Analysis Of Howard Zinn's Arguments Of Columbus

This account is reasonably believable and accurate as Howard Zinn cites multiple first and second-hand sources and supports with statistics throughout the excerpt. While the excerpt clearly holds the view that the Spanish were an avaricious and violent force in the Americas, Zinn’s direct sources provide validity to that argument. Zinn directly quotes Columbus, providing a first-hand account of Columbus’s actions during his time at Hispaniola. Zinn quotes Bartolomé de Las Casas regarding the cruelty of the Spanish force, considered the chief source and often the only eyewitness of the time. However, with no other sources to verify las Casas's claims, it is likely that his account is exaggerated, which Zinn acknowledges writing, “were there

Zinn writes that the Spaniard's harsh treatment caused many Arawaks to die from slave labor and even suicide. The excerpt explains that the fifty thousand Arawaks and descendants were completely eliminated in a span of 135 years. Quotes from first-hand sources describe cruel Spanish greed further. Zinn reveals that Columbus took the credit for spotting land from another sailor. Writings from Columbus in the excerpt also reference the natives as naive and easily subjugated beings, exposing the sailor as a pompous and untrustworthy individual to the readers. Zinn also includes a quote from Las Casas that says “two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day. . . and for fun beheaded the boys, emphasizing the often meaningless abuse of Spanish power. Quotations from Columbus and Las Casas along with shocking statistics of death strongly portray the Spanish as patronizing and bloodthirsty to

With quotations from Columbus himself, it is impossible to get a more intimate look at Columbus’s actions in the Americas. While the majority of Zinn's sources seem veritable, Las Casas, reputed as a heated critic of the Spanish forces, seems to be of questionable validity. Las Casas’s claim of 3 million native deaths following the Spaniard's arrival seems grossly inflated, especially when compared to the 250,000 deaths calculated by historians. Such a large variance threatens the validity of Las Casas’s accounts. However, since Las Casas was the only eyewitness to many events regarding the Spanish conquest in North America it seems that including such bias is unavoidable. Due to suspicions of exaggeration, Las Casas seems unreliable he is, unfortunately, the only source available. Overall, the majority of Zinn's sources seem