Christopher Columbus

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the life of Christopher Columbus, as he himself saw it, and recorded it in his journal. In this conception, Columbus was a man who embarked upon his mission with the intention of exploiting the native populace of the Americas for pure profit, or worse, to carry the white, European man's burden by colonizing the native residents and rightful owners of the land.

From the Paper:

"Upon his return from his first voyage Columbus stresses, not the mercantile reasons for the voyage, but the sense of personal investiture the King of Spain felt in the exploration, and his sorrow for the losses experienced by the crew: "On hearing the news, the king wept, showing great sorrow at our disaster." (92) To the king, Columbus portrays the native populace he meets with, not as brutal savages but almost as residents of a paradise before the Fall of Adam and Eve: "I assure your Highness there is in my opinion no better people nor no better land in the world...Both men and women go naked as their mothers bore them but your Highness must believe me when I say that their behavior towards one another is very good and their king keeps marvelous state." (92) The reference to the native king keeping a marvelous state reinforces the idea that these people are not savages, that these native have a government, and a form of government that a European monarch like Ferdinand would consider the most civilized--a government headed by a king kept in good state and treated with respect by his subjects."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Columbus, Christopher. The Four Voyages. Translated by J. M Cohen. New York: Penguin Classics, 1992.

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