Columbus, The Indians And Human Progress Literature Review Sample

The discovery of the new world, romanticized by most as legendry tales on how select men beat the odds and went through great struggle to establish the first settlements. The author approaches this from a different point of view; we get a perspective based on historical accounts as well as insight on what the great explorers were thinking at the time. Since there were trade routes across Europe to Asia, a brave few set out to find their way across the pacific into the oblivion to find Asia by Sea. Columbus a native Italian from humble beginnings had convinced Spanish royalty that he will be able to seek out Asia from across the ocean which had never been done before. The underlying foundation of the mission was comprised of the search for the newest valuable commodity Gold which at the time was rumored that Asia was lined with. In reality when Columbus didn’t even know that what he found after setting sail on his 33 day voyage from the Canary Islands was actually the Bahama Islands and not Asia. On reaching the Bahamas, Columbus comes across a backward civilization of people known as the Awark. A peace loving people were fascinated by their new company and offered their hospitality. From what Columbus could tell they were unsophisticated, had no concept of wealth, did not maintain the same hierarchy as western society, this all suited his quest just fine. One has to note that Columbus like all great explorers have to make his voyage a good return to the parties invested in his quest. Columbus setup a fort in Haiti and imprison native Awarks and trying to force them to help him find Gold. All he found was Gold dusts in the streams. With nothing to show he decided to grab the next closest commodity which was Slaves to take back to Spain. Apart from the fact that most of them died on the voyage to Spain, Columbus still managed to secure more financing and man power to fully exploit the situation in the new land. On his return new settlements were setup and the process of enslaving the local population started. The height of depravity and cruelness is accounted for in historical Journal of Bartolome de las Casas. Maltreatment forcing men to work in the minds, women forced into excavation activities, infant deaths rose astronomically, Spanish sailors mistreatment had risen to killing the Awark’s by the thousands , sometimes for amusement. In two years it was estimated through various acts of murder and mutilation 250,000 were dead. Similaraly in Cuba it is estimated that over 3 million perished. The Author touches on how the US has a day dedicated to the innovation and passion of Columbus in Columbus Day. The irony that he points to is the Genocide which Columbus is really responsible for. In a book on Columbus by Samuel Eliot Morrison , Morrision does address the fact that Columbus was a mass murder but skims over it without giving it the spot light it deserves. The author appeals to our senses that just because Columbus was responsible for one of the biggest discoveries of our time does not excuse his actions which led to an eradication of a culture. The Author brings out great similarities to Columbus in what Corte’s did to the Aztecs of Mexico where he would go with what was heavy weaponry in that era town by town and kill every last living person to loot their surroundings . Another example of importance is when the English settlement in Virginia and their subsequent spread and pushing of the Native American from their fields and homes and eventual genocide of the population. The English chose to slaughter the native American rather than enslave or try to reason with them. The author notes that even though the native Americans lacked business sense or shared a similar culture to the English it is said that they had made great advancements in agriculture . Yet again another civilization meets its end all in the name of progress. The author spends a lot of time begging us to question if such actions of man to progress and grab power was worth it. As we all know this has been going on in different versions for thousands of years, where has it really gotten us.