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Paper #102141 :: The Letters of Columbus
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A discussion of the writings of Christopher Columbus.

Written in 2008; 1,432 words; 5 sources; APA; $ 47.95

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the voyage of Christopher Columbus, captured revealingly in his own letters to the royal court in Spain. The paper explains that in reading the words of the voyager himself, there is an opportunity to conceptualize the personal, cultural and religious specifications that inclined Columbus inexorably toward both fame and infamy. The paper notes that for Columbus, the mere act of European arrival upon the islands of the Caribbean was sufficient to justify what he refers to as the 'possession' of the substantial population of natives which he found already inhabiting the 'new' world. The paper also points out that the pursuit of riches resounds as a theme in the writing of Columbus and of the literature concerning him, implying that the inherent racialism of his culture's perspective was merely a byproduct of white greed. In conclusion, the paper shows that at the heart of the European conception of superiority is the notion that the Christian mission is above all else the core of Columbus' journey.

From the Paper:

"Under such a conceptual approach, it would be almost as if the land itself did not exist until the literate and Christian citizens of the world touched its soil. This is an impression which is given further cultural explanation if one is to regard this discourse perpetuated between Columbus and the emissaries of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. There, we can see that the primacy of economic motives in discovering lands as yet uninhabited by feudalistic principles of ownership would be a central directive in entitling a mission of such a grand scope. As one such Spanish court representative advised Columbus, "most valuable things come from very hot zones, the inhabitants of which are blacks or parrots, and therefore, until Your Lordship has found such people, you will not find abundance of such things." (De Madriaga, 322) The objectification of the dark-skinned inhabitants which he would find in his travels would be a sensibility most assuredly impressed upon him by a European conception that the natives were a part of the wildlife in its claimed territories."

Tags: voyage new world Americas discovery Christian native indian

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