Columbus's two letters regarding his voyages

Columbus Letters

THE LETTERS of COLUMBUS on HIS VOYAGES

Between 1492 and 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote two important letters pertaining to what he had discovered in the "New World" and although Columbus at first thought he had landed somewhere in the East Indies, in truth, he had accidentally "discovered" what is now known as the Bahama Islands and a part of Cuba and soon thereafter established "a Spanish settlement on the coast of what is now the island of Haiti" or Santo Domingo ("Christopher Columbus," 2004, Internet). Certainly, the two surviving letters which Columbus wrote in 1492 (the Letter to Santangel) and 1493 (the Letter to the Monarchs, i.e., King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella) share many similarities, but when compared to each other, the tone and diction of the first letter to Santangel is filled with much hope, eagerness and anticipation, while the second letter to the Spanish monarchs is quite brief and somewhat cut and dried, meaning that Columbus only wrote about issues "which he wished to emphasize" in order to "ensure that his was the version of events which first caught" the attention of the King and Queen of Spain who had initially provided the funds for Columbus's great voyage of discovery in 1492 (Ife, 2005, Internet).

In his Letter to Santangel, published in Spain in April of 1493, Columbus opens with a tone of great encouragement for his friend and confidant Santangel:

Believing that you will take pleasure in hearing of the great success... granted me in my voyage...I found many islands thickly peopled, all of which I took possession without resistance... The lands are high and there are many lofty mountains... covered with trees... In the interior, there are many mines of metals... its... plains and meadows and fields are so beautiful and rich for planting...and rearing cattle...the number and size... Of the rivers, many of them bearing gold, surpass anything that would be believed by one who has not seen them" (Doak, 2005, 56).

Obviously, with these words Columbus is relating that the "New World" is rich with life and overabundant with everything needed to establish permanent Spanish settlements, all under the sovereignty of the King and Queen of Spain. The key word in this passage is "pleasure" which indicates that Columbus's tone of voice is one of excitement and unbounded delight, due to "discovering" the many islands during his first voyage in 1492 which he was convinced held untold treasures like gold and silver which would help fill the coffers of the Spanish monarchy, thus guaranteeing that Spain would rule and dominate not only the lands but also the people by converting them to Christianity.