The Conjecture Reconstruction Of La Isabela Analysis

After his first voyage, Columbus returned to Queen Isabella with his findings. With a larger crew and more supplies, Columbus returned to the Americas to establish a permanent town. The Conjecture Reconstruction of La Isabela by Arthur Shilstone shows the town and how it was meant to be. The painting may not be from the 1490s, but considering the town does not exist anymore it does show the town and the extent to which the Spaniards had planned on settling. The failure was a combination of Columbus’s bad administration, the crew’s unwillingness to cooperate, and the surrounding native population’s resistance to the Spaniards. Columbus’s poor administration was the reason the town failed. The town wasn’t the first failure. The original group

The town is in modern day Puerto Plata on the Coast of Dominican Republic. Columbus had an ambitious plan to create a trading post in what he believed was Asia. The town existed for less than five years. Even though the Spaniards had high hopes for the town; the town failed to live up to its expectations. In the time the town did exist it did have a few building be erected. Even a wall was built. The painting by Arthur Shilstone shows what the town was believed to look like in its peak. The painting shows the large fancy citadel built for Columbus. The settlers would have lived in the huts further away from the coast. Columbus lived in a Citadel and the townspeople lived in palm thatch huts. The difference in homes the settlers had and Columbus may have created some resentment towards Columbus and his Church/home. The buildings who the settlers believed were a waste of time and effort. The people who lived in the colony didn’t have an interest in staying in the colony. For most settlers it was a temporary site until they struck gold. This mentality would also be a downfall of the small town. Columbus was not a very good leader. He didn’t tend to his people and ignored their needs. Columbus was not very good at motivating his town. No one seemed to have any motivation to stay, not even Columbus. Columbus was adamantly looking for China. He even left the town to find China. He sailed off and left his military

The Portuguese trading posts in Africa only worked because of the mutual acceptance of gold as an item of value. The result was tension between the Taino native and the settlers. With no way to communicate or trade with the natives, the Spaniards were forced to cultivate food themselves. This tension would only grow over the years. With the Taino wanting little to do with the town. After Maragrit left, the town was left starving and sick. The Spaniards who stayed behind in the town resorted to stealing and raiding the Taino’s homes for food. This eventually led to an alliance between four neighboring Taino groups; their plan was to rid the area of the Spaniards. The Spaniards and the native fought; which led to more starvation and more sicknesses. Columbus had no plan to leave and the Taino were no match against Spanish except they had food. At this point the town was in shambles. The first European town in the Americas was a failure. This was due to poor administration and a general lack of interest in settling. The lack of motivation to properly harvest and tend gardens left the Spaniards desperate for food. The desperation forced them to destroy their already strained relationship with the surrounding natives, the Taino. The reason communication between the Taino and the Spaniards was bad was because the Spaniards couldn’t