What Is The Purpose Of Christopher Columbus Letter To Spain

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I think that Christopher Columbus placed the Spanish flag immediately after he landed as a sign of colonization or exploration on behalf of the Spanish. In a way, it symbolized a new place that they had seen or been to, as well as potential for the future of the Spanish. I believe this because, in his letter to the King and Queen of Spain, he mentions the ways things are going to change or be on the island of Espanola after their exploration. This displays that the true intentions of his journey were to further Spain’s progress, regardless of the customs and lifestyles of other established groups or nations. When comparing Columbus’s exploration with that of the Chinese explorer Zheng He, the main difference is the purpose or execution of the exploration. As stated above, Columbus seemed …show more content…

One detail Columbus mentioned about how the two civilizations are different is wealth; he states that the people of the island seemed to be “very poor people”. He also mentioned that the island's people did not have a religion which is very different from the Christian-based civilization of the Spanish. In these letters, there is also very little description of how Columbus thinks a civilization should look or how he would define one, however, there are a few concepts or ideas that could explain his views. For example, in the letter he wrote to the King and Queen, he discusses the churches that will be in place in the new civilization on the Island of Espanola. This could indicate that Columbus’s idea of civilization has a large portion of religion, more specifically Christianity, involved. Another detail that assists in explaining how Christopher Columbus would describe civilization would be the societal structure he discusses for the island of Espanola. In the letter to the King and Queen of Spain, he discusses how “each town shall have its alcalde [Mayor]” which is the

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