Columbus Cultural Attitude

Columbus wrote methodically and simply about his time in San Salvador. Although he does include opinions and the thought processes behind his actions, this report is free of embellishment and poetry. He seems to view the “new world” as a place of beauty, with a likeliness to Eden, but also as a place of fortune. His comments about the value of alien trees and the taking of an aloe tree reinforce that assumption. Although it is likely that San Salvador wasn’t nearly as pristine as Columbus’ report, his words invoke a sense of perfection of the place: forever spring and filled with delightful sights, sounds, and smells.
The cultural attitude of Europeans towards exploration seems to be to go everywhere and anywhere for the sake of discovery. The cultural attitude towards discovery seems to be based on the lust for wealth. Any new discoveries made by Columbus were carefully preserved so they could be examined in Europe to identify its worth. In addition, Columbus took great pains to ensure that the reader realized how plentiful the trees were, so that he or she would know that if …show more content…
Columbus didn’t even take advantage of the natives leaving their home in order to steal some sort of artifact to bring back to Europe. This leads to the Europeans’ attitude towards ownership: Columbus had no problem taking specimens of plants and animals, yet balked and actively prevented the theft of the natives’ belongings. Because the inhabitants weren’t yet considered sources of free labor (also known as a slave, also known as a possession), the Europeans may have refrained from taking their things because they weren’t yet considered something to be owned. As land, plants, and animals can become part of someone’s property, Columbus felt free to take