Columbus And Hariot Essay

In both of the letters that Columbus and Hariot wrote about their newly found lands, they have very similar approaches to explaining what the lands are like. They both talk about how the landscape is, how indigenous people are, the current situation of the government, and the economic and religious structure for the lands. The tone that seemed to be past around, is that the native Americans were weak and unknowledgeable, and that their lands would be very easy to conquer for each party.
During Columbus's account, he focuses mainly on the current living situations of the islands he found, and how the Indians were treating him and his crew. For instance, Columbus says, "So too for pieces of hoops, jugs, jars, and pots they bartered cotton and gold like beasts." He is implying that they know nothing about the European economy nor have they set up an economy related to it, and would barter for items differently from how things were priced to the Europeans. This goes along with the fact that they seemed uneducated and weak, so they would be simple to conquer and convert to new beliefs. In another part, he explains, "But they never dare to make use …show more content…
This created a sense of wonder to the both of them upon exploring the new lands, and made their descriptions more interesting. This created a lighter tone to both accounts as they sort of wanted their home countries to come and conquer the land for their own fame and fortune. Columbus was very blunt with his letter, talking quickly about the land and more about the people on it and how they were accustomed to life, while Hariot deeply described every part of the land to be as useful to Europe as possible. This shows the different draws from each explorer and their outlook on the lands, such as how Columbus was looking to gain mostly land, while Hariot was looking to gain knowledge and a little land more