First of all, it becomes very clear that this entire encounter between Columbus and the Indians could not have been avoided. (Auchincloss 12). With new advancements in technology, the world had steadily been growing smaller. All that remained was for the Americas to be discovered. If Columbus had not set sail from Spain in 1492 and found the Americas, another explorer would have. So when judging Columbus one cannot be too critical.

There is no question Columbus was first and foremost, an explorer with an independent mind. Even though he was pushed largely by his ambitions to find gold, he still loved to explore. Supposedly he said, “The farther one goes, the more one learns”. (Sudo 3). A journey to Asia by sailing west had never been executed before. Many sailors in Columbus’s crew were more than a bit apprehensive of sailing into uncharted territory. In fact, sometime during the journey the majority of the crew wished to turn back towards Spain. Columbus pleaded with them, begging them to sail for two or three days more, and if they did not reach land, “cut off my head and you shall return”. (Gelman 45). To even dare dream (let alone carry out) of sailing west to Asia would have taken a tremendous amount of individuality and courage. Columbus’s courage again resurfaced when he dared to stand up to his crew of work-toughened sailors who all could easily have ousted him from his position and taken over the ship.

Columbus lied; this fact cannot be disputed. As mentioned above, he wrote letters back to the Spanish monarchs with exaggerated facts about gold mines and forced his crew to swear Cuba wasn’t an island. Obviously Columbus knew those purported claims were false. However when he stated his islands were the Gardens of Eden, it is fair to say Columbus actually believed this. As David Gates says, “World maps in his day did place the Garden of Eden near Asian- where he always insisted his islands were.” (Gates, 31). As a quintessential God-fearing man, he relied heavily on the Bible to instruct him in the geography of the world as well. Because of all this, it comes as little surprise why Columbus’s (supposed) lies would actually have been thought of as correct in the late1400’s.

Christopher Columbus was also a key figure in the cultural diffusion that took place between the New World and the Old World. Even though the exchange of food is generally not thought of as cultural diffusion, many things that we now take for granted, such as chocolate and candy would never have been available without Columbus’s journey. “New foods reshaped the diet of both hemispheres; sugar, cattle and pigs moved west, the tomato and the potato, cocoa and corn moved east”. The horse, an already instrumental animal in Europe, was introduced to the Americas. It rapidly infused with Indian life, making the gaucho lifestyle achievable. Along with the horse came the wheel which was attached to carts and wagons. In the Americas, the wheel had only been used on toys and the idea of attaching it to pull heavy items was revolutionary. It completely changed trade and travel. Spanish written language eventually was also adopted by the Indians replacing a perplexing system of hieroglyphics.

That’s all from a paper I wrote this summer….

Hope it helped.

BTW- Whatever you do, DO NOT copy my paper word for word. It’s for your own good- my teachers submit every paper we write into a plagerism thingy so your teachers will be able to see that you plagerized your paper.

Just a heads up.

Two, he hired a Jewish (Ladino) cartographer. Again, this in spite of I & F’s support of the Spanish Inquisition and an overall antipathy to Jews in general then (1492 was when Torqemada got started — ironic, eh?).

He helped Spain become a world power. His “discoveries,” albeit accidental, gave the Spanish throne land and resources beyond anything imaginable in those days. China was his goal, but the new territories were Spain’s for the taking (and they did!).

Now I don’t know if these assets will help in his trial, ’cause the term “good” is relative and verrry subjective. Was he a “good guy” as a 21st century man, a 15-16th century man, an Italian, an employee of the Spanish crown or a general all-around kind of guy. Pick an angle and go for it!

Buena suerte!

Chris Columbus wanted to travel for, not adventure, but for money. He was a greedy SOB. His interest in traveling came from reading a book Marco Polo wrote when he traveled to the Orient (China, etc.) about two hundred years before and brought back spices, silk, and various other items to Europe and sold them and became very wealthy. Chris Columbus wanted to travel to the Orient to do the same.

He figured that traveling west rather than maneuvering around Africa would be faster and safer than crossing over both land and sea (traveling by land and sea was very dangerous because of the unpredictable sea and bandits on land that could steal your treasures and kill you).

He went to several countries to get support and money for his voyage. No one would take him up on his offer because when asked how long it would take, how far away is it, etc., Columbus’s answer was “I don’t know.” Who would want to take a risk like that?

When he finally got support from Queen Isabella of Spain, he set out. After a very long while, he hit land. He called the people on the land “Indians,” because he thought he was in India.

Columbus appointed governor of somewhere in the “New World” (the name of the place escapes me), and screwed up so badly he was brought back to Europe in chains. He died poorly, in shame, and never knowing that he didn’t reach his destination.

If that wasn’t enough, Columbus didn’t actually discover America, because, obviously, there were people already there: the “Indians.” AND, Leif Erickson, a Viking, landed in North America while on a voyage YEARS before Columbus did.

– Columbus was an outstanding navigator and organizer of expeditions.

– He was a man of conviction (strong beliefs)

– He was brave

He promoted exploration of our world – we need “what’s out there” thinkers on this earth – how is CC responsible for the greed of his employers?

He believed in and supported the use of new technology – how can he be responsible for the misuse of this technology by others.

hope those two help

2.)made a sucessful voyage to america

3.) He helped ppeople come to this country