Columbus Letter

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Columbus letter

Columbus letter is known as the first document that announced the results of the first voyage. He discovered America while travelling to Asia. The letter was written by himself. The letter became the reason for the news of America discovery throughout Europe. The initial aim of the Columbus was to find out the short and quick route to Asia from Europe. While he set out for Asia, he discovered America which was a crucial moment in European history. As Columbus was traveling towards India, at first he could not identify America and misunderstand America as India.

In his letter, Columbus wrote about the different islands and claimed that he discovered and taken possession over it on the edge of Indian Ocean. These island included Cuba, China, Hispaniola, and Arawak where he called Arawak as India. He portrayed Indian as competent and skilled servants. He found the native people very friendly and peaceful. He also mentioned about the gold reserves Indian had as Columbus went out for India but reached to America that is why he called them Indians or Indies. He wrote that these people could be made good servant as they repeat things very quickly and due to this reason they can be easily converted to Christianity. Columbus defined the nature of the native people as innocent, fearful, primitive, timid, hardworking, and extremely cowardly. They portrayed them stupid as they were agreed to exchange their valuable metal and cotton for broken crockery, glass, and shoelace tips ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"syAtaThl","properties":{"formattedCitation":"{\\rtf (\\uc0\\u8220{}Christopher Columbus\\uc0\\u8221{})}","plainCitation":"(“Christopher Columbus”)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1227,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/ccgWoSRn/items/EWT8I3WX"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/ccgWoSRn/items/EWT8I3WX"],"itemData":{"id":1227,"type":"webpage","title":"Christopher Columbus","container-title":"Royal Museums Greenwich | UNESCO World Heritage Site In London","abstract":"Explorer Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) is famed for his 1492 ‘discovery’ of the New World of the Americas on board his ship Santa Maria.","URL":"https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/christopher-columbus-0","language":"en","issued":{"date-parts":[["2015",8,5]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Christopher Columbus”).

The description of land through letter shows that observation of Columbus was so much detached. He saw the people and land from an entrepreneur perspective that is why he mentioned more about the economic behavior and resources present there. He mentioned the gold that native people had. He failed to find any big market in China and India to invest and returned with the empty hulls. Instead of launching a description of land he focused more on the future benefits by exploiting the natural resources. He discussed the formation of farms, towns, and mines for self-interest. As the land was rich in natural resources as well as suitable for agriculture, therefore, Columbus was more concerned about the benefits Europe can get from the land.

Native reaction towards Columbus was very positive. Columbus wrote in his letter that people were so friendly and helpful there. It was easy to fool them for self-interest. Columbus notices the presence of gold there and exchanges it with the useless material. This shows the innocence of the native people. Columbus mentioned about the local king who treated him like brother near Navidad. Native people were so unaware of the crucial aspects of society like economic activities, trade, money exchange, use of resources ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"4Z8oCSE5","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Minster et al.)","plainCitation":"(Minster et al.)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1225,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/ccgWoSRn/items/LHM22BVK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/ccgWoSRn/items/LHM22BVK"],"itemData":{"id":1225,"type":"webpage","title":"What Was the First European Town in the Americas?","container-title":"ThoughtCo","abstract":"On Columbus' first voyage, he was forced to leave behind 39 men at a settlement he named La Navidad.","URL":"https://www.thoughtco.com/la-navidad-first-european-settlement-2136439","author":[{"family":"Minster","given":"Christopher Minster Christopher"},{"literal":"Ph.D."},{"family":"Guides","given":"is a professor at the ​Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel"}]}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Minster et al.).

WSYA the first European settlement in America at La Navidad. The settlement of La Navidad is not much significant historically. No one died there terribly, and the people who destroyed the land by burning it were the ones who destroyed themselves due to enslavement and diseases. According to metaphorical level, La Navida is crucial as it is not only the first settlement in America but also the New World for the European. It also becomes the reason for major and initial conflict between the Europeans and native people. We can say that this conflict was an ominous sign of times to come, as the same pattern repeated with time all over native land, from Canada to Patagonia. With the trade starting between two lands problems of wars, crimes, unspoken hatred, slaughter, and massacres began.

Works Cited

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY “Christopher Columbus.” Royal Museums Greenwich | UNESCO World Heritage Site In London, 5 Aug. 2015, https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/christopher-columbus-0.

Minster, Christopher Minster Christopher, et al. “What Was the First European Town in the Americas?” ThoughtCo, https://www.thoughtco.com/la-navidad-first-european-settlement-2136439.