While on Sea he discovered islands and communicated with people that didn’t speak his language. Columbus went to a few different islands but the first couple he gave the name of the blessed Saviour. When at sea he had taken a few Indians by force and tried to make them learn our language and communicate to Columbus and his people what they knew about respecting the country. Columbus stated that he will give the people on the islands as much gold as they need, a great quantity of spices, cotton, and mastic. He also promised rhubarb and many sorts of drugs.…
The tribal memoir, Bad Indians by Deborah Miranda is an intricately written body of work that recounts the social and historical story of an entire peoples. The memoir’s use of several different mediums assists in exposing all aspects of Indian life including periods of subjugation through missionization and secularization. The period labeled as “Reinvention” focuses deeply on the wave of immense interest in the study of Indian culture by white men. Miranda includes in this period a section titled “Gonaway Tribe: Field Notes” which recounts the effort of ethnologist, J. P. Harrington to obtain the Indian language through the use of native informants. The use of the term “field notes” implies that the subjects being studied are only samples…
Columbus was responsible for the deaths of millions of Native American men, women, and children. Babies were taken from their mothers. The Spaniards would grasp the baby by their legs and throw “them headfirst against the crags” (Las Casas 9). Other infants would be thrown “into the rivers” (Las Casas 9). 500 Indians were selected to be sent to Spain since Columbus didn’t have enough gold to “impress the King and Queen and his Spanish financiers” (Zinn 13).…
Chapter 1 of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States discusses the lives of natives of the Americas both prior to and after the arrival of European explorers, and includes a statement by the author on writing history. To begin, Christopher Columbus’s voyages to the Americas are covered heavily in the chapter, and I consider these themes regarding him to be the most important: • “The information that Columbus wanted most was: Where is the gold? He had persuaded the king and queen of Spain to finance an expedition to the lands, the wealth he expected would be on the other side of the Atlantic—the Indies and Asia, gold and spices” (Zinn 2) and “In addition for bringing back gold and spices, they promised Columbus 10 percent of the profits, governorship over newfound lands, and the fame that would go with a new title: Admiral of the Ocean Sea” (2). These passages explain Christopher Columbus’s motivation for setting sail for his first trip, which was acquiring rare goods to take back to Spain for wealth and…
There are two main themes that exist throughout Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton’s The Squatter and the Don. Those two main themes are introduced as ownership by means of litigation and selfish love. This particular novel takes place long after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was issued, which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848. The Squatter and the Don focuses on the treatment of Californios stemming from the California Land Act of 1851 and the railroad monopoly throughout California from 1872 until 1885. The novel revolves around the Alamar family, Californios that own a huge ranch in San Diego, and the Darrell family, who are Anglo-Americans that are squatting on the Alamar…
The New World had many encounters, but two remarkable interactions with natives and explorers are that of Christopher Columbus and Hernando Cortes. Christopher Columbus was on orders from the King of Spain to travel a new route to find India and introduce them to a new religion. In 1492, Columbus reached what he thought was India; however, he was mistaken so now it is known as the West Indies because of this belief. At the beginning of the 16th century, Cortes set sail for Meso-America also for Spain and now the area he explored is now known as Mexico. Although the native groups that these famous explorers encountered are very diverse, there are similarities in their interactions with the explorers.…
“Privileges and Prerogatives Granted by Their Catholic Majesties to Christopher Columbus” was written April 30th, 1492 by John Coloma, The secretary to the King and Queen of Spain . This document was a letter written to Christopher Columbus to describe to him what he can do when he set sail. This document was created in 15th century Spain and was used to create Columbus’ powers and significance when sailing across the sea towards “Asia.” What this document essentially meant was that Columbus was given the right to do almost anything he desired and stated “that you be our Admiral, Vice-Roy, and Governour in them, and that for the future, you may call and stile yourself, D. Christopher Columbus, and that your sons and successors in the said employment,…
Columbus had told the Crown upon his return to Europe from the New World that he had found little gold or precious commodities for which to trade, therefore he was counting on selling native slaves to make his voyages lucrative. The King and Queen of Spain allowed a third trip with the goal to resupply the colonists and continue the search for the new trade route to the Orient. A nobleman arriving in the world with his wife could expect to be given 80 natives slaves, a soldier could expect 60. Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus, a Governor would authorize slaving raids on neighboring islands. The colonists were almost oblivious to the fact that a large number of slaves were living in misery and dying, suffering from new diseases, struggling with language and culture.…
Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy and showed an early interest in seafaring (Document A). Being that he was religious, Columbus believed himself “destined to advance the coming of the new millennium,” a belief which he held until his death (Document A). One trait Columbus exhibited was perseverance, which he showed by not allowing the rejection of his proposal from the Portuguese, and then proceeding to ask the Spaniards for their support, which he did eventually get. When Columbus set sail in 1492, he did not know if he would ever return to Spain, demonstrating extreme bravery and a true sense of…
Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages (New York:Viking Penguin , 2011) 423 pp. Christopher Columbus, the man who “discovered” America is one of the most controversial people in world history. With his adventurous self and crew, they arrived on numerous amount of islands which determines Columbus as a brave and so-called heroic explorer. Laurence Bergreen, a historian and biographer wrote,“Columbus: The Four Voyages” which analyzed Columbus’s actions and decisions during his travels. Turns out Columbus isn’t as heroic, courageous and honorable as everyone thought.…
At the start of the 2015-2016 school year, Chiitaanibah Johnson, a sophomore student at California State University, was sitting in her U.S. History class when the professor allegedly denied that the term genocide should be used to encompass the tragedies that were brought upon the Native Americans. Johnson being of Navajo and Maidu descent especially took offense and decided that in the next class she would bring research to refute his claim. In the next class, the debate between Johnson and her professor became so heated that the professor expelled Johnson from his class. This story made headlines, however, there is still the unanswered question: Should what happened to the Native Americans be considered genocide?…
Eliana Ritt Honorable or Heinous? Honorable, historical, and humble: these are all words that can be used to describe the Native Americans and their rich and fascinating culture. When we talk about Native Americans, we often talk about their struggles throughout history. Recently, there has been a new struggle with the Native Americans involving controversy of whether or not the mascots used for sports teams are offensive.…
Native Americans Imagine aliens from another planet landing on earth. Imagine if the people of the land accepted them and taught them how to survive on earth, only for the aliens to take away the land. In “Native Americans: Contact and Conflict,” Native Americans wrote down their experiences, letting the reader get a different perspective on events and occurrences that the reader would not get from reading white colonist papers. The writings provide the viewer with understanding and knowledge of Indian beliefs, culture, and feelings towards the white immigrants. At the beginning Indians welcomed the English with hospitality.…
However, after realizing the valuable profit of enslaving Native Americans, more indigenous groups were forced to succumb to this dehumanizing labor. Explorer, Christopher Columbus, boasted about the potential of wealth and economic benefits to his Spanish monarchs (Ojibwa). Overall, Europeans enslaved Native Americans that were war captives, eventually resulting in an increase of economic potential and overall…
Spain in the Americas Review In the Article “Columbus-Hero or Villain?” by Felipe Fernandez- Armesto, the author gives his readers the understanding of the accomplishments Christopher Columbus achieved in life, for example discovering the Americas, but also provides us, by going into depth on Columbus life and his beliefs towards slavery and other matters. In the article the author asks the reader one important question, was Columbus a hero or was he a villain? To help us choose what Columbus was, the author gives us the autobiography of Columbus's life by the discovery he made and the way Columbus viewed himself and others. After reading the article the audience might portray that Columbus was trickster, who viewed himself very highly and was able to lead other individuals to believe that he was divine. Armesto shows us this in the article where he writes “ His plan for an atlantic crossing “God revealed to me by his manifest hand”.…