Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage across the Atlantic impacted the world forever. His endeavor was incredible; the first man to reach what he thought was Asia from the east. A feat that seemed impossible, but he achieved it with great success for himself and his country of Spain. But the people of the Americas that he so inadvertently exposed to the European's were left in ruins. Christopher Columbus was a plague brought upon innocent people that changed their lives forever. Christopher Columbus falls short of a heroic man in terms of his maltreatment to the Indians, and achieves the state of a treasure seeker who had a great deal of luck. The people of the "new world" brought no hostility towards Columbus and his men. They greeted Columbus and his men with open arms. The Indian peoples welcomed Europeans warmly, provided them with food, and taught them important new survival skills. In some cases, they perceived them as being divine, or at least spiritually powerful. Native peoples were quickly disillusioned by treachery or mistreatment at European hands. Columbus, knowing of their cynicism, used this to his advantage. Columbus wrote in his log "They...brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, wh
first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts." By doing so Columbus lost his virtue, and became a villain. Back in the "new world", too many of the slaves were dying. So Columbus became more desperate to fill his ships with gold. So Columbus and his men ordered all Indians to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they turned over the gold, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Any Indian found without a token had their hands cut off and bled to death. The Indians' task was impossible. The only gold around was bits of dust in the streams. So they fled, and many were hunted down and killed. The survivors of this period were worked to death on the sugar plantations. Prior to his voyage, he had promised to return with a substantial quantity of gold and spices. In return for bringing Spain gold and spices, Columbus was promised 10% of the profits, governorship over new-found lands, and the fame that would go with a new title: Admiral of the Ocean Sea .But they found no gold fields nor spices, so his disastrous alternative was to go on a slave raid. Columbus and his men rounded up 1500 Arawak men, women, and children and kept them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs. When
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Approximate Word count = 901
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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