Columbus Day

Los Caprichos are a series of 80 prints by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The Caprichos, produced between 1797 and 1798, are a combination of etching and aquatint and were published in 1799. The pieces are a mixture of the beautiful, satirical and insane; over the course of the 80 frames, Goya challenges a wide variety of concepts in eighteenth century Spain where he lived. The etchings are considered a voice through which the artist cleverly questions clerical, social and political norms.…

The Early Modern Period (1450- 1750 C.E.) brought upon the global stage many things. Increased international trade, expeditions, and colonization defined this section of history. New developments were occurring in many places, influencing future order and economic promise, even today. To start, European power grew immensely at this time. Western Europe continued to flourish, producing a series of explorers that would greatly affect both people’s scope of the world and set a new precedent for…

memorialized contribute to the perspective we have on the morality of these figures and their actions and our identity as a nation. Evidently, that significance is not always considered when making said decisions. Source B depicts a monument of Christopher Columbus high and proud in a powerful stance. Though the location of this blatant idolization is in Pennsylvania rather than the more significant capital, Washington D.C., it’s existence is no less questionable.…

commoners and monarchs alike to search for new and undiscovered places. Christopher Columbus, a commoner, was intrigued and wanted to explore so he could move up in society. He wanted to be rewarded with becoming a part of the aristocracy for his success (36). Columbus tried unsuccessfully for a while to get the financing he needed to explore his theories of reaching Asia by travelling west. In 1492, Columbus won over Queen Isabella of Spain, who like many others had their reasons for…

European explorers, conquistadors, and settlers from the Age of Exploration should not be celebrated in the twenty-first century because even though they explored the places that we now live, they terrorized every native in every continent, country, and city that they explored. Europeans first began affecting native Indians in the 1400s when they brought smallpox to the Incas and Aztecs. Conquistadors terrorized native communities by trying to convert them to Christianity. Europeans inflicted…

The early explorers and settlers of the New World wrote letters and manuscripts to encourage settlement and to ensure readers that their ventures were prosperous. Some of the early letters written of the New World focus on exploiting natural resources such as gold. Others placed on religious freedom as well as the opportunity to converting the heathen inhabitants. Most of these writings expressed not only the opportunity in the new land but also the strife toil and the daily struggle. All but…

During the European era of exploration in the 16th Century, some of the most famous and successful conquests were those of Spain traveling through South America. The adventurous tales of these early conquistadors transcended generations in the form of mythical and historical retellings. As the 19th Century brought about industrialization, a renewed possibility of adventure emerged. Instead of physically conquering new lands, the unknown was explored for the sake of knowledge. The works of…

Matthew Restall’s book “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest” takes a look at the history of the conquest of the New World, while at the same time, attempting to decipher through certain myths that have gained historical ground over time. He looks at what parts of these myths have some truth to them and what parts of them seem purely fabricated. The goal that appears for Restall here is that while going through these myths, he needs to start with a blank slate. He needs to push aside what he and…

Christopher Columbus, an icon to many. Most people see him as good and others see him as an evil man. The truth is there are many facts to support both sides of this claim. But in all of the facts the explorer Christopher was and is a hero. Columbus was born in the republic of Genoa, Italy, in 1451. His parents were wool traders, which they also weaved their own wool. Columbus had three brothers and one sister. The state (financially) Columbus was in at the end of his life is completely…

“God, Glory, Gold.” Europe was a very organized and technologically advanced society. To attempt to get ahead of each other, the various European countries had to be very competitive. One such example of this is the now famous Italian, Christopher Columbus embarking on his voyages from Portugal, with assistance…