224).
The truth about Columbus, Vizenor asserts, is that he was "an untrue concoction, the ruse of his own representation. He is the overstated adventurer, to be sure," and moreover Columbus is the "master of neocolonial celebrations in a constitutional democracy" (Vizenor, 225). The author of this article in the peer-reviewed journal Boundary 2 quotes from the book The Devastation of the Indies (by Bartolome de Las Casas):
"Here those Christians perpetrated their first ravages and oppressions against the native peoples. This was the first land in the New
orld to be destroyed and depopulated by the Christians, and here they began their subjection of the women and children, taking them away from the Indians to use them and ill-use them, eating the food they provided with their sweat and toil" (Vizenor, 226).
In conclusion, the references in this paper clearly make the point that Christopher Columbus was not a hero at all,…...
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Works Cited
Cornwell, Mark, Quinault, Roland, and Reid, Brian Holden. "Editorial." History. 77.249 (1992):
Christopher Columbus, Mariner by S. Morison.
Samuel Morison turned a personal life interest into a passion as he studied the life and journeys of Christopher Columbus. Morison believed that given the expedition which Columbus undertook, and the misinformation on which he based his journey that Columbus qualifies as one of the greatest explorers and sailors of all time (Morison, p. 4). hile the modern view of Columbus has been rewritten and disfigured by multi-culturalists into that of a greedy, slave mongering tyrannical despot, I agree that Christopher Columbus' journey, and his exploits arose from his deep convictions, and these actions qualify him as one of the greatest explorers of all time. His discovery of a new continent opened the doors to an entirely new world from which the entire globe still benefits over five centuries later.
The records of Genoa indicate that Christopher Columbus was the son of Domenico Colombo and Suzanna…...
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Works Cited
Morison, Samuel e. 1942. Christopher Columbus, Mariner. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
Cristoforo Colombo
Europeans were interested in exploration before Columbus' journey because they were eager to establish new trade routes. Over the preceding centuries, sophisticated trade routes had developed around the world. There was the Silk oad that took goods between China and Europe. The Middle East was linked with India, Southeast Asia and with the east coast of Africa. However, because of the failure of Christians to dominate the Middle East in the Crusades, Muslim lands were often hostile to European traders. This spurred exploration in search of new trade routes, and new resources. Europeans had been exposed to many Eastern goods -- silk and spices were in particular demand -- but the political dimensions of long-distance trade made the acquisition of Eastern goods an uncertain proposition. One of the major reasons for exploration was the emerging idea that the world was round and therefore by sailing westward across the Atlantic,…...
When Christopher Columbus set foot on Hispaniola, he encountered a civilization entirely different from his own. Although Columbus seems to be in awe and even respectful of the indigenous people, he is ultimately arrogant and ignorant in the assumption that converting to Christianity would make their lives better. In fact, Columbus’s statements are ironic given he seems to admire the generosity, kindness, and trusting nature of the people while simultaneously wanting them to become more like him and other Europeans. Although these excerpts of Columbus’s diary do not indicate any use of force, he can still be considered a conqueror in his patronizing attitude towards other people. Because Columbus conquers the spirit of the people, taking advantage of their kindness and trust, he can be considered a conqueror of the New World even if he did not use military force in Hispaniola.
Conquering usually connotes the use of force or military…...
legend of Christopher Columbus has lasted for five decades and he still remains a very controversial and mysterious figure who has been described severally as one of the world's greatest mariners of all times, a mystic, a visionary genius, an inexperienced entrepreneur, an unsuccessful administrator, and a wicked and selfish imperialist[footnoteRef:1]. He was a master admiral and navigator of Italian origin whose four main transatlantic voyages of 1492-1493, 1493-1496, 1498-1500 and 1502-1503, led to the advent of European exploration, exploitation, and subsequent colonization of Americans. For long, he is known as the discoverer of what is now known as the new world, though some Vikings like Leif Eriksson visited North America about five centuries before this time.[footnoteRef:2] [1: Library Congress, "1492: An Ongoing Voyage," Library Congress, March 2016, www.loc.gov] [2: Valerie, I. J. Flint, "Christopher Columbus; Italian explorer," ENCYCLOPAEDIA RITANNICA, March 2016, www.britannica.com]
Christopher Columbus, in the company of his…...
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Bibliography
BBC. "Ethics and Slavery." BBC. 2014. www.bbc.co.uk.
Thus, Columbus was granted three ships, and King and Queen of Spain became Columbus' patrons in this voyage.
Queen Isabella was a smart woman, having decided side by side with Ferdinand in different matters about Spain, concerning internal affairs and inter-European countries negotiations. This established the strong position, and not just the supporting role she played to her husband. Even with doubts and little knowledge about Columbus, she stood by her word and commitment to Columbus.
Perhaps because of her belief, and maybe her intuition proved her right, Columbus was able to come back and show the evidences of rich new lands he was able to discover, despite the navigational errors he committed. The faith she had is enough to guide Columbus in his journey way home.
ibliography
About Isabella I of Spain. About.com. 19 December 2006. http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/medrenqueens/p/p_isabella_i.htm
Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Empire. European Voyages of Exploration. 19 December 2006. http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/columbus.html...
Irving's book "A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus" cannot be considered as an adequate authentic source because he put the book together speedily and impulsively, in the process sacrificing the deliberation needed for creating an accurate, reliable, and original work, as preferred by historians. Irving was even persuaded from time to time, perhaps to recompense for the impracticality of undertaking comprehensive and far-reaching research, to fully let his thoughts wander. As a consequence, perhaps, he reenacts imaginative scenes, not just from what the prevailing account and records evidently indicated had happened, but from what an acquaintance and understanding of the period of discovery directed Irving to believe might have happened (Hedges, 1956). On the other hand, the sources used by Irving for his book project can be deemed adequate. Alexander Everett, the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States to Spain at the time summoned Irving to…...
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.
In contrast, Columbus's second letter addressed to the King and Queen of Spain sometime in 1493 is much more to the point and lacks any and all references to Columbus's highly subjective tone of voice regarding the lands and the possible riches they might hold. For example, Columbus mentions that the island of Espanola contains land "safer and better for farming and trading," a sign that Columbus is now only focusing his tone on…...
This essay attempts to answer the question, "Who was Columbus?" through a comparative analysis of documents discussing the historical context in which Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the "New World" (or Americas) were analyzed. The following discussion argues that Columbus is portrayed differently by different sectors of the society, but is primarily elucidated by members of the scholarly community of early American history. The documents discussed in this paper are Timothy Foote's "Where Columbus Was Coming From" and Joel Achenbach's "Debating Columbus in a New World."
Foote's historical analysis puts Columbus' character in the context of socio-historical changes and dynamics happening in Europe during his (Columbus') time. The author puts into background the development of the Renaissance period and the Dark Ages, two vital events in the history of Western civilization that ultimately determined the kind of society European nations are during these periods.
This can be seen in the Catholics who were so tightly bound to the Vatican in Rome (17). The textbook points out that this wasn't just the case for Catholics, the Protestants in the New orld were also closely tied to their Protestant religion in England.
The relationship that the colonists had with the Native Americans was an important one because the European colonists needed the Native Americans to help them build their New orld; in short, the Europeans needed the Indian workforce (Ruckman 17). Sadly, Indians became slaves who were bought and sold, or they were forced (indentured) workers (17). Ruckman notes that the colonists needed major work done and the Indian workforce was not enough to meet the demands of a growing society, which is why slaves for Africa were being imported -- roughly beginning around the year 1502 (17).
Spain came to the New orld in 1492 (the…...
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Works Cited
Ruckman, FIRST NAME. NAME of TEXTBOOK. PLACE, PUBLISHER, DATE.
Ivan Van Sertima's They Came Before Columbus: Critical eview
Author Biography
Born in a small village in Guyana South America in 1935, Ivan Van Sertima has established himself as an unrelenting scholar in the field of African history (ashidi, 2003). Educated at London University Van Sertima is now considered a literary critic, anthropologist and linguist (ashidi, 2003). Among his better known works include "They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America." This work follows the trail of the African as Sertima puts it through "every corner of the new world" and attempts to "set the record straight" regarding African presence in Ancient America (ashidi, 2003). His ideas in fact help reshape or reconstruct the place African's hold in world history, suggesting that Africans have more influence than one might initially believe. Many refer to They Came Before Columbus as a "groundbreaking, historical work an literary hallmark" with ideas and themes…...
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References
Amin, Talib El, Davis, Willie and Eure-Harris, Curlada. "Prof. Van Sertima sets record straight during Lansing visit." 1999 -- November. 11, October 2005:
Khpera, S. (2001 -- Jan). "They came before Columbus." New African, 1: 16.
Rashidi, Runoko. "A tribute to Ivan Van Sertima." Global African Presence, April 13
For decades, school children have been taught the misinformation that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. As consciousness develops and society becomes more aware of the realities of history, it becomes less and less acceptable to celebrate false heroes like corrupt politicians, confederate generals and cruel explorers. Christopher Columbus fits the last category. A close examination of history demonstrates that he brought much despair and horrors to indigenous people near the Americas. The fact that The United States still has a day in his honor is bizarre and absurd. This essay will discuss the numerous compelling reasons why Columbus Day should be abolished, and ideally replaced with something that appropriately honors indigenous people.
One of the most compelling reasons to abolish Columbus Day was the fact that Christopher Columbus was a non-American, non-native, who never actually touched any of the soil of the continental United States. It might even be accurate to say…...
Columbus -- Discovery or Invasion?
The lens through which world events are viewed is pivotal to one's immediate perspective and to later interpretations of circumstance. The activities of Christopher Columbus have point and counterpoint points-of-view that naturally reflect both Native American and European (and American) perspectives. Inarguably, the first epic voyage accomplished by Columbus revealed territories and cultures that differed starkly from the European experience. Framed in this way, Columbus made a discovery, an event that people naturally tend to celebrate -- within the framework of their own society. However, implicit in the word discovery is that of a first encounter or an accomplishment, absent any previous or similar activity. Referring to Columbus' discovery of a new land is an absolute rejection of global context. Rather, when Columbus' activities are viewed from a global perspective, the consequences of Columbus' journey to new lands were the result of an invasion, not a…...
gamut of subjects related to American history. The underlying themes of the course included race, class, gender, and power. Books such as Lies My Teacher Told Me and Zinn's People's History of the United States present a more rounded overview and analysis of historical events than what is typically offered in public school textbooks or in popular media. Modern resources ranging from newspaper and magazine articles to film and documentary productions help to round out the student's understanding of American history. The course shows that history is written by the victors, which paints a skewed and heavily biased version of events. The time has come to revise American history textbooks with a more truthful portrayal of how historical events unfolded. History has shaped, and his shaped by, sociological factors like race, class, gender, and power.
Race remains one of the most important topics in American history, culture, society, and identity.…...
Collision of Two Worlds
Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortes and Bernal Diaz all wrote very positive and glowing reports about the New World, which seem to have been in conflict with some of the harsh realities that they certainly encountered when they came to the New World. However, the fact that their glowing reports omitted some of the harsher aspects of their "discoveries" does not imply that any of these men were being dishonest. On the contrary, what it does do is highlight the role that these men played in their respective positions. They were not explorers, though they have come to be known as explorers to modern people. Instead, these men were each tasked to complete very specific tasks for the governments for whom they worked. Columbus was given the task of finding an overseas trade route with the East. Cortes went to discover the wealth of the Aztec empire. Diaz…...
History is the study of the past, including events, people, and societies from before the present time. It is important to study history because it helps us to understand how the world we live in today came to be. By learning about past events and their impact, we can make more informed decisions about the present and the future.
Christopher Columbus, Native Americans, the Pilgrims, and slavery are all important topics in American history. However, the way these topics have been portrayed in history textbooks and classrooms has often been biased and incomplete. Historians like Howard Zinn and James Loewen have....
1. The tobacco commodity played a significant role in shaping economic and social landscapes from the 1500s to the 1800s. Introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century, tobacco quickly became a highly sought-after product that fueled trade between the Old and New Worlds. As demand for tobacco grew, so did the need for labor to cultivate and harvest it, leading to the rise of the transatlantic slave trade. The economic value of tobacco also had far-reaching social impacts, influencing patterns of settlement, labor systems, and interactions between different cultures.
1. The period from the 1500s to the 1800s witnessed the rise of tobacco as a pivotal commodity that not only transformed economic landscapes but also deeply influenced social structures across continents. Originating in the Americas, tobacco's journey from a native plant to a global economic force encapsulates the era's colonial ambitions, trade networks, and the socio-economic shifts that followed. This essay explores how tobacco shaped economies, altered labor systems, and redefined social norms, setting the stage for a comprehensive analysis of its multifaceted impact during these centuries.
2. In the early 1500s, tobacco was primarily used by indigenous peoples of....
The tobacco commodity, from the 1500s through the 1800s, played a pivotal role in shaping societies across the globe. Its influence was profound, affecting economic structures, social hierarchies, and cultural practices. Initially, tobacco was a luxury item, introduced to Europe by explorers like Christopher Columbus, and it quickly became a symbol of wealth and status. This led to the establishment of tobacco plantations, particularly in the Americas, which not only transformed the landscape but also the labor systems. The demand for tobacco spurred the growth of the transatlantic slave trade, as the labor-intensive nature of tobacco cultivation necessitated a large....
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