How Did Christopher Columbus Impact Our Society

During the early exploration of the new world, few individuals had such a historical impact that Cristopher Columbus did. Knowing the world was round, Columbus attempted to find a new path the the Indias. Although he ultimately failed to do so, Columbus did however reach the West Indies. While there, he would go on to travel the surrounding areas, meet the local natives, and write about his findings. The Report of the First voyage was one of those writing. In this piece, Columbus was clearly using his position and information to let Spain know the land was up for the taking. There is no doubt that the Report of the First voyage forever changed history and played a large part in the colonization and settlement of the New World.

There were serval small indicators to show that Columbus and his men felt far superior to the Natives. Early on when discussing the Natives Columbus says that they “all go naked, men and women, as their mothers bore them, except that some women cover one place only with the leaf of a plant or with a net of cotton which they make for that” (Perkins, 28). This was a way of saying that if Natives did not any have the means to cover themselves there no no way they were going to be able to stop an invasion. He then backs this up with saying “they have no iron or steel or weapons, nor are they capable of using them” (Perkins, 28). The goes on to say the only weapons they have are arms of canes which they fix a sharp little stick (Perkins, 28). On top of all of that, Columbus continually mentions how timid the natives are of him and his men. The fact that so early on in Report of the First voyage Columbus feels that it was important to let his King and Queen know the Natives have no means of protecting themselves shows his intention may not have been