t
,{
,:i
/
BIOGRAPHY
Christopher Columbus
L446-t506
Born in Genoa,Italy, ChristopherColumbuswent to seaat an early age
and later settledin Portugalafter his ship was sunk by French privareers,
It was first to the Portuguesethar Columbusapplied for support in his
, .i i-:.'r
.*
;
F,s*+s.J,ff
8
;.
Sntue of Christopher
Columbusby Carlo
Brioschi
Colunnbuslslititi," excerpredhCre, wis,'pr.obablywritren ar seain early
1493. It initiated a long tradition of works that describethe New Vorld
as a wondrousplace, offering to Europeansriches, renewal, and the
fulfillment of a dazzlingdream.
A Spectacleof GreatBeauty
Christopher Columbus
hese islands are of a beautiful
appearanceand present a great
diversity of views. They may be
traversed in any part, and are
adorned with a great variety of
exceedingly lofty trees, which to appearance
never lose their foliage, for I saw them as verdant
and flourishing as they exist in Spain in the month
of May, some coveredwith flowers. others loaded
with fruit, according to their different speciesand
their se^asonof bearing, the whole offeiing a spec_
tacle of great beauty. The nightingale ani
counr_
less other birds were singing, although it was the
8
The NewLand
month of Novemberwhen I visited this delightful
region.
The inhabitantsof both sexes,in Espanolaand
all the other islandswhich I saw or heard of, go
naked asthey were born, all excepta few fernales
who wear at the waist a green leaf, a portion of
cotton, or bit of silk which they manufacturefor
this purpose
They possessno iron, and they neither use
nor are acquaintedwith weapons,to the exerChristopherColumbus,Jouml of Fint Vojtageto Amnica. New
York: Albert & ClrarlesBoni, 1924,pp.2l I-218. Reprirted by
permissionof William F. Boni.
-.t
_
I l;i r- :,-i*":
?:
-a-.-r---------
,l
"
l;j:
by force from the first island a few of the Indicise of which indeedthey are not at all adapted'
ans, in order that we might becomeacquainted
not by reasonof any corporaldeficiency,a-sthey
and to gaina knowl*ith on. another'slanguage,
"r. u.ry well shaped,but on accountof their
of what their country contained' These
great dmidity. Insteadof arms they havecanes edge
we"reof singularuseto us) aswe cameto underdried in the sun, to the largestends of which
standeachother in a short time by the help of
they fix a pieceoi wood sharpenedat the end;
words and signs'I havethem still with me' and
of these,however,they havenot the courageto
they continuein the belief that we have come
make much use. I have in many instancessent
from heaven. This informationthey published
two or three of my men to their towns to comwhereverwe arrived,exclaimingin a loud voice'
municate with the inhabitants,when the Indi"Come! Come! and seethe celestialpeople"'
answould tumultuouslyrush out, and seeingour
call, the nativeswould come throngpeopledrawing near, run away with such haste Upon this
i"i to us, after havingbanishedthe fear.which
in"i *t" father would abandonhis child, and the
sei-zedthem at fust, men' women and children'
child his father. This timidity was not owing to
old and young, crowding the roads and bringing
anv violenceor iniury we offered them, as I was
us victuals .nd dtitk, with the utmost affection
in the practice of making presentsof cloth and
and reverence. .
other tiings to all the nativeswhom I met, but
In every one of theseislandsthere are a great
arose froJ their narural mildness and want of
nur:rber of canoes, each one made of a solid
courage.-Nowithstanding this, as soon as they
log, of a narrow shape, somewhatresernbling
have ihrown asicletheir fear, and considerthemoui lustor,l but swifter in the water; they are
selvesin safety,they are very ingenuousand honsolelyby oars' They are of different
est, and display great liberality with whatever navilated
sizes,the mostof themcontainingseatstor erghtthey possess.
een rowers' lWith thcse they carry on a comTtrey neverrefuseto give any thing awaywhich
amongtheseislandswhich are innumeris demandedof them, and will even themselves merce
I
able. saw someof thesecanoeswith seventy
of their propert]'' They
entreat an acceptance
or eightyrowers.Throughouttheseislandsthere
exhibit a greatfriendshiptowardseveryone,and
of the people'
is n,iaiversity in the appearance
will give whateverthey have for a trifle or noththeir manneri or language,all the inhabitants
ing at all. I forbademy men to purchaseany
understandingone another'a very favorablecirthing of them with such worthlessarticles as
curnstancein my opinion,to the designwhich I
bits oi earthenware,fragmentsof platters, brohaveno doubtis entertainedby our king, namely
ken glass,nails, and thongsof leather,-although
to convert them to the holy Christianfaith, to
of any such thing they
when they got possession
which as far as I can perceivethey are well
valuedit as trigtrtyas the most preciousiewelin
disposed.
the world.
Eachof the natives,ast-arasI canunderstand'
all
that
believe
They are not idolaters, but
hasone wife, with the exceptionof the King and
power and goodnessis in heaven,and that I had
Princes,who are permittedto havc as many as
proceededirom that place with my ships and
twenty. The womenappearto do morelabor than
menl under this notion they receivedme at my
the men. Vhether there existsany such thing
first arrival as soon as they had banishedtheir
here as privatepropertyI have not been able to
fear. They are not stupid and indolent,but acute
ascertain'as I haveobservedthat an individual
and sagacious.Those of them who navigatethe
to distributeto the others,in particseasamong thoseislandsgive singularaccounts hasbeenset
of what they haveobservedupon their voyages'
sail'
but haveneverseenpeoplewho wearclothes,nor
L. fusta (fus'ta), a vesselrigged with a rriangular
I
took
lSPanish]
any ships similar to ours. On my arrival
l0
TheNer:Land
ular, food and such things. I found no ferocrous
ianguinarypeoplein theseparts, as someseem
to haveimaginedthe peoplehereto be, but they
lre a very mild and friendly race. Their color
is not black like that of the Ethiopians. Their
hair is lank and hanging down. They do not
inhabit thoseparts where the sun'srays are very
1493
powerful,as the heat is excessive
here, the latitwenty-six
tudebeingapparently
degrees.On the
summitsof the mountainsthe cold is great,but
they do not suffer any incommodityfrom it, by
beingaccustome!to the climate,and by the use
of hot meatsanddrinks which theyconsume
very
prodigally.
CO.\{POSITION +
rBelnga HistoricalCharacter
'
Analyzing
4. What elementsin Columbus'sdescriptionof
the New \Worldwould inspire readersin the
Old Vorld to want to visit thesenew-found
lands?
5. Vhat in his observations
might lead Columbus to considerthe nativesskilled in practical matters?
6. Does Columbushavereasonto fear attack
from the natives?Explain.
'What
7.
are somedifferencesbetweenColumbus's religionand way of life and thoseof
the inhabitants?
8. \Ufhatindicationsare therethat Columbus
considershis a superiorculture and tries to
imposeit on the inhabitants?
\
Extending
9. Do you think Columbusappearsto understand theseinhabitants?Explain.
,,P:etendyou are the King of Spainor his
writing instructions for Cohmbus on
, ijiiitef
arecond voyageto America. In three paraB-riphs,indicate three areasin which you want
moreinformationabout the new-foundland
and its inhabitantsand explainthe reasonsfor
your interest.Considerpossiblequeriesabout
food, agriculturalmethods,family life, language,socialstructurermethodsof governing,
and forms of education
- i:-:-^--
- -,-:^:--
:--^,----:---
f-
-
r
r
Describing Modern American Society
People gather ideas about earlier cultures
from, among other things, the reports of
explorers such as Colurnbus. Modern societies often seal time capsules, to be found by
later generations, that reveal aspectsof their
culture. Imagine that you were to enclosein
a time capsule 6 feet by 6 feet obiects (perhaps a book, a mechanical device, a picture,
or painting, and some clothes) that you feel
represent America at the end of the twentieth
century. Choose at least four such items and
devote a paragraph to each, describing how
these objects are expressiveof our culture. In a
final paragraph, make some general comments
about our society. Direct your writing to a
historian living one hundred years from now.
"'Writing About a Period or Trend" in the
See
\flriter's Handbook.
Columbus11
'?,
t:
'
,',,.'
'"
,',
,;
f --1,-r...;':,1 l--,--