Christopher Columbus found new land that Europeans had never seen before and started an age of exploration like no other, or so we thought. Columbus, a well-known sailor from Genoa, Italy, was almost always thought of to be a hero, but not everything Columbus did was all that great. A hero is someone who performs good deeds for the sake of others and not for their own benefit. He started a huge trading system where many new things such as horses, cattle, pigs, grains, citruses, and sugarcane were introduced to the Americas, and many things such as corn, potatoes, tobacco, cocoa, squash, and turkeys were brought back to Europe. After he found the Americas, there was massive colonization, and Europeans also learned new farming techniques. With …show more content…
Simple, he wanted money. The first man to see land was supposed to get 10,000 maravedis every year for the rest of his life. A sailor named Rodrigo saw the early morning moon shining on the white sands and cried out, but Columbus claimed that he saw the light the day before. He ended up getting the reward. Also, when they reached land, Columbus was not really interested about the land, or the people, but more importantly, the gold that he fantasized. If he found enough valuables to pay off the expenses of the expedition, he would get 10% of the remaining amount. At that time, gold was more useful than anything else because gold could buy you anything. Columbus also wanted fame. If he was successful, he would gain the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea, along with the fame of being the first man who reached what was thought to be Asia by sailing west, which is not true, but was believed to be true. Lastly, Columbus wanted governorship over newly claimed land. He wanted to be in charge. When he found all the natives in the New World, he thought that he could control all of them. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella promised him all of those three things in return for bringing back spices, gold, and other …show more content…
On the first island he reached, he took a few natives by force because they might know things about what there is in that area. Also, the Arawaks, the first natives Columbus met, wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears, so Columbus forced them to show him where they found the gold. As his journey continues, he forces a group of natives to make a trade where they gave him many more bows and arrows that they wanted to. Additionally, at that time, the main religion in Europe was Christianity, so when Columbus reached land, he forced all the natives he came across to convert into Christianity. Columbus also thought that the natives would make good slaves because they were very generous and didn’t argue with you much. On Columbus’s later expeditions, one thing he promised the king and queen of Spain was “as much gold as they need”. Since he couldn’t find that amount of gold, he forced the Indians to do the labor for
Christopher columbus is worthy because he made a lasting impact on the world. One reason is he brought back crops and discovered them. Another reason is the population increased. The crops that columbus brought back were Tobacco, Cocoa, Coffee, Bananas, Rice, and Oranges. The way the population increased was he told europe about america.
1. Christopher Columbus and monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were interested in the wealth that his expedition would secure. “Columbus was promised a large share of any economic benefits that might accrue from is voyage and extensive authority over any lands he might discover. The monarchs also stood to benefit.” Their anticipation was for the potential of discovery of riches such as “pearls, precious stones, gold silver, [and] spices”, as well as any other wealth that could be “bought, bartered, discovered, acquired or obtained.”
Columbus claiming the reward displays he is his self serving with little respect from his fellow crew. He also established a system of slavery that required every male native over the age of fourteen to present several ounces of gold to him every three months or they would be punished (McNeese 128). Columbus did not think twice about the health of the native people, as long as he got what he wanted from them. Because of these actions Columbus today is looked at as a man who brought about racism and genocide
Columbus: Hero or Villain Columbus had decided to bring the Spaniards back to the West Indies and Killed Indians. Columbus has been known as the founder of North America and greatest hero. Is Christopher Columbus really a hero Legend has it that Christopher Columbus had stacked babies on a pole and killed them. Many Arawaks feared Columbus because the Arawaks went ahead and killed their babies. With these few details, is Christopher Columbus actually a hero?
Christopher Columbus letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel explained how his goal was to deceive the Native Americans and take away their valuable resources like their land and edible goods. In the early parts of the letter he is telling the king and queen how he has been renaming the new island that he came encountered with. This already shows the mindset he had going in to the new land his goal was to completely conquer every piece of land and convert every person to Christianity. He first tries to become friends with the natives. Learning their culture and what they had to offer so it can be able to benefit him and the Divine Majesty.
Columbus was hungry for gold, as he wanted to bring it back to Spain. Columbus sailed back to Spain after one of his three ships crashed in Hispaniola. He brought back many things to show the Spanish king and queen including natives he had kidnapped. He did not bring back enough gold so he went back to the land had “discovered”. When he arrived, he heard that a local chief had tons of gold on his land.
Columbus kidnapped a carib woman and gave her to a crew member to rape. “I was filled with a desire to take my pleasure with her and attempted to satisfy my desire.” A member of Columbus's crew publicly cut off an Indian's ears to shock into submission. Columbus forced Indians to collect gold for him or else die. Columbus ordered every Indian over 14 to give a large quantity of gold to the Spanish.
Christopher Columbus is a famous Italian explorer who set sail in 1492. He and his crew eventually landed in the Americas otherwise known as the “New World”. The Europeans thought of him as a hero, some even describing him as god-like. Columbus’s main focus was money; he did anything he could to profit off of the New World. In order to take the most advantage of the newfoundland Columbus took slaves, farmed the land to depletion, exhausted natural resources and colonized the land.
One of these accomplishments was introducing the Old World to the Americas while changing history, according to the Columbian Exchange packet. The Vikings did come to the Americas hundreds of years earlier, but they didn’t introduce all of the Old World to the Americas. Columbus, on the other hand, caused trade and interaction to occur between the two unfamiliar parts of the world. Another major accomplishment of Columbus was to be able to take several trips back and forth from Europe while bringing very precious materials, such as gold, back to Spain. Columbus did whatever he could to get his hands onto these items, and when he brought them to Spain, they had a great amount of value.
It was during the 1400's when the face of exploration would change forever by one man. This infamous individual is Christopher Columbus. Known as the best darn sailor to ever live, his determination and hard working soul has shaped the world we have today. However, while many are taught that Columbus was a hero or an aristocrat, that is not actually accurate. To be historically correct, Christopher Columbus brought death and horror to the Americas.
I think that Christopher Columbus is a very good hero and that he his a good reason that we are here. He is the reason that the U.S. is also here today and if it wasn’t for him we may not even be alive today. He also did very bad things like killing Native Americans and exploiting their gold. A reason that I think that he is a good hero because he was a very religious person.
His motivations were like those of most men in that time: God, Gold, and Glory. Columbus wanted to become rich by finding the spices that were in Asia and he also wanted to prove that Asia wasn’t really that far from Europe. He also wanted to spread Christianity through his journey. As well as his theory being proven correct, he also had many things to gain. In his journal it states, “[Your Highness] ordered me to proceed with a sufficient armament to the said regions of India, and for that purpose granted me great favors, and ennobled me that thenceforth I might call myself Don, and be High Admiral of the Sea, and perpetual Viceroy and Governor in all the islands and continents which I might discover and acquire, or which may hereafter he discovered and acquired in the ocean; and that this dignity should be inherited by my eldest son, and thus descend from degree to degree forever.”
Columbus wanted gold, gems, land, and titles for himself and the nation of Spain, which was some of the same interests of the king. Because of this Columbus got the chance to sail to Asia. The idea of being able to trade with the West Indies by sailing westward was very intriguing. This new passage would be a lot safer and less treacherous than the old.
Christopher Columbus was one of the greatest explorers known to man. Columbus had many different reasons for his explorations. Later, the main reason for his explorations was selfishness. Just like many other explorers before Columbus, he wanted land, he wanted power, and he also wanted gold. The reason for his very first voyage to what he thought was India, but later was found out to be Central America, was to get land for Spain.
Before Columbus found the new land people did not know there was other land. Although people there when he got there, he was the first to announce that he found the new land and was the first to be known as a person who found new land. ¨Although he was not the discover of a new continent in the sense that he was the first to travel there, he was the first to announce what he had seen to a wide audience.¨(Document #3) If he had not told all of the people what he had found, no one would ever know that the land was there. The new land