Christopher Columbus Bio

The Characteristics of the People and the Country in the Caribbean

The characteristics of the people and the country in the Caribbean are revealed in Christopher Columbus’ letter and Bartolome’s book on the destruction of the Indies. Columbus writes a letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella detailing his experiences while in the Caribbean. The note is addressed to them. His impression of the local Caribbean population was intended to reassure Spanish troops that there was very little chance they would encounter opposition upon entering the country. Many European nations’ attempts to colonize other lands were typically met with fruitless resistance, but Columbus thought the Caribbean was the finest. This paper will discuss the purpose achieved through the letters by Christopher Columbus (1943) and Bartolomé de Las Casas (1542) and how they motivated the Spanish Monarchs in the representation of native Caribbean inhabitants.

The Purpose of Bartolomé de Las Casas

Bartolomé de Las Casas was a fierce advocate for the native Caribbean people. His purpose was to promote awareness and enact legal change. During his several voyages to the Indies he witnessed several injustices on the indigenous people by Spaniards. After the religious conversion, his purpose was to reveal Christian activities while seeking to make Indians aware of the Spanish presence. He achieved this by compelling Spanish monarchs to maintain their religion in this new place. This short account of the Indies destruction was efficient since it produced the desired picture of deceit and slaughter. However, some questions had excessive exaggerations and most were left unanswered.

The Analysis of Las Casas’ Account

In this context, Las Casas was able to highlight that the Indians were innocent and pure while the Spaniards were brutal revealing the intensity of the natives’ deaths. However, he failed to adequately analyze what contributed to the natives’ death or completely describe the traditions and actions of natives in detail questioning.

Columbus’ Goal and Description of the Caribbean

The major goal of Columbus through his letter was to prove to the King that Spain could easily conquer the Caribbean. Besides that, Columbus also aimed at convincing the King that there was a need for him to send troops and colonize the Caribbean because it had a climate and the resources they required. He, therefore, centers on natural beautiful harbors, fertile soils, and abundant natural resources. The Caribbean is presented as a land with many raw materials and a cool weather fit for farming which Spaniards could use to produce enough food for their troops and citizens. The harbors are many and cannot be compared with any other in Christendom and are lined along the coastal line. The description meant that the coastline provided a good ground for packaging and transportation of farm produce and the materials excavated.

The Naivety and Hospitality of the Caribbean Inhabitants

The inhabitants of the Caribbean were naive and highly welcoming. Apart from the small arrows, they did not have special kinds of weapons and were not aware on how to use them. This meant that they did not have the ability to resist the invasion of the Spanish troops as they had no military training. After leaving some of them with guns, Columbus accounts that they did not impose any threat because none of them had the courage to operate the weapons.

The residents of the land were quite uncivilized as they walked without clothes. The lack of civility always made them welcome anybody to their lands as they had not been exposed to a large fleet of sheep and people with cloths (Wadsworth and James 45). Through the provision of clothes and other jewelry, the inhabitants would gladly welcome any stranger to their land. The Spaniards will, therefore, easy convince them to heed their commands through the provision of jewelry and clothes.

The Caribbean residents easily learnt Spanish and were able to communicate with Columbus after a short period of their interaction. Communication being a major component that ensures harmony and understanding amongst the people was a necessity to the Spanish troops. Besides their intelligence in easily understanding foreign languages, the Caribbean citizens had traveled to various parts of the Islands and had a good account of them (Wadsworth and James 50). Their knowledge greatly assisted Columbus because the natives at some point provided him with information about the seas and the fertile lands. The residents also had the ability to build small canoes that were used for fishing and transportation of small foodstuffs to various places. Their expertise in rowing the canoes was very incredible as they navigated the waters at extremely high speeds. Their ability to make small boats and canoes was advantageous as it meant that they would not only provide labor at the farms, but they would also ensure that they were able to get to the market on time. The people also had high levels of understanding and respect amongst themselves and, when accorded a task, they would join their efforts in order to fulfill the duty (Wadsworth and James 13).

The Importance of Unity and Workforce in the Caribbean

Their unity was quite paramount to the Spaniards as it ensured that they had a workforce with a common purpose. Having employees that are not centered towards the same goal can be detrimental to an organization as all the policies will not be executed to the required standards. Christopher Columbus’s description of the Caribbean land to the King was aimed at bringing out the concept of trade and industrialization the country would provide. The strong, energetic, and well-formed Caribbean population presented a vibrant workforce that would work in the firms and in the mines.

The Motivation of Spanish Monarchs

Christopher Columbus through his letter greatly motivated Spanish monarchs to venture into the Caribbean land. Through his description of the environment, the Caribbean had fertile lands that were fit for cultivation and livestock keeping. This was very important to them as it ensured that they would produce enough food both for their soldiers and citizens. The farm produce would also increase the economy of the country as it ensured the growth of food processing industries. The harbors also provided an easy and convenient way of transporting various raw materials and the foodstuffs to their required destination. The raw materials presented a guarantee that the industries that were located in Spain would receive adequate goods required for them to compete with other factories throughout the world. The large receptive population would also provide the required labor bearing in mind that they were highly welcoming and the Spanish would not face much resistance. Their failure to have adequate knowledge on how to use various weapons also meant that the Spanish soldiers would not encounter much violence while venturing on this land. The detailed accounts of the Caribbean land by Columbus’s through his letter was enough to convince the Spanish monarchs that their interest was fully captured by the adequate resources an environment in the Caribbean land. Being the ages of colonization, the whites were interested in acquiring enough resources in order to compete amongst themselves.

The Tribulations of the Caribbean Citizens

Las Casas through his book brought up many identities that were devised to serve moral and political interests that could never have been understood. Independence from Spain is something that never came to his mind even for the Indians, let alone the other colonies that were under their control. Through his book, Las Casas aimed at bringing out the tribulations that the Caribbean citizens encountered due to the arrival of the Spanish. On their arrival in large numbers, the Spaniards settled in the fertile and large lands of Hispaniola, which comprise of around six hundred leagues of coastal line with many other great islands surrounding it (Las Casas 45). The Spaniards described this place as appropriate for human inhabitants as the lands were fertile than any others that had been explored in the world. Las Casas also described the people residing at the Caribbean as open and innocent. He went on to say that they were unassertive, unassuming, and highly submissive. The attitude of the locals ensured that the white settlers received maximum profit from their work. To the lords who had acquired them as laborers, the Caribbean citizens were highly obedient and responsible. Despite the generosity of the Caribbean, the book presents that the Spanish invasion into the country led to the death of many of them. During their first journey there, the indigenous population stood at three million but today only a few hundred survive. The drastic reduction in their numbers was attributed to their displacement by the Spaniards in order to cultivate fertile soils and mine the gold and other raw materials present in many Caribbean islands. The naivety of the Caribbean citizens was brought out through the fact that they welcomed the Spaniards thinking that they were good people. Their idea of their new friends being great friends amongst the Caribbean have been turned upside down as they were now the ones whipping them and giving them various hard tasks (Las Casas 45). They have first declared war on everybody that resisted their ruling as well as exposing them to forced labor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Columbus’ letter and Las Casas’ A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies largely impacted the actions of many European countries to invade Caribbean islands. Columbus’ representation of Caribbean in his letter is that of a land full of materials that any country would have wished for. Although the natives were not Christians, he viewed them as highly respectful people who would better embrace Christianity. The description of fertile lands and abundant raw materials in his letter addressed to the Europeans gave them all the reasons to move towards these islands. The naivety of the native people in the Caribbean islands provided an easy task to the Spaniards as they gladly embraced them and provided them with the required materials.

Works Cited

Las Casas, Bartolomé. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Penguin UK, 1992.

Wadsworth, James E., ed. Columbus and His First Voyage: A History in Documents. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.