Analysis Of Granada Capitulations By Christopher Columbus

When European immigrants began traveling to the Americas not only did they believe it was Asia, per Columbus’s ventures, they believed the land was free to take. There was this preconceived notion of land among Europeans that land was personal property, used for economic & material needs…or wants. Lands that weren’t being actively controlled or used for things like agriculture, resource extraction, industry, or homesteads were fair game to take and anyone could use it for whatever they pleased. Their Native American counterparts, did not see land as something that could be “owned” but communally used and there were rights granted amongst themselves to which tribes could hunt, reside, and grow there. Access to the lands were closely linked …show more content…
For whom, colonization was “not a goal for almost a century, and even then their colonies were designed primarily to provide a quick return on investment, not to transplant Europeans onto foreign soil.” King and Queen Isabella of Spain saw opportunity, even when their original intentions were to find land in Asia, they planned colonization. This is evident in the document, “Granada Capitulations,” as it states: “Because, you Christopher Columbus, are going at our command with some of our ships and personnel to discover and acquire certain islands and mainland in the Ocean Sea, and it is hoped that, with the help of God, some of the islands and mainland in the Ocean Sea…..You and your proxies will have the authority to exercise the office of admiral together with the offices of viceroy and governor of the islands and mainland that you discover and acquire.” They allowed Columbus to claim and control some of the lands that he discovered, this carried the implication that they would be controlling the grand majority found. Another striking difference between Spain and the other colonies was their religious motivation, they lead a quest to convert the Natives to christianity, one of the two notable occurrences included the kidnapping of two young tribesmen and bringing them before the reigning monarchs King Fernando and Queen Isabella, but they [tribesmen] refused if it meant leaving their lands; The request to send ministers would later be made for them and the other Natives in that land. The other event, involved a young native woman Gandeaktena, whom was enslaved by a tribe that had killed her family. She became a symbol of purity, baptized and renamed Catherine she spread the Christian faith for the Spanish and converted more than 200