Reading Columbus’ journals leaves me with a reinforced belief that Columbus may not be the villain of Euro-American history, but he played a very significant role as a villain. Although the reality that understanding does not time travel well, the things Columbus did were against the beliefs of his own God, the Church through Antonio de Montesino, Bartolomé de las Casas and the Spanish heads of state, including, albeit arguably, King Ferdinand II and his son King Charles V during that time period. Although the violence Columbus committed against the Natives of the Americas’ was horrific, it was far from surprising. The thing I found most surprising in these excerpts were the lack of the details of what he did to the peoples he had plans to “subjugate” as when the Lucayan peoples refused his orders or him stating “A hundred castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand”. Unfortunately, this seems to be in the further future of Christopher Columbus.
It depresses me to read Christopher Columbus’ journals. These journals demonstrate a true sense of entitlement coming from Columbus and his crew, and it’s this entitlement that begins a violent era of colonization. Columbus’ journal’s express a true lack of empathy towards a group of people who possessed a culture, physical appearance and language, different […]
This weeks readings were based on Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americans, an Epic “The Araucaniad”, and a chronicle written and illustrated by the indigenous (Quechua-speaking) self-taught writer Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala. Of all these three, I found Christopher Columbus’ journal interesting in many ways and thus this response will be focused on him. … More Week 2: The Meeting of Two Worlds
Christopher Columbus is such an iconic figure in history. Every child in Canada learns about him in school from an…
In the beginning of the lecture for week two, Professor Murray questions Latin America’s existence, proposing that it may be only an idea rather than anything else. This seems to take me back to my geography class today, where Latin America was listed among other regions (Europe, USA, Canada, Asia, and Africa), showing its individual […]
The voyage of Christopher Columbus is very important to us today. It continues to be a very controversial subject as he was the first explorer to have lasting impacts on the America’s and their societies. We first learnt that Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas and then we are informed about the impacts that this had […]
The journal of Christopher Columbus is highly descriptive mostly of the direction and the scene of the voyage. He consistently calls out the direction, distance, and speed to his crewmembers; and describes the landscape around him. I found it interesting … Continue reading →
Week Two: “The Meeting of the Two Worlds” As we have seen in the videos and readings, there is a problem when trying to locate Latin America in a geographical sense. Now, we know that Latin America, more than a place which actually exists, is an idea. Its borders are fluid and what is considered […]
I’m a great fan of sea voyages and journey diaries, so Columbus log on his adventures was a true entertainment for me. Still, some small details puzzle me. Of course, I can try to figure out explanations why, but I … Continue reading →
Columbus’ journal and Guaman Poma’s chronicle are narratives of two separate historical events, yet they are essentially the same. Whether it’s Columbus exploring around Cuba, or the Spaniards taking over Peru, we see the encounter of two worlds, the invasion of a more civilized, more technologically and economically advanced, capitalistic world to a primitive and resources-abundant world. The […]
