Columbus and de las Casas
Columbus envisioned that the conquest of the Indies would have great victory that would be given to them by the Lord. Columbus informed King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that he had used the fleet given to him by the illustrious king and queen to move to the islands, which he had taken possession of1. According to Columbus, the conquest of the Indies was going to be successful because Columbus informed them that he had not met any opposition. In addition, Columbus also said that the people whom he had found in the islands fled immediately before he had had any speech with them2. As a result, he had taken possession of all the islands and given each a new name with one of them being named Isabella while another one was named Fernandina. This shows that the conquest of the Indies was had a succeeding nature as envisioned by Columbus already after his first voyage. De las Casas however had a different experience of the nature of the conquest of the Indies. De las Casas had talked about the destruction of the Indies half a century later after Columbus had talked about the possession of the Indies Islands. It had not been imagined that there was going to be destruction of any kind to the Islands. The destructions in the lands were brought by the most potent lord, evils and the harm which men were not imagined to be capable of doing3. The kingdoms that had been formed in the land had faced a lot of destruction. Moreover, the Indian people who were harmless had their kingdoms and lands destroyed by tyrants. In this connection, De las Casas had experienced the destruction of the land of the Indies a half a century after its construction.
Columbus and De Las Casas presented parallel information in their letters about the conquest of the Indies. Their letters had parallel information with regard to the economical exploitation of the land and people and religious conversion. Economical exploitation of the land and the people is evident in both documents because of the kind of activities described in each of the documents. Columbus said that there were fertile lands, which were cultivated, and different plants and fruits were grown in the land4. For example, there were palm trees, fruit trees and grapes in the land. There was also bee keeping which helped in the production of honey. Other land exploitation activities included metal mining and trade. The exploitation of land and the people led to the finishing of the stock of the Indies. As a result, there were bloody and tyrannical welfare in the land and this contributed to the oppression of the people with hard and harsh bondage5. In addition, insatiable greed and ambition led to the destruction of the kingdoms of the Indies. On the issue of religious conversation, the two documents explained that there was transformation of people into Christianity. The world had to have kingdoms and people who had kings and shepherds. People also had to be loyal to the spirits of their kings. The Lord would bless them with the land, which no people were supposed to destroy6. The people were also supposed to be converted to belief in God and the Holy Catholic Church and help them to succeed temporarily and spiritually. In this connection, Columbus and De Las Casas indicated in their letters about the conquest of the Indies that there was economical exploitation of the land and people and religious conversion.
References:
Bratolorne, De Las Casas. 2006. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. J. Carter
Brown Library, Brown University. Pp 1-3
Christopher, C. 1493. Letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Pp 1-3
Elbridge, S. 2006. The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Admiral; told for the Youngest
Leaders. New York: Hard Press,
Franklin, W. 2003. An Account, Much Abbreviated, of the Destruction of the Indies with
Related Texts. New York. Penguin Publishers,
