Don Cristóbal Colón
Don Cristóbal Colón:
Admiral of the Ocean Sea
Christopher Columbus is a name that the majority of people are familiar with, but when you think of Columbus, what comes to mind? Is it tales of valor? Adventure? Well this isn’t the case. Hans Koning brings to light many interesting points that many are unfamiliar with. Koning would tell you that Columbus was an ignorant man with selfish intentions. A man led blindly by greed in an effort to gain great fame and fortune.
In grade school we were taught that Columbus was a hero, a man who deserved the credit of discovering America. However Koning disputes this saying that, “...we no longer say that Columbus “discovered America.” America was there and millions of people already lived in its lands” (12). He counters this view by saying that Christopher Columbus was the first European to put America on the map, as the only Europeans were actively trying to create maps of the world. Columbus however insisted to his death that America was in fact part of Asia.
He would go on to speak about the greediness of Columbus as well as the Spaniards as a whole. One example of this that stood out to me was an incident on the first voyage where a sailor by the name of Rodrigo spotted land for the first time thus earning himself a yearly pension of ten thousand maravedis for the rest of his life, that is until Christopher Columbus said that he himself had seen land the night before and that the reward was his.
There were further examples documenting the greed of the Spanish royalty as well as the church. This greed was another driving factor behind Columbus’ expeditions because without there would have been no initial funding for his voyages. Columbus was a skilled speaker and used this talent to gain audience with different royal personnel. It was in these meetings that Columbus would talk of great treasures of gold. However, Columbus was also a very passionate Catholic and always spoke of the religious aspects of his
Admiral of the Ocean Sea
Christopher Columbus is a name that the majority of people are familiar with, but when you think of Columbus, what comes to mind? Is it tales of valor? Adventure? Well this isn’t the case. Hans Koning brings to light many interesting points that many are unfamiliar with. Koning would tell you that Columbus was an ignorant man with selfish intentions. A man led blindly by greed in an effort to gain great fame and fortune.
In grade school we were taught that Columbus was a hero, a man who deserved the credit of discovering America. However Koning disputes this saying that, “...we no longer say that Columbus “discovered America.” America was there and millions of people already lived in its lands” (12). He counters this view by saying that Christopher Columbus was the first European to put America on the map, as the only Europeans were actively trying to create maps of the world. Columbus however insisted to his death that America was in fact part of Asia.
He would go on to speak about the greediness of Columbus as well as the Spaniards as a whole. One example of this that stood out to me was an incident on the first voyage where a sailor by the name of Rodrigo spotted land for the first time thus earning himself a yearly pension of ten thousand maravedis for the rest of his life, that is until Christopher Columbus said that he himself had seen land the night before and that the reward was his.
There were further examples documenting the greed of the Spanish royalty as well as the church. This greed was another driving factor behind Columbus’ expeditions because without there would have been no initial funding for his voyages. Columbus was a skilled speaker and used this talent to gain audience with different royal personnel. It was in these meetings that Columbus would talk of great treasures of gold. However, Columbus was also a very passionate Catholic and always spoke of the religious aspects of his