Christopher Columbus Research Paper

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Pages: 3

Before Christopher Columbus made his voyage to the New World, much of the existing world's intellect and creativity feel between the greedy hands of European countries, specifically Spain, Italy, and England. Upon arrival of the continent of North America, Columbus paid special attention to the 50 million inhabitants (who would later become known as indigenous people/ Native Americans) and their divergent culture and ways of life. These people, though simple and timid, practiced one of the earliest forms of record keeping and literature through the use of flat stones as canvases and wood, copper, shells, and rocks as writing utensils. The twenty-first century highlights the epitome of convienence, so imagining these early people working tiredlessly just to produce written records is more than I think anybody of today's world could comprehend.

Although Columbus was considered to be Spain's new adventerous "hero", the fact remains that he was responsible for the mass genocide and enslavement of innocent tribes. In the piece The Brief Relation of the Devastation of the Indies, Bartolome de Las Casas rightfully exposed the crucifixion and scapegoating of an innocent race to complement and enable the success of the Spanish. I agree wholeheartedly with Las Casas decision to publish the journal, because filthy "sucess" should never be gained by
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The Travels of Marco Polo and Mandeville's Travels were apart of this genre, and I see both pieces of literature as capturing and exaggerating the materialistic and imaginative minds of the Europeans. In Mandeville's Travels, the imagery of the Cathway palace is superb, including details of gold pillars and an austentaciously decorated throne. To Europeans of this time, I can just imagine commoners reading these books and dreaming about a rich, privilieged