Columbus's brutality, slavery, and the Spanish justification for colonization

Columbus in Retrospect

What's your gut reaction to the reading?

My gut reaction to the reading is that it confirms the other literature detailing the brutality with which Western "explorers" actually established their respective place in European history. The historical narrative that regards them as heroic figures to be celebrated on the anniversaries of their birthdays or of their accomplishments obviously completely ignores the extent to which they would have been considered murderous genocidal villains by contemporary values and ethical standards of human conduct.

What was Columbus' background, his motivation for wanting to pursue finding a western route to the Indies and his ideology regarding non-European

4. How did Spain explain the purpose of the Encomienda system?

According to their view, the Indians were to be rightfully Christianized by Spanish forces. Since they resisted their efforts, the Encomienda suggested that enslavement was a tool necessitated to overcome the Indians' reluctance to work and their "laziness." Their enslavement into forced labor was a means of imposing order on them and of disciplining them as part of the duty of the Spanish to motivate the Indians to convert to Christianity.

5. How did the Spanish colonists and the King respond to Montesinos' critique of their treatment of the Indians? Why did the King have this reaction?

The Spanish colonists and the King responded that the Indians had a natural obligation and duty to accept their Christian teachings. In the absence of their fulfillment of this duty, the Spanish had the right to compel the Christianizing of the Indians, by force if necessary.

6. Explain the function of the Requerimiento in theory compared to its function in practice.

In principle, the Requerimiento was intended to give the Indians an opportunity to accept the superiority and authority of the Church and the Spanish Crown before any hostile action could be rightfully launched against them. In practice, the Spanish captains virtually ignored the requirement, at least in so far as implementing it in good faith or in any manner in which it interfered with hostile conquest.