Week two - Thoughts on Columbus

Week Two

What impression did I have of columbus before I looked at his account?

Before looking into Columbus's accounts I was led to believe that Columbus was a hero. In my younger years at school when studying North America and the European explorers who “discovered” it, I was always told that Columbus was a smart and brave man who, despite the opinion of others, hypothesised that the world was not flat and proved other Europeans wrong. However, as I went into high school, the narrative of Columbus that was being old was a slightly different one. I learnt how he mistakenly called the indigenouse people of north America Indians and how he enslaved and mutilated native people

.How my thoughts changed after reading about events in his own words?

After reading about the events that took place in Columbus's own words I find myself having mixed feelings towards Columbus and the way he treated the native islanders. When looking from a modern point of view, the way in which Columbus speaks about and treats the native people seems inhumane and cruel. However, in the context of the time, Columbus seems to think that his actions are nothing less than commendable. He thinks that by discovering the land in the name of the King and Queen he is doing what is right. This is also suggested when Columbus talks about bringing back six of the native people for the king and queen so that they may learn to speak Spanish and learn to follow the Christian religion. However awful Columbus’s actions may seem through a modern point of view. I think that in Columbus’s eyes he was doing the right thing.

It's often tempting to cast Columbus as hero or villain. For many years he was seen as the former; these days, he's more often portrayed as the latter. Is either approach helpful?

I think that to say either Columbus is a hero or villain does more harm than good. To say that Columbus was a hero dismisses the experiences of the indigenouse people of the lands that Columbus discovered. Because he did cause harm and pain to the people who originally inhabited these lands, it would be insensitive to say that what Columbus was doing was an act of heroism because it insinuates that the natives lives pre-Columbus were not valid nor valuable before Columbus arrived. On the other hand, to call Columbus a villain would also be a disservice. At the time Columbus’s beliefs on natives being a simple bread of humans was widespread and to the best of his knowledge, he was doing god's work. To call Columbus a villian downplays the common ideals and culture of 18th century Europe. By trying to understand both sides of the story and come to the conclusion that Columbus was doing only what he thought was best, can give us a more complete view on the situation and a better understanding of the ancient and modern Latin America.