Christopher Columbus Journal Analysis

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The source, Christopher Columbus’s Journal, is a personal written account by Columbus of his time sailing to the New World and exploring it. Columbus's original Journals were lost. The original copies were sent to the King and Queen, however the parts that are left are from Bartoleme de Las Cases, one of the first men to come to the New World. He did not agree with Christopher Columbus’s way of treating the Indians, so it is certainly possible that the remaining parts may be tweaked to make Columbus look bad in the eyes of the people. (The Expansion of Europe and Rise of the Atlantic World, Enter Christopher Columbus) However, it is accepted that the remaining experts are more or less accurate. Columbus wrote his journal concurrently with …show more content…

His motivations were like those of most men in that time: God, Gold, and Glory. Columbus wanted to become rich by finding the spices that were in Asia and he also wanted to prove that Asia wasn’t really that far from Europe. He also wanted to spread Christianity through his journey. As well as his theory being proven correct, he also had many things to gain. In his journal it states, “[Your Highness] ordered me to proceed with a sufficient armament to the said regions of India, and for that purpose granted me great favors, and ennobled me that thenceforth I might call myself Don, and be High Admiral of the Sea, and perpetual Viceroy and Governor in all the islands and continents which I might discover and acquire, or which may hereafter he discovered and acquired in the ocean; and that this dignity should be inherited by my eldest son, and thus descend from degree to degree forever.” (Medieval Sourcebook: Christopher Columbus: Extracts from Journal, Paragraph 1) From this we can clearly see all he had to gain from this …show more content…

. . “(Columbus, Journal, paragraph 28) Also, “I could conquer the whole of them with fifty men, and govern them as I pleased.” (Columbus, Journal, paragraph 25) It is debated as to whether this is true or if he actually did threaten the natives. So while his actual story is presented and accepted as fact, details about his personality and treatment of Indians are not. It may be that the men with Christopher created lies to make him look bad on purpose as well, therefore there is no way to know what really