How Did Columbus Influence Human Progress

Columbus returned home, whom is a hero from his first voyage, bringing back native Indians, mastic plants, aloe, lots of news and a sample of gold from his discoveries (Reyment n.p). Columbus had little difficulty in convincing his benefactors in Spain, King Ferdinand II, and Queen Isabella I, as it only took him about seven months to mount a second voyage.

Back in the 1500’s, this was considered a huge undertaking. Seventeen ships were used for the voyage along with 1,500 colonists, livestock (horses, sheep, and cattle), seeds, tools for farming, as well as weapons for waging war were all embarked on the vessels (Hunter, n.p). All this was done quickly as the ships got under way on October 13, 1493, seven months after his return from the first

On November 22, he found the fort he had established at La Navidad, which had been destroyed and the garrison, or troops, whom guard forts were killed. This must have been a shock to him, as the Natives had been so friendly, helpful, and had done everything they could to assist him. It seems to have changed his attitude toward the Natives, somewhat. On his first voyage, he had shown kindness to everyone he found and demanded his crew behave while in Hispaniola. Now, he seemed determined that the Natives should know that Spain would not tolerate such violence, whether or not the violence had been justified by the actions of the Spanish garrison in his absence.

Near here, where some gold was thought to be located, a settlement began. Meanwhile, Columbus led an armed expedition into the interior, searching for a source of gold. There was no gold found. However, a fort was established in the interior. Columbus marched back to the settlement, which he named Isabella. The 1,200 colonists he brought began to settle here. Columbus decided to return to his mission. He took a small squadron of three ships to continue his search for the mainland of