Christopher Columbus Sparknotes

In the year 1484, Christopher Columbus began his mission. He had an idea no one had even considered at this time. Columbus wanted to sail west, around the world, to find Japan, India, and China. Columbus desired spices, gold, and other valuable resources, but at the time supplies were coming from Asian caravans, and only in very small amounts. So, in 1484, Columbus began a search across Europe for someone that would back his voyage. Queen Isabella of Spain eventually agreed to pay for Columbus’s equipment, as well as authorize the trip, should he run into any trouble. In 1492, Columbus set out on his first of 3 voyages. Columbus’ third and final expedition from Spain to the New World would take place in May of 1498, 2 years before his death.

One of his big studies was that of Columbus and his expeditions. Morison had a very different view (as opposed to Zinn’s view) on Columbus and how his story should be told. He touched very briefly on the genocide that took place, and focused mainly on the white history and accomplishments surrounding Columbus, as well as all of the discoveries of the New World, hence the title of the chapter: The Century of Discovery. Morison discusses Columbus’ journeys and experiences exactly how Zinn discourages us from viewing it. An example of this is from page 3 of the reading: “Columbus personally led the first colony to the new World in 1493; he discovered the South American continent in 1498; and he obtained the first definite news of the Pacific ocean. The history of the America’s stems from his four voyages.” (p.g. 3). In this quote, Morison is giving credibility to Columbus. He is telling us why we should respect him. This again is talking about the white history of America. Yes, Columbus was the first European to settle America. Yes, he was the first white person to discover South America. Telling history like this is one sided. It is important to learn about the European conquest of America, but we can not know the full story without hearing it from the people that were here first. However, this is how Columbus’ story has been historically told. Therefore, Columbus has always been seen as the

On pages 8 and 9 of A Century of Discovery, Morison makes many claims about Columbus: “No discoverer in the world’s history had such a marvelous success as Columbus, even though he never found what he was first sought; no navigator save Magellan or de Gama may be compared with him for courage, persistence, and skill; no other great benefactor of the human race was so ill rewarded in his lifetime; none other is so justly revered today in the New and Other World of his discovery.” (p.g. 8 & 9). The quote above is baseless, and there is no evidence in the reading to support the conclusion Morison came to about Columbus. This view on Columbus is truly like having tunnel vision. Morison simply wants to promote white heroism, and bases his claims and opinions on his personal thoughts on this topic. In this case, Morison forms a full opinion on Columbus without at the very least recognizing the full story (genocide) and this causes his writing to solely support the glorification of white history. It makes one believe that because Columbus is supposedly an amazing person who accomplished amazing things, he should be celebrated. This is Morison’s view. That Columbus deserves to be celebrated because we would not be here without him. However, the focus is consistently on the good things white people did and the bad things people of color did, which makes it easier to put