During the 1400’s, the desire of many European countries to reach the Indian subcontinent via aquatic trade routes grew quite dramatically, as land routes were long and filled with many hostile competitors. Nations began searching for various explorers with enough intelligence, courage, and bravado to bring back riches, resources, or land. Around this time, one such explorer, named Christopher Columbus, began pleading with a handful of monarchies for funding of his new, daring voyage; he was going to sail west into the open ocean and reach India exponentially quicker than others who had sailed around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa. In 1491, he managed to convince the Spanish monarchy of his logic, and set sail in 1492 from …show more content…
His rationale for the westward excursion was based upon his belief that the world was actually thousands of miles smaller in circumference than many explorers, scientists, and mathematicians had agreed upon (Mach), as a result of it’s being pear-shaped. He used these outdated numbers to formulate his argument, one that most people of power ultimately discredited. It was already common knowledge that the earth was spherical, and most royal courts hired people to confirm Columbus’s numbers, but found them to be inaccurate. However, the rulers of Spain had, in fact, been looking for an advantage in the world of trade, and had deliberated upon Columbus’s endeavor on several occasions before (“According to the agreement”). They were interested, but had very little faith that he would return from such an unprecedented campaign. Not quite willing to risk their money on an operation which might utterly fail, they let Columbus go with the assurance that they would reconvene a year later to further discuss the topic. While the royal court in Spain contemplated his proposition, Columbus reached out to the Portuguese king once more. He was invited to the court, but when he arrived, Bartolomeu Dias, a Portuguese explorer previously hired by king John II, had returned from his own quest (“Bartolomeu Dias”). The Portuguese royal court no longer required Columbus’s vow of fame and fortune, and he was left to his previous task of acquiring payment. He intended to make an appeal to the French court, but the Spanish king, Ferdinand, had been quick to reach out to the explorer, and accepted his proposal before he reached France. This was most likely due to a fear that another nation might benefit from Columbus’s findings rather than
There were arguments whether Christopher Columbus was a hero or a villain if he truly discovered land for the first time. Columbus wrote in his journal from August 1492 all the way through October 1492 that took place in Spain. Throughout his writings he mentions “the king” as if it was his
Another misconception of Christopher Columbus was that he believed that if they were friendly to the native people it was going to be easy to manipulate them. Christopher Columbus thought that the native people would convert to Christianity. However, the native people didn’t nearly have a religion, but they already had beliefs that they weren’t
As the years have gone by, more information regarding the voyages of Christopher Columbus have become more known to man. Things such as genocide, rape, and torture have begun to the question the celebrations of Christopher Columbus. University of Georgia geographer, Louis De Vorsey states how rapid Columbus changed the world. De Vorsey observed how Columbus’s voyages began a progression for conquistadors that led to the decline and eventual termination of the Aztec and Inca civilizations. To add on, Latin American historian, Dauril Alden of the University of Washington reasoned that the Europeans had no intentions of hurting the native people, and that their deaths were inconvenient.
Thereupon the Columbian Exchange, silver took the global marketplace by storm. Exported from mines in Spanish America and Japan, said silver was imported into China for coveted goods such as silk, perfume, and porcelain. This precious metal influenced the world insofar as having both the Chinese and the Europeans seeing it profitable enough to warrant inflation, with the latter rendering it necessary for the Native American peoples to be enslaved. Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was well aware that the earth was round, not flat, and as such he sought after direct passage into Asia, free from Muslim control. But when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, he instead landed in the New World.
There is a notable change in his tone as he writes of what has become of his discovery. He explains with great sadness “of Espanola, Paria, and the other lands, I never think without weeping. I believed that their example would have been to the profit of others; on the contrary, they are in an exhausted state” (Columbus 36). From this passage, he shows that it was not his intention to rape and pillage the land. When he says, “let him who brought them to this state come now with the remedy if he can or if he knows it” (Columbus 37).
Columbus was not satisfied though. He wanted to sail, so he set off for Ireland and Iceland with the merchant marine in 1477. Columbus continued to sail and trade, traveling down West Africa and learning about Portuguese navigation. In 1484, Columbus asked King John II for aid in crossing the Atlantic, but he was denied. He refused to give up, though.
The idea of such a voyage was drastic because no one at those times knew how big the world really was. No one recognized how far it would be, or how long it would take to get to the other side of the world. Scholars had presented several different ideas about how long the world was. In the end, it turned out that they all had underestimated the Earth’s size, believing it to be much smaller than it
5. One early and subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous peoples was money and land. Columbus got Spain to finance an expedition to the lands, the wealth; he expected would be in the Indies and Asia (gold and spices). In exchange for gold and spices, Spain “promised Columbus 10 percent of the profits, governorship over new-found lands, and the fame that would go with a new title: Admiral of the Ocean Sea.” Columbus wanted this fame and money and he forced these indigenous people of these new lands to serve him and bring all the gold to him, and if they did there would be great consequences.
From a young age, we are all taught about Christopher Columbus. Everybody remembers the little rhyme from in first grade, “In fourteen-hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” But his true goal was not to find a new world, but to sail west to in order to find Asia. During his first voyage, he landed in what is now known as San Salvador, and continued to explore Hispaniola and even Cuba. Columbus truly believed he had found west Asia, but it took him until his third voyage to question whether or not it was truly Asia or if it was the New World.
(Medieval Sourcebook: Christopher Columbus: Extracts from Journal, Paragraph 1) From this we can clearly see all he had to gain from this
Columbus had to ask for money for his voyage, he asked lots of people who had extra cash and finally someone agreed. Queen Isabella, she gave him three ships which were the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria as well as ninety sailors. He later wrote a letter to the King of Spain on his voyage back from America about his “discoveries” surprisingly, not asking for money. “I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance.”
Columbus is not depicted as a heroic explorer, like he was thought to be, but more like an arrogant man. The humor comes with how Columbus is presented in this story. He is described as being “a man in silly clothes” (295) which leads to the assumption that Thomas King is trying to make fun of this historical hero. From the First Nations point of view, this weird European is nothing they had ever seen and therefore is bizarre to them. Columbus is unimpressed with the land that he has “discovered” and it more interested in the people he can bring back to Spain and sell.
Have you ever met someone who was not who you thought they were? This has been happening throughout history. "America's Founder" Christopher Columbus is portrayed as a hero in history books but new studies have shown a different side of Christopher. Due to this evidence I believe that Columbus day should be revoked.
Many European explorers wanted to become wealthier in their travels. This is shown in Letter of Christopher Columbus to Luis de Sant Angel, where the text states, “I can give them as much gold, spices, cotton, and as many Indian slaves as they choose to send for.” Christopher Columbus is requesting that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella fund his journey. He promises to make them rich in return. This demonstrates how explorers, like Columbus, were seeking gold and other treasures when they began exploring.
Eventually Columbus got all of the ships and money that he needed for his first voyage from Spain’s Queen Isabella. Later on, he had reached the opportunity to achieve his main goal that was caused by selfishness, he wanted to become rich. Queen Isabella was also just as selfish as Columbus was. The only reason that