preview

Christopher Columbus Analysis

Decent Essays

In the history of the new world, one of the most notable events to happen was Columbus’s expedition across the ocean blue way back in 1492. This was a very cataclysmic event because it began Europe's colonization of North and South America. While there were many people who recorded what the new world was like, the two accounts that will be focused upon here are that of the bishop Bartolomé de las Casas and Christopher columbus, two men with very, very different ideals and goals. These different viewpoints are reflected in both of their logs and they merit further examination. One of the Biggest difference between the logs of Columbus and Las Casa, is the malicious overtone that is present in the journal Columbus and absent in Las Casa’s. In Columbus’s log, he speaks of how easily it would be to conquer the Arawaks. “With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”. Comparatively, In the log of Las Casa, he speaks of how horrified he is by the atrocities committed by …show more content…

For one, they both had very different goals. Columbus was really only in it for the gold. He was the type of guy who would quite literally kill for a little slice of “cheddar”, so to speak. While Las Casa did own a plantation for short while in the new world, he eventually saw the error of his ways and amended them by freeing his slaves and becoming a humanitarian. This shows that unlike Columbus, Las Casa had a far less greddy personality. This brings us to the next reason for the difference between the two: their personalities. Columbus had the kind of personality where if were to look at a forest, he would think about how much he could profit off of it. If Las Casa were to have glanced the same forest, he might think at first of the lucrative potential of leveling it, but he may then consider the animals that rely upon forest for

Get Access