America according to Christopher Columbus
European navigator Christopher Columbus is undoubtedly a very important and well known figure of the fifteenth century who significantly, but not only in a positive way, affected the image of Americas in the following centuries. Was he the only one of the many or the future and spirit of America and its people in following years was subjected to his personal vision? What side of his personality was the most influential in making decisions?
For more than five hundred years thousands of monographs, articles and essays, which speculate about Columbus origin, life and contributions, have been written. Nevertheless, the most important information date back to his time. The first bibliography about Columbus, The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus, was written by his son but other authoritative sources that cannot be left out of consideration include the works of Spanish historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés and Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas.
However, his fame has changed since the academic field and discussions started to deal with the true stories about discovering and conquering of the New World from the perspective of Native Americans. As it was revealed, these stories include acts of bestial behaviour and cruelty but just a simple description of the stories is insufficient for a better understanding of the issue. Finding out the motives that influenced Columbus’s activities through comprehension of his personality which affected the way he treated the Natives is also crucial. |
Cruelty
Newly discovered race was not seen as equal, which resulted in a campaign for the exploitation of the natives introduced by Columbus himself. The first evident act of superiority over the new race took place just a few days after Columbus first contact with Indians when he captured and transported some of them to the Castile in order to teach them how to speak. More elaborated plans outlining the benefits of the use of the natives for Europeans, mainly merchants, appeared in 1494. At one point, he advised merchants to stow their ships with slaves on their route back to Europe. Columbus used Indian women not only as commodity but also as a reward for his crew.
Realizing that too many Indians had died while being taken captive, he found another way to pay up the ships coming to the New World. On Haiti he came up with a new order for all persons at the age fourteen or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought the required amount, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death. Those, who tried to avoid this task, were hunted down with dogs and subsequently killed by Spaniards. |
Family background and social ambitions
Columbus’s desire for success and social ambitions played a significant role and his very personal motives relate to his family background. There is little information about Columbus’s origin and he deliberately avoided speaking about it. His attempt to be a part of higher classes or at least to be accepted in the world of aristocrats proved true when he did not marry his second mistress because of her origins that might put his social rise in danger. According to these circumstances, somebody like Columbus could hardly follow the ambition to discover a short route to the Indies and so it was. His proposals were refused many times and waiting for hearing made him to suffer. As a consequence, he did not only ask for higher interest and more respected titles as compensation he was also determined to do anything for a success of his plans.
Gold and spices
Columbus knew that to achieve his plans it was necessary to find gold and/or spices to make his voyages not useless but profitable for the Spanish crown and therefore- for his own fame and benefit. After all, almost all his decisions, even about direction were influenced by his desire to find gold and spices. The readers already know the story of Indian exploitation for the need of gold but simultaneously the truth is that Columbus protected them for the same reason. Unfortunately, the real reason is not so flattering. He was a clever man who knew that a good treatment is very profitable since the natives might know the location of gold sources.
Religion
Undoubtedly, Columbus was a religious man steadfast in his faith, whose catholic religion was not only motivation but also a motive which lead back to his desire to find gold. Columbus did not want to find gold only for the Spanish crown, his motives were more sophisticated. As it was described, Columbus was a good Christian who dreamed of recapturing of Jerusalem in the last great crusade which needed a financial support. Moreover, his aim was to convert Indians to Christianity which seemed to be a very simple task. He was convinced their souls need to be saved and in return they would be at disposal to Europeans.
With this explanation, we can imagine how easy it was for Europeans coming to the New World to satisfy their conscience they were doing nothing bad exploiting them. However, when his gold and faith motivation met, Columbus showed another side of his personality. On one hand, Columbus wanted to feed his crew on the Cannibals with the explanation they are bad people who do the same to others and on the other hand, he saw them as people quite lacking in evil and not warlike and treated them as a moral example to Christians. This example illustrates his inclination to modify the reality at his need, which endangered the Natives the most as he might change his attitude towards them from one day to the next according to the situation. |
Strong-mindedness
Last but not least, one of the Columbus’s specific traits of character was his strong-mindedness. Without it, he could hardly do his job properly and fulfil his aims, dreams and motivations even he could retire with honourable titles and property. However, he thought that in the New World there was much more to discover and he was the only person capable of doing it and he owed it to the Sovereigns to do just that. What an irony that no representative of the Spanish court came to his funeral and there is also no mention of his death in the local chronicle!
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The strength of his personal motives supported by his life appeared to be enormous. This implies that it was primarily the character of this man that influenced and predetermined the fate of people of America in following decades as we know it today. We should not forget that slavery and genocide, for example, were not entirely new phenomenon in the New World but still we can assume that if it were not for Columbus whose plan to cross the Atlantic was accepted, the future of Americans could be different. The fact is that it could be even worse.
Bibliography:
Dunn, Oliver, and James E. Kelley, eds. The Diario of Christopher Columbus’s First Voyage to America 1492-1493.
Ferrnández-Armesto, Felipe. Columbus on himself.
Mignone, Mario B., ed. Columbus: Meeting of Cultures .
Morison, Samuel Eliot. The great explorers: the European discovery of America.
Todorov, Tzvetan. The conquest of America: the question of the other.
Zinn, Howard. A people's history of the United States: 1492-present.
Pictures:
Christopher Columbus - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christopher_Columbus.PNG
Spaniards cutting off the Arawak's hands - http://mutepolitics.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/arawak1.jpeg
1- 2 October 1492 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Columbus_Taking_Possession.jpg
Columbus before the Qeen - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emanuel_Gottlieb_Leutze_-_Columbus_Before_the_Queen.JPG
Dunn, Oliver, and James E. Kelley, eds. The Diario of Christopher Columbus’s First Voyage to America 1492-1493.
Ferrnández-Armesto, Felipe. Columbus on himself.
Mignone, Mario B., ed. Columbus: Meeting of Cultures .
Morison, Samuel Eliot. The great explorers: the European discovery of America.
Todorov, Tzvetan. The conquest of America: the question of the other.
Zinn, Howard. A people's history of the United States: 1492-present.
Pictures:
Christopher Columbus - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christopher_Columbus.PNG
Spaniards cutting off the Arawak's hands - http://mutepolitics.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/arawak1.jpeg
1- 2 October 1492 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Columbus_Taking_Possession.jpg
Columbus before the Qeen - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emanuel_Gottlieb_Leutze_-_Columbus_Before_the_Queen.JPG