Christopher Columbus
Dum Diversas
An Italian Merchant, named Christopher Columbus was a great ocean navigator who had been sailing since he was 10.
The Empires of Spain, France, Portugal and Great Britain were in fierce competition. They had all been invading and conquering more and more land. India & China became valued destinations for trading herbs & spices. Portugal navigated a route around the far tip of Africa which made it possible to transport goods by sea. It was a long and difficult journey but gave Portugal a big advantage over the other Empires.
Christopher Columbus claimed that he could find a shorter route to China & India by going West. It wasn't widely known that 500 years previously, Leif Erikson had sailed past Greenland to modern day Canada. They called in Vinland for all the vines and grapes they found but it was too far from Europe and the settlement failed and was later abandoned.
Nevertheless, Columbus thought he could do it and could get rich and famous for doing so. So he managed to meet Queen Isabella. He told her that he could do it. Hoping to get one over on their rivals they agreed to finance his expedition.
Columbus estimated the size of the Atlantic Ocean partially from reading his Bible. He had read in the Second Book of Esdras (in the Apocrypha) that God created the world in seven parts, six of them dry land and the seventh water. He thus calculated that the ocean separating Portugal from Japan was one-seventh of the earth’s circumference. This was a terrible misjudgment.
First Voyage
He took 3 ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. It was a long voyage and the crew got impatient. They had strict rations and wanted to turn back. At last they spotted land and landed the ship in the Bahamas. He planted a flag and sailed to what is now Cuba. He thought it was Japan. After realizing it wasn't Japan he sailed down to Haiti. He named these Islands, "The West Indies".
Columbus and his men discovered some local tribes. He called them Indians because he thought he was in India.
“They … brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells," he wrote. "They willingly traded everything they owned … They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features …They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron …T
They ended up stealing, looting and capturing them. They boarded the new cargo onto the ships. The Santa Maria ran aground and they sailed back to Spain with the two intact ships.
They left behind 39 men to occupy a settlement on Hispaniola.
When they got back to Spain, people were impressed by the gold, parrots, spices and slaves and he became famous.
Second Voyage
They quickly wanted to do a second voyage and sent him back with 17 ships this time. He also had over a thousand men being paid by the Spanish government, a group of Friars to convert the indigenous people to Christianity, horses and 200 investors.
They landed in Dominica first and sailed up the Antilles to the Virgin Islands. They fought the native Americans as they went. They stole what they wanted and when the natives put up any resistance they were captured or killed. He let his men keep women of their choosing.
He named many islands after religious figures. Monserrat & Antiqua after churches in Spain. Saint Martin, Saint Kitts, Saint Croix after Saints, Virgin Islands after the Virgin Mary, and Trinidad after the Trinity.
Columbus returned to the settlement he had left behind to find it destroyed and the men dead. Columbus and his men took revenge for the destroyed settlement. They cut off the ears and heads of natives they caught and took the rest prisoner. Columbus also used dismemberment as a form of punishment for his own men too. Columbus hanged natives 13 by 13 in honor of Jesus and the apostles.
Between murder, enslavement and diseases brought over, the native Indians on Hispaniola went from an estimated 250,000 to a few hundred in only 60 years after Columbus landed.
"he sent some 500 slaves to Queen Isabella and 40% of them died on the journey.
The queen was horrified—she believed that any people Columbus “discovered” were Spanish subjects who could not be enslaved—and she promptly and sternly returned the explorer’s gift."
Third Voyage
The Queen of Spain was disappointed with Columbus. Most of the slaves sent back had died on the journey and she didn't approve of the practice. For his third voyage she would only send 6 ships.
The Queen expressed the importance of finding the trading route to China & India and not enslaving people. So this time Columbus sailed to Trinidad which he named after the Holy Trinity. Columbus then landed on Venezuela and planted another flag.
Meanwhile, in Hispaniola, the people living there were becoming unhappy with the conditions, brutality and provisions. Columbus had put the wrong people in charge and they forced the enslaved Indians to dig for gold. If they didn't dig enough gold he would cut off their hands and let them bleed out. Columbus hanged a few of the Spaniards that criticized him.
There was a revolt and the Queen heard about the disorder and sent a new governor called Bobadilla to control the settlement. When Columbus and Bobadilla got there Columbus was placed under arrest for mismanagement and placed in chains. Bobadilla sent Columbus back to Spain on a ship to be charged. On the way back he wrote a desperate letter to the Queen begging for one last chance.
Fourth Voyage
On the fourth voyage, the Queen had lost faith in Columbus and only sent him with 4 ships.
He sailed the coasts of Costa Rica, Panama & Honduras. They were unable to find a channel through to the pacific and so turned around for Hispaniola again. However, they soon shipwrecked on Jamaica and became stranded.
He was rescued and returned to Spain with 10% of the gold he had the enslaved natives to dig up.
Afterward
Columbian Exchange
New crops got introduced to Europe and this enabled them to boom.
Inflation of European goods
Africa had nothing to trade
Sugar, tobacco,
What happened to the world between 1650 and 1850 CE? The world population doubled due to higher caloric plants from the New World.
Legacy
Amerigo Vespucci (for who America is named) recognized America as a New Continent first. Columbus eventually conceded on his third voyage that it was more likely a new Continent and not the east indies.
Columbus was a violent leader who sacrificed many lives in the pursuit of fame and fortune. He was a skilled navigator who made a massive misjudgment about the circumference of the globe.
In 1828, Washington Irving, writer of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow wrote a story about Christopher Columbus. In the story, Columbus sets out to prove that the world is round. This is not true and people at the time accepted the world was a ball.
At the beginning of the 1800's, many Irish and Italians were moving to the United States. Americans were worried about them changing the culture because they were different. They had a different Religion and different Language. Many people believed that Catholicism wasn't compatible with the American people. John Hancock, signer of the declaration of independence wished to pass a law prohibiting any Catholic from being a politician.
In 1890 New Orleans, a popular police chief was murdered. There were no leads but one witness accused the Italians of being behind it. The accusations resulted in the hasty arrest of nineteen Italian-Americans. With no evidence, 9 of the suspects were released.
When people in the city heard that the 9th suspect was being released, rumors spread that the jury and judges had been bribed. So a mob of people broke into the jail and killed the 11 Italian-Americans still in the cells. It was the largest single mass lynching in American History. No charges were ever filed against the mob and public opinion was largely in their favor.
Benjamin Harrison was president at the time and the news of anti-Italian persecution reached the Italian government. Italy cut off ties with America and trading was suspended. There were rumors of a possible war.
A year later, in 1892, Benjamin Harrison arranged a one time celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the new world. It was seen as a way to undo the negative sentiment toward Italian-Americans and include them in the story of America. It was also seen as an attempt to appease the Italian government.
Italians began to celebrate Columbus day yearly and lobbied for it to become a national holiday.
In 1971, Columbus day became a National Holiday.
The first people to land in what is now the USA, were Spanish. San Miguel de Gualdape landed near what is now Charleston in 1521. The English wouldn't attempt a permanent settlement for another sixty four years.
Columbus is not celebrated in Mexico eventhough they're more Spanish but they are also more indian.
Columbus' conquest can be seen as an amazing feat of courage but it also left a legacy of genocide and slavery. He was a heroic navigator and a great plundered.
Questions
Can you see why people would be upset that we celebrate Christopher Columbus?
Do you think it was a good idea for the President to glorify Columbus in 1892?
Can you discover a place that 20 million people live?
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