form the foundation of the constitution.
Who is Christopher Columbus? You may already have prior knowledge of him, but if you do not, Christopher Columbus was a Spanish explorer who made four voyages to the Americas. His voyages led to the Columbian Exchange and colonization. Many cultures, ideas, technology, and foods were spread between the Americas, the “New World,” and Europe, Africa, and Asia, the “Old World”. Even though many great things were exchanged between the Old World and the New World, many diseases from Europe were introduced to the Natives. Does this make Christopher Columbus a hero, or a villain? The answer is not that debatable. A closer look must be taken at Christopher Columbus 's life to be able to judge such things. This essay will take a look at his life,
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.
Howard Zinn: On History by Howard Zinn (2011) is a collection of previously published essays ranging from Freedom Schools in the 1960s, issues in scholarship, to the American Empire. Even though the essays were written over several decades there is a constant theme throughout the work—the activist scholar. Zinn feels that scholars should not be passive citizens concerned with their research alone, but active citizens that use their research to change society. Zinn, unlike other historians, is not afraid to place what he views as right and wrong into his scholarly work. In fact he sees nothing unethical about inserting his opinion or politics into his writing. The society of higher education teaches historians to be objective by removing the person from the reading—removing opinion from writing. Zinn feels that this is a fruitless enterprise, for in the end opinion and politics will enter writing. In Howard Zinn: On History the case is made that for a different kind of historian. Zinn challenges the traditional notion of an historian a more passive scholar that endlessly tries to remove himself, or herself, from their research. Zinn sees this as an impossibility and instead argues for a more active scholar. This is the central theme that runs through Zinn’s book, a theme that should run through scholarship itself.
In chapter 17, “Or Does It Explode?”, Zinn’s overarching point is that the black revolt that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s should not have come as a shock to white America and that there were many signs leading up to it. In order to emphasize and back up this point, Zinn uses various examples to point out how black American were originally expressing their feelings before the ‘revolt’ began.
Christopher Columbus is a mythical hero or in other words, not a true hero. The story of Christopher Columbus is part of the many myths of Western civilization. Also the story of Christopher Columbus represents the power of those that are privileged and in most cases white European men that have written this mythical history. Zinn (2009 exposes the truth about Columbus through eyes of the people who were there when he had arrived which were the Native Indians (p.481). Columbus had kept a personal journal for his voyage to describe the people and the journey. What was evident throughout his journal was the Native Americans were very nice, gentle and kind hearted people (Zinn, 2009, 481). As Zinn suggests Columbus spoke of the Native Americans as” they are the best people in the world and
Columbus' original plan was to prove that early geographers were wrong and that the world was larger than computed (William Howarth). He had sponsorship from the King and Queen of Spain who were finally convinced by Columbus by his belief that he was a divine missionary, ordained by God to spread Christianity (P. J. Riga). When he got to the New World he had found that there was the possibility that there might be an abundance of gold, and gold was the commodity Columbus pursued with obsessive zeal (William Howarth). It would seem to be an item that he had a lust for more than anything. An elder on Tortuga described "within a hundred or more ...
I didn?t know much about Columbus, but when it was taught to us as a class, which was rarely, the lessons were brief and covered only the ?positive? things that he did. That is, from the eyes of those who believe Columbus was a noble man. It wasn?t until 6th grade when my teacher showed my class the book Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen that we opened our eyes and saw reality. We had been deceived. Deceived by videos. Deceived by books. Deceived by teachers. But at least it felt good to know the truth-finally.
Two different aspects of the discovery of the Indies and Hispaniola were seen. The first aspect was from the viewpoint of Christopher Columbus. In 1493, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis De Sant Angel announcing his discoveries in the Indies. The letter was also being sent to the king and queen of Spain. The letter was written in a very deceitful manner to make it so the king and queen would continue to fund Columbus and his expedition as long as he continued making achievements for Spain. Upon his arrival, Columbus talks much of the land the Spaniards have conquered in the name of Spain. In the letter, he also talks about how the Indies were inhabited by a great number of people. Columbus describes the people as, “hopelessly timid, unsuspicious, generous, and very accepting.”1 The indigenous people were accepting of the conversion to Christianity. The justification of Christianity was used for Columbus’ expedition, while the territory and resources were the byproduct. Columbus was hoping that by
Christopher Columbus was an explorer who found interest in travelling the sea at a young age. Columbus traveled on four expeditions in the years between 1492 and 1504. In his first voyage, which is recorded in “From Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage,” he explains how he found locations that had never been discovered. Throughout his journeys he experienced many disappointments and disasters, but also came across many benefits. Columbus started off traveling passed the Canary Islands and to the Indies, where he found many islands. Any island founded by the fleet from the Canary Islands to the Indies would be considered a discovery, which Columbus took full credit for discovering. He demonstrates his ownership throughout his letter, for example, he refers to his fleets accomplishments in first person, stating, “I found very many islands,” “I have taken possession for their highnesses,” and “to each one I gave a new name” (Columbus 35). In each of these lines, the author demonstrates how egocentric he is to take ownership of all of the discovered islands. Moreover, this picture can represent Columbus as the European explorer, and how he is taking over the land from the indigenous people. The picture also has a ship in the back that can symbolize how Columbus sails to many islands to take over. Columbus thought America would be an easy
Columbus was the first person to sail west of Europe. He believed that he reached Asia, but actually discovered the Americas. In 1492, when Columbus, his sailors, and his three ships arrived in the Canary Islands, they were greeted by the welcoming and ignorant Arawak Indians, who brought offerings of food, water, and gifts to give them. While the oblivious Arawak’s were sharing and attempting to befriend Columbus, he had different ideas. “With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Columbus took some of them aboard ship as prisoners to guide him to the source of gold. He sailed to Hispaniola, where he built the first European military base in the Western Hemisphere called “Navidad,” so he could find and store gold. However, when Columbus returned on his second expedition, Fort Navidad sailors had been killed in a battle with the Indians because they had roamed the island in gangs taking women and children as slaves for sex and labor. Soon after, in 1495 came the great slave raid, in which fifteen hundred Arawak men, women,
Christopher Columbus was an explorer funded by the Spanish king and Queen to find other lands, gold, goods, and other beings. As he was sent on his journey he stumbled upon a country in what is know today as America. At this time there on this mysterious land lived the Arawak Indians living in their state of nature with all the freedom and cult...
Christopher Columbus is a name known to nearly every American that has ever had an elementary education. He is imagined as the brave explorer that against all odds prevailed in his belief of a round earth. Credited with the discovery of America, Columbus has a holiday and even the Nation’s capitol and a powerful Catholic service organization are named after him. What isn’t as well known is the dark side of his arrival to the New World. Though he did make the first steps in founding modern America, these steps came at the cost of thousands of lives. Columbus enslaved the natives he came across and ruled the Caribbean with an iron fist. He killed thousands in a relentless pursuit to find gold and used Christianity to justify the destruction of entire cultures. Yet the true much less favoring story is pushed aside by the romanticized tale of the great Christopher Columbus. The graphic and sad nature of the truth make the myth a much better story; a story that eclipsed reality. Vestiges of the belief in White superiority perpetuated the belief that Columbus was more of a hero th...
Whenever one speaks about the history and creation of the United States it is often given a particular spectacular and glorious appearance, unless the individual speaking about the subject is Howard Zinn. Unlike the traditional textbooks seen in public schools that are always praising the greatness of America and ignoring the oppression forced upon different social classes; Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States gives readers a brief idea about the lives of those lesser known and it speaks for those that were voiceless. Zinn’s characterization of the United States’ history certainly holds truth to the reality of life back then but the extent of its validity is limited due to the evident bias from the author’s own point of view.
Growing up, we were all taught a rhyme in history class that taught us about the man that discovered the Americas. “Fourteen Hundred Ninety-Two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” This is a rhyme that is hard to forget, but what isn’t hard to forget is everything that was involved. On August 3, 1942 Columbus and thirty-nine men departed Palos, Spain with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria in search for a western trade route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. On his voyage, he discovered several islands including Cuba, and the Bahamas. In December 1492, Columbus landed at Hispaniola, which he believed was Japan. In March 1493, Columbus returned to Spain with gold, spices, and Indian captives, and obtained highest honors from the courts (History.com Staff). This voyage marked the beginning of the Columbian Exchange, and a new evolution called the New and Old World. The Spanish Ruler believed that this would open up more avenues for Spain, including colonial rule and strengthening the economy and culture. The term was created by a famous historian by the name Alfred W. Crosby (Columbianexchange.org).