In 1485, Christopher Columbus moved to Spain to ask King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella to fund his expedition. After routes to India were cut off to the Europeans, Columbus became determined to find a sea-bound route to Asia. He calculated that Asia was some 4000km to the west, when in reality it was closer to 16000. His miscalculation and the lack of geographical knowledge in this time period led to one of the most significant discoveries in history. To a variety of people in the 1400s, Columbus was regarded as a brilliant explorer. His children and other Europeans admired him because of his determination in the face of danger and adversity; prior to the expedition, the Western world was believed to have great monsters, giants, and wild men. …show more content…
From the perspective of the Europeans, Columbus “opened the gates of the ocean, which had been closed for so many thousands of years before” (Briefing 1, 4), leading to the establishment of Espanola. Columbus was able to cement his heroic reputation in the eyes of the Europeans by initiating settlement in the New World. While Columbus was considered to be a hero to the European population, he was the embodiment of greed to the Tano. The account of Columbus’s son neglected to include the substantial decline in the Tano population as a result of brutality and slavery. While this account was honest in documenting the European diseases that killed the Native peoples, it mentions that their deaths were “not the fault of our father or Spain” (Briefing 1, 5). According to the documents of the Natives, Columbus was an unfit leader who demanded to be the viceroy of the discovered territory (Espanola), the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea, and ten percent of the wealth returned to Spain. In addition to the selfish Columbus narrative, the account mentions that Columbus stole the reward of sailor Juan Rodroguez Bermejo, who was the first to spot …show more content…
The account of the Tano blames Columbus for the population decrease; Native Americans saw Columbus as a slave trader who sent Tano peoples to Spain, and killed them if they could not fulfill his requests; despite having described the Tano people as “the best people in the world and above all the most gentle” (Briefing 2, 4), Columbus continued to demand a thimbleful of gold every 3 months, as well as shipping 550 people to Spain in 1495. Columbus reduced its population by 7.9 million in the span of 20 years (1492-1518). Spanish colonists made multiple formal complaints about him, resulting in a new governor being sent for his arrest, along with Queen Isabella (queen of Spain) demanding the return of surviving captives back to the West. Both accounts share opposing views about Christopher Columbus: European settlers saw him as an admirable leader, while the Tano population thought he was nothing less of a slave trader. The first account (Briefing 1) had a lot of opinionated adjectives to praise Columbus. “brilliant,” “life-changing,” and “brave” are a few words that are used in his
Many consider Columbus a Hero, others believe he was selfish and self centered. Myint author of “Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?” and Ransby author of “Columbus and the Making of Historical Myth.”, are faced with the same dilemma. From a young age children are taught about Columbus and his greatness, but the books fail to document the atrocities committed in the process. Most of the books use biased language; little evidence and vague language is used to hail Columbus as a great hero. Myint provides a more objective stance, while Ransby condemns Columbus entirely. However, both suggest to consider Columbus a hero is a mistake.
Columbus and Champlain were both devoted to the success of their expeditions; however, Columbus had far more selfish intentions. Columbus was an Italian who sought aid for a journey that would travel across the Atlantic Ocean in search for riches in the East. His support did not come easy as he was rejected by the courts of Portugal, France, and England. Ultimately, Columbus was able to gain authorization and funding for a voyage to begin in 1492 by the Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel. After starting the long awaited expedition in April, Columbus was able to reach the West Indies by October of that year. Upon encountering the New World, Columbus immediately claimed the land along with its natives for his Spanish sovereigns.
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,
Christopher Columbus does not deserve to be honored as a hero with his own holiday. Close to 500 years, people have praised Christopher Columbus and also celebrated him as though he was the one who truly founded America. Teachers teach students that he was a great man, also how he found treasures and land known as America. Students are also taught about the names of his three ships he used on his first voyage. However, they did not teach us the truth about Christopher Columbus, and his so called “discovery”.
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.
What he and his men did to the Indigenous people is told in horrifying detail by the Dominican priest Bartolome de Las Casas, “whose writings give the most thorough account of the Spanish-Indian encounter.” Las Casas witnessed firsthand Columbus’ soldiers stabbing Natives for sport, dashing babies’ heads on rocks, and sexually abusing Indigenous women. His testimony was corroborated by other eyewitnesses, such as a group of Dominican friars, who addressed the Spanish monarchy in 1519, hoping to bring an end to the atrocities. At the very least, Columbus was complicit in the actions of his men. He cared so little for the welfare of the Indigenous people that he let his soldiers commit reprehensible acts that would be considered crimes against humanity in the present day. Christopher Columbus’ actions suggest he had no issue with serving as an enabler of the horrifying actions committed by his men against the Indigenous
This voyage and all that Columbus wrote seems to have been done in greed. Columbus flattered the King and Queen repeatedly to win them over for his desired future endeavors. The first letter written to the King and Queen of Spain began immediately with overly exaggerated praise. In this matter, he could have directly addressed them with one endearing term rather than “Most Christian, High, Excellent, and Powerful Princes, King and Queen of Spain” (Halsall). He then describes his intent to “perform the embassy…discharge the orders… [and] keep an account…Sovereign Princes” as he prepares to write his journal. With this in mind, the demand of writing a journal and keeping track of his journey will keep him from sleeping and cause “many trials” all for “Your Highness.” When land was found, Columbus was the one who “bore the royal standard” when he went to shore and “took possession…for the King and Queen.
Ever since Christopher Columbus voyages in the 1400’s there has been many different opinions wheatear he is a hero or a villain. In my opinion Christopher Columbus should not be considered a hero. A hero is somebody who performs good deeds for the sake of others, and not for their own benefit, whereas Christopher Columbus just wanted to find gold and riches for himself and Spain. I believe he is a villain for a few reasons Firstly; he took full advantage of the Arawak community, Secondly, he treated the Arawak’s terribly using them as slaves and Lastly,
Christopher Columbus was an Italian sailor and explorer who travelled across the Atlantic Ocean in 1942, in search of a quick route to India Spice trading, which was at the time the largest industry in the world. Columbus made a total of 4 trips between 1492 - 1504. Columbus throughout time has been revered as a hero, and the reason that many of us are even settled on this land, but there are many dark truths that will be touched upon throughout this report. Columbus starts his journey in August 1492, when he sets sail from Spain under the sponsorship of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. His original plan was to simply find a new route to India, so he could further prosper from the booming spice trading industry.
Christopher Columbus was a famous navigator and explorer who was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Columbus wanted to claim land for Spain so he could be rich and spread religion. He originally set out to find the East Indies for many reasons. One was that he hoped to establish trade routes and colonies in order to gain wealth. Another was that there were now bigger guns that could be strapped on ships so he felt that his voyage had more of a chance of being successful. The main reasons for his exploration was that he wanted to find a western route to Asia to find the riches that Marco Polo talked about in his book. So basically he was not courageous, he was just greedy. He intended on arriving in Japan on his first voyage, but instead, he arrived at the Bahamas archipelago. He ended up making numerous voyages and claiming the lands he visited for the Spanish Empire. Columbus continued voyages creating the first lasting European conta...
My personal opinion? Villain. Christopher Columbus was a nasty man who was motivated by greed. “The information that Columbus wanted most was: Where is the Gold” (Zinn 4)? He logged in his journal his first encounter with the Arawak people, stating “As soon as I arrived in the Indies, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might give me information of whatever there is in these parts” (Zinn 4). Their crime? “They wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears” (Zinn 5). Columbus would stop at nothing to gain what he most desired. Horrible as he was, he ultimately paved the way for America as we know it. All things happen for a reason, right?
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.
“It was a miracle that Columbus found America, but it would have been more the miracle if he had not”, Mark Twain from Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar quoted. Genon born Cristobal da Colon and then later was called Christopher Columbus who ended up in the literatures of times and his own secret signatures but nevertheless his missions were read and uncovered centuries after centuries. Christopher Columbus a hero or a villain? lies a question. A question that very much defines the man he was a man who was ruthless, a person with no soul and no human feeling, a man with only self motives towards his gain or a man with feelings for others, a man who lived on the path of God, a man who valued his virtues of humanity, but often it is the good a man does that is interred with the bones and the evil that lives after as say it for Julius Ceaser so be it for Christopher Columbus a villain and not a hero.
Christopher Columbus was a renaissance explorer in 1492. he was sent by queen Isabelle and king Ferdinand of Spain to look for a trade route to east Asia
Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator who sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in search for the all-water route to Asia, but instead achieved fame for making landfall in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus' plan was based in part on two major miscalculations. First, he underestimated the circumference of the world by about 25 per cent. Columbus also mistakenly believed that most of the world consisted of land rather than water. This mistake led him to conclude that Asia extended much farther east than it actually did. In 1492, Columbus embarked on his first voyage. Queen Isabella of Spain ordered that the port of Palos supply him with three ships the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria. A total of about 90 crew members sailed aboard the three ships. In addition to the officers and sailors, the expedition included a translator, three physicians, a servant for each captain, a secretary, and an accountant. On October 12, 1492, at 2:00 in the morning he spouted a small island, which he called San Salvador. In January, the Santa Maria was wrecked off the coast of Espanola. The Nina, with Columbus in command, along with the Pinta began the homeward voyage in January 1493. The storms drove the ships first to the Azores and then to Lisbon, Columbus arrived in Palos, Spain, in March. He was enthusiastically received by the Spanish Monarchs. Columbus planned immediately for a second expedition, with about 1500 men, which left Spain in September 1493. They landed on the island of Dominica, Gaudeloupe. His stop at Puerto Rico is the closest he came to setting foot on land that would later form part of the United States, the main foundation for the claim that Columbus “discovered America.”