Changing of Interpretation of Columbus Over Time Essay Example

historical scholars view Columbus from different perspectives depending on the sources of evidence they possess. While some of them support that he was a hero, others are convinced that he was a villain and still others offer the accounts of his travels while at the same time documenting the good and bad things he did. Other scholars provide the story of Columbus without offering any criticism. Charles Mann for instance, talks about the ways through which Columbus enabled most people to overcome their geographical constrains and meet other people through the Columbian Exchange.

Mann, as a man who have been studying civilization praises Columbus for having enabled the cross-cultural interaction of different people. He explains how various plants and animals were exchanged during the Columbian Exchange and this helped in building of civilized societies. His work visits different places like memorial sites where one can clearly see the movement of people, animals, and plants. People were able to discover new places and new ways of farming and doing business. However, Mann does not forget to mention the various negative effects that were associated with the Columbian Exchange like the various diseases that were also exchanged and claimed a lot of people’s lives. Slaves as well as Native Americans became prone to the various diseases that the European explorers came with and because they were not immune to them, most of them perished. While at the same time acknowledging that there were some of the negative effects brought about by the Columbian Exchange, Mann avoids judging Columbus instead states the benefits that were brought by the Columbian Exchange not only for the Americas but also for the

rest of the world.

Similarly, Irving, who spent a lot of years in Spain researching about the story of Columbus, portrays Columbus as an idol-like man. Irving portrays Columbus as a man who had great inventive capabilities. He had a unique vision when he planned to go and explore new lands and to his surprise he discovered various new lands he did not know existed. Irving also portrays Columbus as a man of a generous spirit who tried to bring civilization to the people he found along the way. He states that even though most people view Columbus as a man who tried to colonize the people he met, he did that in order to try and civilize them. His attempt to civilize the people is what prompted him to bring new plants and animals to the people just like Mann suggests. Nevertheless, Irving does not wind up without accepting that there were various flaws that existed in the way Columbus tried to civilize the people. He tells the story of how Columbus committed various crime against humanity like enslaving people and killing innocent civilians.

Many people died in his hands as some of them were forced to do hard labor to meet his ambitions while others were wiped by diseases brought about by Columbus and his men. Throughout the article, Irving uses positive terms to describe various things that were done by Columbus and by this he adores him and his accomplishments. He seems to be of the view that Columbus was a product of his time and that the things he did were done within the parameters of the historical context of that time.

Furthermore, Bartosik-Vélez

claims that since the idea of travelling around the world and exploring it was conceived in the min of Columbus, Columbus thought that this was a very effective method through which Spain could build a universal Christian Empire.

This would be an efficient way through which Spain would not only spread Christianity around the world but also spread and maintain its political power in various parts of the world. Bartosik-Vélez continues to state that in British North America Columbus was viewed an emblem of liberty and Individualism and also as a person who represented other benefits like scientific progress and entrepreneurship.

In addition to that, in this article Columbus is seen as the founder of the American nation because of the pivotal part he played in the establishment of the American idea of empire. For the United States to become a nation, Bartosik-Vélez argues that Columbus was able to reconcile various ideologies and this is what distinguished the United States as a unique and independent nation. Through this article, Columbus is viewed as a man of great minds who was able to bring civilization in a land where people had lived like savages and who did not know what else happened or existed outside their world. As such Columbus helped in spreading Christianity and bringing civilization to various lands he visited during his voyage. Helen Nader seems to back up various claims made by Bartosik-Vélez by stating that Columbus was the founder of the American continent. She continued to state that there were major accomplishments associated with Columbus especially because he acquired land and wealth for the Spanish crown.

Some history researchers have contended that Columbus was the

founder of the American mainland and additionally the person who served as the impetus for European development of investigation and colonization also. In any case, different researchers argue that when contrasted with different pioneers who had already reached the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the accomplishments of Columbus are irrelevant. They keep on arguing that the force and commitments of the dealers highly added to the economy of the Europeans when contrasted with the minor commitments of one wayfarer. Michael McGeeargues that Columbus was not the establishing father of the American landmass like the vast majority like to make him. He portrays Columbus as only an explorer who arrived on America and began oppressing and tormenting the general population he discovered.He states that Columbus can never be the founding father of America because he did not even land on any swatch of territory that is today known as the United States.

A large portion of these individuals were very weak as a result of hard labor imposed on them by Columbus and his menas well as debilitated by infections while others passed on in Columbus ships while on their journey to Spain. The locals were forced to work inthemines and most of themlost their lives in the mines while other people who couldn't work or neglected to give Columbus any returns to pay his obligations were pitilessly sold as slaves. Along these lines, it appears that despite the fact that Columbus made a few commitments to the different grounds he went to while on his voyage, he utilized negative approaches to make himself and Spain wealthy.

Schuman, Barry, and Hannah have mentioned that revisionist historians as well as

Indian activistsargue that Christopher Columbus deserves to be condemned for bringing about negative things to the new worlds he discovered. They claim that Columbus served as the forerunner for colonization, slavery, diseases and even death to the indigenous people he found in the Americas.

Through the research done by these researchers, Americans continue to view Columbus as a hero especially because they attribute the founding of their nation to him. However, they have also been able to note that the large percentage of people who seem to agree with the claim that Columbus was a hero are people of the older generation. With the changing perspectives associated with new sources that indicate Columbus was no hero, people in the younger generation seem to somewhat doubt whether Columbus was a hero. While the white Americans seem to perceive Columbus as a hero, the indigenous Americans have their different views especially because of the stories they heard from their ancestors concerning how Columbus mistreated the Indians, subjected them to hard and forced labor and sold others to slavery.

Through the work of Schuman, Barry, and Hannah, the name of Columbus has been overly tarnished by severe criticism coming from the Indigenous Americans and revisionist activists. They also suggest that the two hundred years that most Americans have spent commemorating the triumphs of Columbus have now been turned upside down by some historians so that the people who had through of Columbus in triumphal terms could see him as a villain. However, Hazlett states that into the Eden of the American land, Columbus introduced the white men who did nothing more than bring about its eventual destruction.

Through the work done

by Desai, various modern historians have completely disagreed that Christopher Columbus was a hero as most people like think of him. Such scholars have painted Columbus as an imperialist and opportunist who only took advantage of the poor and helpless position of the people he found along his way. Desai’s article seems to refute the heroic image of Columbus and instead shows how Columbus and enslaved the indigenous people to try and quench his insatiable thirst for gold.

The natives who failed to provide him with gold quotas saw their hands being chopped off while others were tortured with vicious dogs. Other times when Columbus failed to amass the amount of gold he needed, he filled his ships with slaves, who would be sold off for gold and others would be taken to Spanish settlers. The impact of the activities carried out by Columbus in the New World was clearly massive as people who did not die from hard labor, slavery, and poverty were wiped by mysterious diseases they had not experienced before. Ingber states that in 1492 there were approximately 300, 000 native islanders but by 1548, the number had surprisingly reduced to fewer than 500.

Scott, similarly claims the unwarranted superiority that Columbus felt as he characterized the Indians as barbarians with no religion or customs. In short, these authors claim that the voyage that Columbus undertook to the new world only brought about negative effects especially the suffering and depopulation of the native Indians.

Historical Interpretations Focused on the Colonization of the New World

Columbus have been said to be the person who connected the Old World with the New World. Most people during the 14th

and 15th century had no idea that the new world existed. The European nations did not know that there were other people who existed in another part of the world far away from them until Columbus reached the New World. However, there are still other historians who seem to refute the idea that Columbus was the first person to discover the New World. Even though most researchers have agreed that Columbus discovered the New World, a large number argue that Columbus was the one who paved the way for imperial expansion into the New World. For instance, Brennan compares the New World to the Garden of Eden where everything was perfect until Columbus arrived. He argues that the landing of Columbus into the New World served to inaugurate the insatiable European desires to spread their imperialism.

There were two main goals for the Europeans after Columbus discovered the New World and these were spiritual and material. They wanted to regain the paradise and then convert the people they found there to the “true” religion of the European people and then exploit any natural resources that would be of value to them.

Brennan argues that just as Adam and Eve were evicted from Eden, the fall of the people in the New World was almost as swift as swift. The New World became a newly available physical and intellectual space where the Europeans imagined empires and colonies could be enacted. From the first day when Columbus made his first voyage to the New World and onwards, the New World slowly became a reality and it started to emerge even to people who never believed it ever existed. The

Europeans the, following the discovery of the New World by Columbus, mapped it both empirically and culturally and just as Adam gave names to different animals and plants in the Garden of Eden, the Europeans gave different names to people, places, and animals.

Heil, in her work also seem to suggest that Columbus was the man who led to the colonization of the new world by the Europeans. From the exploitive nature of Columbus, the other Europeans learned of various way through which they could exploit the natives of the New World to gain control over the land and continue reaping the various benefits of the untapped natural resources found there. According to this article, trying to spread Christianity to the New World motivated conquest and expansion specially by the Spanish crown.

Neil states that Spain was able to justify the extension of its empire into already occupied lands if “barbarians” inhabited the lands because they believed that these barbarians were destined to convert to Christianity. Therefore, trying to spread Christianity into the New World was a form of colonization and this only served to inspire colonization and expansion of the European powers. The Europeans tried to find gold and other minerals in the New World and when this did not work out that well they decided to make the most of their material desires and decided to start doing agriculture and over time more settlers had arrived and settled in the new lands. The various voyages that Christopher made to and from the New World served to confirm to Spain and other European powers that the New World was ready for colonization.

On the other hand, Decker

argues that the real Columbus remains elusive and masked especially because his documents and life accounts have been vigorously debated, rewritten, edited, arranged, copied, and falsified by various historical figures.

He argues that all these activities have only served to distort the real Columbus. Form his point of view, Columbus is attacked that he is the reason as to why Spanish imperialism spread to Latin America leading to the people living there to be colonized. He argues that most historical figures have distorted the real story behind the explorations of Columbus and that he brought about Nazi-related forms of governments to Latin America with military dictatorship. Decker continues that to argue that most historians have fictionalized the story of Columbus to show that he, together with his men tried to assimilate and annihilate the indigenous culture instead of first trying to understand the way of life of the indigenous people.

As such, these historians have painted a picture of how Columbus described the natives he found in Latin America making them look like they need an immediate intervention from the Europeans who would later come and impose their culture on the indigenous people. Decker claims that there is a lot of fictional work by historians which have been made to look like real history and that most of them have only manipulated the story of Columbus to serve their own purposes. For instance, he claims that most Latin America history, though in part employing real historical documents, is largely fiction which uses the history to create a camouflage pattern to hide their true identity as fiction. As such, he suggests that Columbus had good intentions to travel

to Latin America especially for the purpose of spreading Christianity and trying to civilize the people.

The Gaps Found in the Changing Perspectives of Historians Interpretations of Columbus

From the 15th century to early 20th century, the story of Christopher Columbus as well as that of other early European exploration tended to demand space in the books of history. These were viewed as big events that could not go without being documented. However, during this time, Columbus has been presented as a role model without having to examine his life in an accurate manner or using accurate research findings and sources of evidence. This trend continued up to the early 20th century where most historians continued to give a flowery language to the story of Columbus. During the early 20th century, historians took a more critical attitude toward traditional heroes who have always been perceived as heroes without looking deeply into their story.

These historians began a trend whereby exemplary individuals were no longer seen as the moving forces in the history of the world. Various events took place in the mid-20th century where historians focused on certain groups in the American society like the people of color. As such, the new research and approaches stimulated failed to correct the old-fashioned heroic notion of Columbus or continue keeping alive the nuanced version of his story as people had known up to the late 19th century. Starting with the 20th century, a lot of information about Columbus seemed to have been lost rather than gained and most people are now reaching their adulthood with very little knowledge about who the real Columbus was.

Many popular misconceptions continue to exist about

Columbus. While most historians claim that Columbus was the founder of the American mainland other questions pop up like; did he actually discover America when he had thought he had found a new route to Asia? Even though his unplanned discovery of America is considered to be his great accomplishment, he never set out to discover the lands of the western hemisphere. His main plans were to discover a direct route to Asia and the mapping of the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus is also known to have had an ultimate goal of reaching Jerusalem, spreading Christianity to that area of Muslims and claim the city for the Spaniards. However, if Columbus never reached North America, why do the Indians claim that he used to sell the natives to slavery and why do they refuse to remember him as a hero? Still other authors like Pelta believe that Columbus set foot in Bahamas and that is where he met the native Indians. Others like Fernandez-Armesto argue that Columbus did not discover a new world because it was already occupied by people.

It seems that there is no balance whatsoever to the two different stories that are told about Columbus.
There are a lot of assumptions that have been created as far as the story of Christopher Columbus is concerned. Some of the historians have misinterpreted the sources they have about Columbus while others have used irrelevant methodologies to come to their conclusions. In addition, some historians have manipulated the story of Columbus to make it fit the expectations of the society. While some of the original primary sources have become lost, this does not mean that there is no

possible way through which the true story of Columbus can come out. A new approach to this contradicting issue may prove to be very benefiting and important. This can be done by focusing on the era which Columbus was operating in.

This is very important as it will help the historians understand better some of the circumstances that may have shaped various behaviors. With this in mind, it is also important for an intensive research to be carried out by joint scholars who would sit together and try to interpret the findings one by one in an objective manner while at the same time focusing on the time frame on which Columbus was operating on. Therefore, future research should focus on the practical constraints that existed during his time and how this could have prompted him to act the way he did. This would be very important as it would help the historians see Columbus story in a new light and thus they would not overly exaggerate his achievements or paint him as a monster.

Conclusion

There is still a lot that need to be done in order to provide a balanced story or events that surround Christopher Columbus. There is no doubt that he made some great accomplishments while at the same time committed some of negative things in order to achieve his goal. A lot of literature works have a ton of suppositions and some of them still maintain that Columbus should dependably remain a legend. Others have overstated the character of Columbus as that of a coldblooded and mean man. Obviously Columbus was not as respectable as most historians want us to think but yet,

he was not as brutal and mean as he is in some cases depicted. An intensive research need to be done using primary sources in order ascertain the real accounts of Columbus life.

Bibliography

• Bartosik-Vélez SAN MIGUEL, PEDRO L. "The Legacy of Christopher Columbus in the Americas: New Nations and a Transatlantic Discourse of Empire." Hispanic American Historical Review 95, no. 2 (May 2015): 386-387. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 4, 2016).
• Brennan, Rosamund Elaine. "European Representations of the New World in Travel Narratives and Literature, Late-Fifteenth to Mid-Seventeenth Centuries." Order No. U584064, Cardiff University (United Kingdom), 2006. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1373383811?accountid=35812.
• Charles Mann "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created." Magill’s Literary Annual 2012 (April 2012): 1-3. Literary Reference Center Plus, EBSCOhost.
• Decker, Christopher. "Rewriting Columbus: Revisions in Sixteenth- and Twentieth-Century Historical and Literary Discourse." Order No. 9934707, Tulane University, 1999. http://search.proquest.com/docview/304539637?accountid=35812.
• Delaney, Carol. "Columbus's Ultimate Goal: Jerusalem." Comparative Studies in Society and History 48, no. 2 (04, 2006): 260-292. http://search.proquest.com/docview/212680730?accountid=35812.
• Desai, Christina. "The Columbus Myth: Power and Ideology in PicturebooksAbout Christopher Columbus." Children's Literature In Education 45, no. 3 (September 2014): 179-196. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 21, 2016).
• Fernandez-Armesto, F. "Columbus--Hero orvillain?."History Today 42, no. 5 (May 1992): 4. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 21, 2016).
• Handlin, Lilian. "Discovering Columbus." American Scholar 62, no. 1 (Winter93 1993): 81. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 6, 2016).
• Hazlett, John D. "Literary Nationalism and Ambivalence in Washington Irving's The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus." American Literature 55, no. 4 (December 1983): 560. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 4, 2016).
• Heil, Jennifer. "The American Columbus: Geography, Chronology and the Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Literature."
  

Order No. 3522268, Emory University, 2012. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1037089480?accountid=35812.

Construction and Deconstruction of an American Hero, 2006. University of Central Missouri. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text. p. 10