My impression of Columbus, has over time and exposure to more information about him, become more and more jaded. I struggle to understand his actions and impressions of the people and cultures he interjected himself upon. I can concede that he was fulfilling orders and personal desires to discover more of the world around him […]
Growing up in Asia, the “discovery” of the Americas was not a major focus in History class, and hence, I do not have much previous knowledge with regards to Christopher Columbus and his journey to the Americas. However, despite my lack of extensive knowledge, I knew a little here and there. While I never truly …
Growing up in Asia, the “discovery” of the Americas was not a major focus in History class, and hence, I do not have much previous knowledge with regards to Christopher Columbus and his journey to the Americas. However, despite my lack of extensive knowledge, I knew a little here and there. While I never truly …
So this weeks articles and videos were about the discovery of the Americas by the great “explorer” Christopher Columbus. I put “explorer” in quotes because, despite my preconceived notions of Columbus, he didn’t seem to be as much of an explorer as most of us think. In school, he was portrayed as this heroic, savior of the worlds type guy, with statues and monuments erected in his name across America. I learned his true, not so heroic intentions for discovering America. Wealth, popularity and religion. A money driven Columbus backed…read more
So this weeks articles and videos were about the discovery of the Americas by the great “explorer” Christopher Columbus. I put “explorer” in quotes because, despite my preconceived notions of Columbus, he didn’t seem to be as much of an explorer as most of us think. In school, he was portrayed as this heroic, savior of the worlds type guy, with statues and monuments erected in his name across America. I learned his true, not so heroic intentions for discovering America. Wealth, popularity and religion. A money driven Columbus backed…read more
The journal of Columbus reminded me of a reading I had to do in a History course last year that was about Marco Polo’s travels. Both explorers were very rich in description about the places they traveled to and how wonderful and beautiful the places were. Their observations seem a bit over the top at … Continue reading “Week Two”
The video for this week’s lecture included two simple, yet easily debatable prompts. One prompt asked for me to explore the view I had previously held of Christopher Columbus, prior to reading his personal journal. The other prompt, somewhat of a follow up to the first, asked if I had changed my mind after doing… Continue reading When Old Meets New →
This week the readings were based on what we may consider, today, the beginning of Latin America. For me Latin America has always been full of culture and history. I had never considered the beginning of it; I had only ever considered it as it is today. Hence, I found 1942 an interesting but logical […]
I never learned about Christopher Columbus and his voyages in school, so I never learned the story of him “discovering…
For a while now, I have had the intention of reading the journal of Christopher Columbus but I just hadn’t gotten around to it…until now, well in part at least. And to be honest, I feel näive for feeling surprised at what I read, rather like the shock experienced by the sadness at the end […]
