In the year 1492 Christopher Columbus went on a journey from Spain to find an alternative and quicker route to Asia. Not knowing any other continents existed he believe by sailing west they would reach Asia in a matter of weeks instead of the several months it took them to reach Asia by sailing around Africa. However instead of landing in Asia, he ended up in the Caribbean Islands. Because of his discovery it led to the conquest of the new world and he was regarded as a hero. Columbus was seen as a celebrity in Spain but because of his habitual lying of the abundance of riches and the lack of it the King and Queen had got from him along with the complaints from people who lived in Hispaniola claiming they were being mistreated and not being
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In his letter on the first voyage, he describes Cuba as a sort of paradise with fertile lands, trees whose leaves never fall, mountains and hills harbors, many varieties of birds, spices and lots of riches. He also defines the people of the islands as less-civilized people who wear little to no clothes, were willing to trade gold for things of little value such as cotton, and believed the explorers had come from the sky. In reality the Indians most likely never believed the Spanish had come from the sky but because of lack of ability to communicate between both it was assumed they were pointing towards the sky when they were just pointing out to the sea. While Columbus claims he has a close friendship with the king of this land and is seen as a brother to this ruler he still states that if he “should change his attitude and attack the men of La Navidad, he and his people know nothing about arms and go naked.” and the men Christopher Columbus had left “would be enough to destroy the whole land” (Cohen 120). This statement seems contradictory since he claims the Indians as friends but is still threatening that he could wipe them out if they were not …show more content…
When he had returned almost two and a half years later he discovered that a lot of people were getting sick and dying and there was a rebellion going on. Francisco Roldan, an alcalde mayor, was the head of the rebellion and had planned on killing Columbus’s brothers in order to become fully in charge. According to Columbus’s son when his father had left back to the mainland to tell of his findings it took much longer to return than anticipated. The supplies were running low and it was causing tension. Roldan took advantage of this and convinced people they should appeal to the court about not being paid and mistreated. The rebels wrote letters giving reports about Columbus and his brothers saying “they were not only very cruel but incompetent to rule” (Cohen, 259) and that unless the king and queen intervened the Indies would fall to ruins. They also made other claims such as Columbus would make a pact with a foreign prince and would support his claim that all the lands he discovered were his; also he was concealing the riches, and lot letting the Indians work or be converted to Christianity. The rulers of Spain probably wanted to see if these accusations were true since during the first voyage he had claimed an abundance of riches but by the second he had barely come back with anything. With the lies he told it is not surprising they would become
In his letter on the first voyage, he describes Cuba as a sort of paradise with fertile lands, trees whose leaves never fall, mountains and hills harbors, many varieties of birds, spices and lots of riches. He also defines the people of the islands as less-civilized people who wear little to no clothes, were willing to trade gold for things of little value such as cotton, and believed the explorers had come from the sky. In reality the Indians most likely never believed the Spanish had come from the sky but because of lack of ability to communicate between both it was assumed they were pointing towards the sky when they were just pointing out to the sea. While Columbus claims he has a close friendship with the king of this land and is seen as a brother to this ruler he still states that if he “should change his attitude and attack the men of La Navidad, he and his people know nothing about arms and go naked.” and the men Christopher Columbus had left “would be enough to destroy the whole land” (Cohen 120). This statement seems contradictory since he claims the Indians as friends but is still threatening that he could wipe them out if they were not …show more content…
When he had returned almost two and a half years later he discovered that a lot of people were getting sick and dying and there was a rebellion going on. Francisco Roldan, an alcalde mayor, was the head of the rebellion and had planned on killing Columbus’s brothers in order to become fully in charge. According to Columbus’s son when his father had left back to the mainland to tell of his findings it took much longer to return than anticipated. The supplies were running low and it was causing tension. Roldan took advantage of this and convinced people they should appeal to the court about not being paid and mistreated. The rebels wrote letters giving reports about Columbus and his brothers saying “they were not only very cruel but incompetent to rule” (Cohen, 259) and that unless the king and queen intervened the Indies would fall to ruins. They also made other claims such as Columbus would make a pact with a foreign prince and would support his claim that all the lands he discovered were his; also he was concealing the riches, and lot letting the Indians work or be converted to Christianity. The rulers of Spain probably wanted to see if these accusations were true since during the first voyage he had claimed an abundance of riches but by the second he had barely come back with anything. With the lies he told it is not surprising they would become