Columbus Arrival In The Americas Analysis

Decent Essays
Considering that there are no recorded and/or created images of Columbus's arrival in the Americas, not much is known about the encounter. What really happened at that time? The exact imagery of this time is lost forever, unfortunately. However, many artists have taken to creating their own interpretation of the first initial meeting between Columbus and his men and the natives to the Americas. In the first image presented in the reading the artist focused on showcasing the point of view belonging to the aboriginal people of the Americas rather than Columbus's as the more dominant one. The artwork shows Columbus and his men arriving in enormous ships, covered in armor on the shores of a beach, which is most presumably in the Americas. The men are shown to be raising crosses into the soil and asserting their dominance other the lands natives. …show more content…
Here, he is depicted hold a large staff of some sort with a blade at the top in front of the native people. As well, his sides are flanked by men who are armoured and carrying weapons themselves. As depicted in the image, the aboriginal people are for the most part naked, they are handing over various gifts towards Columbus. They are shown to be more friendly and welcoming to the new settlers, while the settlers themselves are not returning the favour. In the back of the image some of the aboriginal men are running away in terror from the explorers. For the most part it seems that the aboriginals are prepared to share their land and resources, while Columbus and his people are more focused on taking full control of

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Jamestown Fiasco Summary

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Columbus was viewed as the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" because he discovered that there was another world besides the one he lived in. It was a great time in history but for the Native Americans it was the beginning to an end. European and Indian confrontation were not simple although each colony treated Native American differently they were all put into tribes. Europeans viewed Native Americans as savages and Native American viewed European as civilized persons based on how they lived. The Indians were amazed by the Europeans weaponry and cloth which led them to invite them into their villages.…

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Write your first paragraph here:Document A is a poem .It was written 1948.The purpose of this document is that Christopher columbus was a good guy .The point of view in this document is that Columbus was a good person . The point of view is shown through how the author uses only positive thoughts to describe him. This point of view is different from others because…it only talks about his heroic side. .…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At first glance, many may be inclined to believe that both Christopher Columbus and Bartolome de Las Casas have similar ideologies and/or world views. At one point they did have the same views. Both were conquistadors, exploring for Spain. Both were slave owners, who treated their slaves horribly and without mercy. However, something happened to Bartolome de Las Casas, he went through a religious revelation and he changed his ways going from a slave owner to what he earned his nickname to be, “Protector of the Indians.”…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Christopher Columbus Dbq

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Columbus wrongfully assumed his trip would take him to Japan, but he found himself in America. However, the exploration and discovery opened a route between the East and the West Hemisphere. Another voyage, lead by Francis Drake, found the largest abundance of silver in the Andes Mountains. Trade of silver currency between Europe and the Americas began after finding the formula to extracting silver from the mountain. Columbus found a route to the Americas, and trade by silver was…

    • 80 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the chapter ‘Forget Columbus’ of the book ‘The Inconvenient Indian’, the author Thomas King writes about his point of view on the forgotten history of the Native Americans. He conveys about the tales made up about the natives and americans engraved in the history to mainly appeal to the white audience. The author starts the chapter by telling how insignificant was the discovery of the land of natives made by Columbus. According to him the only reason why he was given credit and recognized because his story as Columbus sailing the oceans, travelling across with interesting adventures and going through hardships with a letter to the Emperor of Indies by the King and Queen of Spain captured the imagination of the audience and met the expectations…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This was a typical outfit for a Native American during that time period. The chief has long dark hair but, it is mostly covered by his long feathered headpiece. The headdress is a very important part of the outfit and of the Native American culture. Typically it is made of beautiful bird feathers and it is more symbolic than anything else worn within their typical outfit (Shea). In his left hand the chief is holding a pipe that was typically used for smoking during that time period.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Foods Exchanged Between Columbus and the Natives of America According to the documentary, “America Before Columbus,” Christopher Columbus’s exploration in 1492 eventually led to drastic changes for both the Natives of the New World and several European nations as well. Now, the explorers may not have adopted many aspects of the cultures of the Native Americans, because they were viewed as savages by the conquistadors. However, the people of both lands were heavily influenced by the foods that they exchanged during their dealings with each other. For instance, the travelers took turkeys that they found in the Americas and returned to Europe with them.…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When Christopher Columbus came to America in 1492, he carved a description of the Native Americans in a…

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thomas King the author of The Inconvenient Indian, takes a chapter to explain the stories and history surrounding the past relations of Whites and Native Americans by presenting many common conceptions then describing why they are actually misconceptions. The Chapter is named Forget Columbus, the author elaborates by saying his wife told him not to start the book with Columbus but this becomes relevant when he continues to say that everyone believes they know what Columbus did and they revere him for his deeds when no one actually knows him or was able to witness the explorer’s deeds first hand. This is much like the history of conflicts between the United States and Native Americans. Kings then lists famous battles, massacres, and war heroes…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While each of the European nationalities had different viewpoints of the Indians, they shared common points of view on them as well. Each article, written at different time periods, focuses on different aspects of the Indians way of life. In the first article, “Christopher Columbus Recounts His First Encounter with Native People ,1493," he seemed to be quite intrigued by the Indians and their land. He notes how beautiful the mountains and fields are and how superb the land is for planting and building towns. It then goes onto talk about their way of living.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Zinn does a very good job about attacking the reader from a Native American’s perspective. Zinn uses quotes from Columbus’ own journal and describes to the reader what it was like back then. He quotes, “As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.” It is obvious that Columbus must have treated them very badly in order to get what he wanted which we all know was gold. “..…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Columbus Day, observed on the second monday of October, commemorates the foundations of Europe’s presence in the New World and the massive exchange of people, trade, and ideas that have led to what our country is today. It is a reminder of the absolute terror and cruelty the indigenous peoples that had, for the most part, been peacefully living on their land for thousands of years until that point, been subjected to. Christopher Columbus was a man responsible for the decimation of three major civilizations, as well as the ultimate genocide of the indigenous peoples as a whole, one of the largest in human history. Columbus alone committed an array of horrific acts, using the Indians as sex slaves and extorting them for labor, stealing their land and goods, and hunting them for sport and dog food. His choices and treatment influenced how other would later view and deal with the Indians, eventually leading to their near extinction.…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1.10I: King Afonso was concerned specifically by the slave trading of nobles, sons of nobles, and his relatives. 1.10A: The Europeans did not see nobles apart from peasants, the only saw skin color, which was an indication that they may be used for slave trade. The Europeans ironed both nobles and peasants, they saw no difference, because they were unfamiliar with African hierarchy. 1.10E: Afonso does not support the Europeans coming to his lands and complains about the harsh branding of his people, he says “as soon as they are taken by the white man they are ironed and branded with fire”. Pope Paul II sees the Native Americans as disbelievers, but he does not support depriving them of their liberty, rather he wants them to “enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property.”…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    While Columbus recently encounters the land yet he claims ownership of it and renames the locations, it is due to the fact that Columbus was not interrupted. By this, Columbus states that he did not encounter any interference or objection to his proclamation. Stephen Greenblatt states that it possible that Columbus believes the indigenous people would not object to him claiming the land, whether they understood what he was saying or not. The significance lies in the fact that Greenblatt brings up the possibility that Columbus did not believe the Indigenous people had the means, and ability, of stopping Columbus from seizing the land, even if they were to understand what Columbus was saying in his proclamation.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays