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... for many years. He deceived his sovereigns so as to ensure that the financial arrangements that he required for his future voyages would continue. Christianity quickly became an objective for Columbus as to gain recognition and continuing support from the Church in Spain for further voyages. Once he realised that the native people believed that he and his crew were gods, therefore Columbus felt it would be easy to convert them to Christianity. Las Casas quoted Columbus as saying these people have no religious beliefs.
They are gentle and do not know what evil is. And they are credulous and aware that there is a God in heaven and that they are convinced that this where we are from. Columbus also wrote in his journal explaining to the Monarch of these occurrences and that they should endeavor to convert the natives for the purpose of obtaining great riches for the people of Spain. Your Highnesses ought to resolve to make them Christians: So that in a short time you will end up having converted to our Holy Faith a multitude of peoples and acquiring large dominions and great riches and all their people for Spain. Although the journal entries found in Columbus log did reveal that he had found people to convert they were not in the amount that he had suggested to his sovereigns. Columbus again embellishes the truth so as to ensure that the sovereigns believe that his is following his promise, which was to find huge numbers of potential converts.
Through the introduction of Christianity and the revelations by Columbus, albeit embellished revelations, that there were large quantities of commodities upon the newly discovered island, encouraged more voyages to the area which in turn brought colonisation to the islands. Columbus had captured several natives, so that the language could be interpreted so that anyone that followed his voyage would be able to at least communicate through language. But upon arrival in the Empire it soon became apparent that these natives would make good servants as they appeared willing to obey and follow commands. Through Columbus bringing these few natives to the Empire made it apparent that there were many more natives available to do the menial tasks within the empire.
These tasks were in the form of labourers working in gold mines and house servants for the elite. The colonisation of the islands helped to destroy the natives and their pre-discovery lifestyles. They were no longer free to wonder the islands and trade with foreigners who happened upon their shores. They now become subjects and commodities of the Spanish Empire. Although slavery was not one of Columbus objectives on his first voyage, it did become an objective on consecutive voyages and thus he encouraged and maintained slavery within the Spanish empire. Columbus wrote during his second voyage the thought has occurred to us that the greater the number that are sent over to Spain.
the Caribs are wild, fit for work, well proportioned and very intelligent, and who will be better than any other kinds of slaves Even though this quote is from Columbus second voyage it reveals the mind set behind many of his objectives and what the consequences of his actions were to be. It also reveals the mind set that was behind many of his objectives, and it also shows us how much pressure was placed upon these early explorers to deliver the promises they made to gain financial backings for their voyages. They had to deliver their required shipments if they were to maintain status within the society, or to receive backing for further voyages. There can be little question that Columbus' first voyage was inspired by Marco Polo's description of the riches of the Far East, as well as the need to spread Christianity throughout the world. Although Columbus had navigational knowledge and skills, he had a pre-conceived notion that the world in which he sailed was much smaller than the world which appeared on paper.
Therefore his discovery of the Indies as far as he was aware was the land of Asia, not the exact part that Marco Polo described but nonetheless Asia. Although it is said that he embellished his discoveries when reporting back to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, can we truly believe all that is written about Columbus? It is well documented that Columbus' log disappeared soon after its presentation to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and that the only apparent copy is a translation by Bartolome de Las Casas, a friar. Due to this translation, much of the language and descriptions used by Columbus may have become lost and or misinterpreted. Through Columbus discoveries of new lands and new people, he opened up further areas of trade and conquest. Through conquest, either by Christianity or Colonisation, Columbus devastated the people on these newly discovered lands.
This devastation occurred because the newcomers interfered and destroyed the natives traditional lands and lifestyles. Devastation was also achieved through the introduction of Christianity and slavery. Columbus enslaved the native population, either by working in the gold mines that were founded after his first voyage or by enslaving them to work for the Spanish empire. For all of Columbus trials and tribulations in discovering the New World, all he truly desired was recognition from his king and queen, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Bibliography Secondary Sources Dor-Ner, Zvi. Columbus and the Age of Discovery.
London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Kirkpatrick, F. A. The Spanish Conquistadores. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1963. King, Hans.
Columbus: His Enterprise, Exploding the Myth. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1991. Morison, Samuel Eliot. Admiral of the Sea, A Life of Christopher Columbus.
Boston, Toronto & London: Little, Brown and Company, 1970. Phillips, William D. The Worlds of Christopher Columbus. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America, The Question of the Other. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999. Wilford, John Noble. The Mysterious History of Columbus, An Exploration of the Man, the Myth, The Legacy. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1991. Primary Sources Robert H, Fun. The Log of Christopher Columbus. Maine: International Marine Publishing Company, 1987.
WWW Sources Thomas C Trade, Christopher Columbus. < web >, (20 March. 2005).
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