Christopher Columbus - What Really Happened

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIM?
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: WHAT

REALLY HAPPENED
"WE HAVE LEARNED THAT COLUMBUS WAS AMBITIOUS INTELLIGENT AND
COURAGEOUS BUT HE WAS NO HERO."
NATIONAL HOLIDAY:
COLUMBUS DAY
October 12,
1492
Discovery of the
Americas
Children in the United States learned that Christopher Columbus discovered America in
1492 but, since there were already millions of people living on the American continents
when he arrived, What is Columbus' real importance in history? This video will show what
really happened during his voyages between two worlds and how they helped shape the
world we know today. In 1451, Columbus is born in the Republic of Genoa. There he began
his sailing career but in 1477 he was hired as a Merchant Mariner for king John II of
Portugal. Portugal was gaining power on the seas colonizing Atlantic islands and
establishing trade with African kingdoms. By the 1480s they found out that Indian Ocean
was on the other side of Africa. This discovery gave them a fast and cheap trade route to
the rich goods of Asia. During Portugal's rise in power, a group of European scholars
thought the Earth was smaller than what was previously believed. This meant one could
reach Asia by sailing west. Because of the newly invented printing press, Columbus read
about these recent theories and was enthralled with the idea of sailing west for riches. He
tried to get funding for an expedition from Portugal, but King John didn't believe in the
small earth theory. He then tried in France, England and Spain with no luck, until 1492,
when the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, decided to help fund three ships for
a voyage; they saw Columbus as a means to compete against Portugal's success. The Niña,
Pinta and Santa María set sail on August 3rd, 1492. After a stop on Gran Canary, the rest of
the trip took five weeks. On October 12th, land was spotted; it was an island, and at dawn
Columbus went ashore. Because he believed in the small earth Theory, Columbus thought
he was near Japan. He called the natives of this island "Indians" because India was what
many Europeans called Asia at the time, but the natives really called the Taíno. Trade
began between the two parties, but it was clear that the Taíno did not possess the fabled
riches of East Asia; however, some of them wore gold as jewelry. Columbus was hungry
for gold to bring back to Spain. He wandered around, searching for a large amount of gold
until the Santa Maria crashed into a reef on Hispaniola. Columbus left 39 men at the site
to build a colony; he promised he would return for them and sailed back to Spain. When
he arrived in Europe Columbus was famous; he had sailed into the unknown and returned
to tell the tale. He brought back many things to show the Spanish King and Queen,
including Taínos he had kidnapped, but he did not bring enough gold. So Ferdinand and
Isabella equipped Columbus with 17 ships for a second voyage and named him governor
of all the lands he discovered. Columbus was an excellent sailor. He found his way back to
his venule using his own keen navigation skills, and kept the coordinates of his route a
secret.
OCT 14. 2020 | FLAG RAISING EVENT
When the fleet arrived at Hispaniola, they found out that the 39 men who were left
there to build a colony had been killed by a local chief. They also found out the same
chief had lots of gold on his land. Columbus led a crew into his territory and found a
gold quarry. The chief was angered by the arrogance of these invaders, and soon
fighting broke out. To intimidate the chief, Columbus captured three of his captains
and beheaded them in public. This enraged the Taínos and disturbed many of the
Spanish. To make things worse, there were soon no gold left to mine. Columbus sent
letters back to Spain on a ship and exaggerated the amount of gold that was found. To
produce more profit for the King and Queen, Columbus suggested starting a slave
trade. Without waiting for a response, he seized over 500 natives and sent them to
Spain. Most of the remaining natives fought against this injustice. So Columbus
unleashed terror on them. Once defeated, they were forced to pay tributes of gold to
the Spanish; it was worse than slavery. People who didn't find enough were punished
brutally. Forced to constantly look for gold, the Taíno could not farm their lands
anymore. Many escaped them to the hills only to be hunted down. During the first
few years of the tribute system, 50,000 natives died. Columbus's brutal command
made him enemies in the colony as well as in Europe. In 1496, he sailed for Spain to
defend his actions to Ferdinand and Isabella. He left his brother Bartolomeo in charge
of the colony until he returned. King and Queen listened to his defense and allowed
him to return to Hispaniola in 1498. By now, the colony was a disaster; Bartolomeo
was just as bad at governing as his brother was —if not worse. A rebellion had begun
among the Spanish, and soon the King and Queen sent a royal investigator to assess
the situation. He put the Columbus brothers on trial. They were found guilty of
numerous crimes against both, the Spanish and the natives. The brothers were
arrested and sent back to Spain. Christopher Columbus was no longer in charge of the
New World. Now, old and humbled, he was allowed one last voyage across the ocean,
but he was not permitted to return to Hispaniola. He explored the Caribbean for two
years before sailing back to Spain where he died in 1506. We have learned that
Columbus was ambitious intelligent and courageous but he was no hero. His exploits
in the colony were disasters for the native inhabitants and their way of life was
destroyed by his actions as governor. But his efforts led Europe to dominate the
world through colonization and the expansion of kingdoms into empires. If
Columbus did not succeed someone else would have, but since his journey was the
first to establish a link between the Old World and the New, his name is remembered.
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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIM?

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: WHAT

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