During the 15th and 16th centuries, leaders of several European nations sponsored expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find great wealth to return with and vast areas of undiscovered land. The earliest participants in this “Age of Discovery” are the Portuguese. Starting in about the 1420s, small Portuguese ships known as caravels zipped along the African coast. These ships often carried spices, gold, slaves and other goods from Asia and Africa to Europe.
The Age of Exploration developed alongside the Renaissance. Both periods in Western history created a transitional period between the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Competition between European empires, such as Spain and England, fueled the evolution and advancement of overseas exploration. Motivated by religion, profit, and power, the size and influence of European empires during this period expanded greatly. The effects of exploration were not only felt abroad but also within the geographic confines of Europe itself. The economic, political, and cultural effects of Europe’s beginning stages of global exploration impacted the long- term development of both European society and the entire world.
By the end of the 15th century, it was nearly impossible to get from Asia to Europe by land. The route was long and vigorous, and encounters with unwelcoming armies were difficult to avoid. After previous tries, the Portuguese explorers set sail to refrain for any other conflicts on land. The explorers sailed down along the West African coast and around the Cape of Good Hope. But Columbus had a different idea; to sail west across the Atlantic instead of around the entire continent of Africa. In 1484, Columbus sailed west to propose his goals of reaching the East, to the King of Portugal. The Portuguese had already funded voyages in attempt to reach the same destination, so they denied Columbus financial support for his voyage. In Columbus’s last attempt to get support, he went to Spain and gained a following with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella after two years. Columbus wanted fame and fortune. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted the same, and along with this, came the opportunity to spread Catholicism to lands across the globe. However, it wasn’t until six years after, that Columbus got the money and crew to set out on his venture.
Columbus’s logic was sound, but his math was faulty. He argued that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than pervious voyagers believed it was. He believed that the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be not only possible but relatively easy. Although, Columbus believed that his (mis)calculations would lead to his destination, which could be reached by sailing thousands of miles, west, around the world. As it turned out, those some thousand miles, west, was the distance to the islands of the Western Hemisphere that he encountered. Despite belief, Columbus was not the first person to discover the America’s. The native American peoples had discovered and lived on the land thousands of years before.
Over a period of twelve years Columbus made four voyages. Where he explored many of what we call today as the Caribbean islands; also establishing several colonies. Columbus did not however, set foot on today’s modern day North America but sailed the coasts of Central and South America. When Columbus landed in the New World, he believed that he had reached the Indies; thinking, the people he met were Indians. And although he heard tales of a great ocean farther to the west, he never realized that the lands he had reached belonged to another continent.
The author provides few initial journal entries that Columbus kept of his first voyage and a letter he wrote as he neared the end of that voyage. All describing some of what he had seen and done on the islands. He particularly took account of their character, style of life, and reception of the Europeans. In a letter written back to the King and Queen, Columbus describes “…all go naked, men and women, just as their mothers bring them forth; although some women cover a single place with the leaf of a plant, or a cotton something which they make for that purpose.” The people on these islands are not close to as developed as the Europeans.
Columbus’s attitude toward the native people of the islands affected how he and his men treated them. Columbus believed he had discovered the islands even though there were already people living there. His belief that he had discovered the islands meant that he could claim them for the King and Queen of Spain. Columbus states in his letter to Ferdinand and Isabella that the natives were “very giving of all they had” even “exchanging valuable items for things of little value.” Because of this Columbus and his men were able to trade pieces of broken glass, strap-buckles and other items of little value for more valuable items such as silks, spices, gold and silver. Also, at the time, products that could be grown, like sugar, or animals that could be hunted were an unknown value that later would become super beneficial. He later continues in his letter about how easily it would be for him to become a leader over them. Columbus believes they could easily be made Christians because they appear to have no religion. It was believed that Catholicism and Christianity should be the universal religion and faith among all. Europeans typically viewed the indigenous people as inhuman and the only way to become civilized was through the teachings of Christianity.
Another reason Columbus believes this is because as he states in his letter, that the people of the island did not appear to have any iron or weapons. They were not war-like but were “timid and full of terror”. Columbus’s attitude toward the native people of the islands affected not only how he treated them during his first visit, but also his future plans for the islands and their people. Columbus describes his time spent on the islands positively because he wants the King and Queen to think highly of him when he saw no actual use for the island.
This document does not go into great depth about Columbus and his history but just gives a short summary about his life and his journey to become a voyager. It does provide two examples of letters he wrote and his thoughts about his discoveries. However, the example provided did not show some of the in-depth negative thoughts and actions of Christopher Columbus. The author of the article only gives a positive example of one of the letters written to the royalty while there are many other documents from Columbus that share actions brought on by himself and the Europeans in which today’s society is unacceptable and cruel towards the indigenous people.
Being that Columbus was so impressed with the hard work of these gentle islanders, that he was able to immediately and easily seized their land for Spain. Columbus enslaved them to work in his brutal gold mines. Columbus also supervised the selling of native girls into sexual slavery. There was a continuous cycle of cruelty each time they set sail to the New World.
It is important that we analyze the materials that we obtain in everyday situations, especially in a learning environment. This will help to provide people with anti-bias and anti-stereotype curriculum. Analyzing our materials so that they are anti-bias and anti-stereotype provides a sense of factual historical accounts and teaches us to see things from multiple perspectives. As a result of this, people will view the world in a different way, as well as think critically about things. And through history studies in grade school and middle school, students are taught of the great explorer who discovered America, Christopher Columbus. Tales of his many voyages and the names of his ships the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria are engrained into the minds of children through rhyme and song. Columbus never made it to Asia, nor did he truly discover America and the truth about his cruel actions on the indigenous people is nothing to deserve a day off from work. His “re-discovery,” however, inspired a new era of exploration of the American continents by Europeans. Perhaps his greatest contribution was that his voyages opened an exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas both during and long after his journeys.