Christopher Columbus’s Voyage to America

       When Christopher Columbus arrived at the island of San Salvador, he was stunned by the land and curious about the native people. Columbus arrived at the cape of the island on 21 October 1492, anchored their ship, and helped the other ships to anchor to the sea bottom. Columbus and his company headed to the shore and discovered that it is completely deserted. They believe that when the people on the island had seen them they fled in terror. Columbus, told his company not to touch, move or, steal anything because it was not theirs. By doing this, it seems that he just wants to explore and not to harass the native people. In this essay, I am going to talk about Columbus’s feelings about the island’s land and people. The information I will be using is from an account Columbus made after he landed on San Salvador.

        Christopher Columbus was mesmerized by the beauty and the life. It says in the account that “this island exceeds all others in beauty and fertility. Groves of lofty and flourishing trees are abundant, as also large lakes, surrounded and overhung by the foliage. Everything looks as green as in April in Andalusia.” This is describing the surroundings and how they are green and how there is much life. The trees are so enchanting with the leaves and branches the way they are. The birds chirping together, as if singing, sounded so beautiful that it was like heaven. After a while though, it seems that Columbus’s awe was beginning to subside because he started walking around and collecting plants to sell. He also finds the aloe tree and plans to get ten containers full, each weighing 100 kilograms, of the aloe back to England and sell for a good sum of money. The beauty of the island only lasted for a little while, until the want for money and riches took over.

        While Columbus and his company were searching for some water to drink, they came upon a village of the natives. When the natives saw the group, they abandoned their houses, took some of their goods, and fled to the top of a mountain by the village. In the account it says “Columbus ordered that nothing which was left by the natives should be taken, not even the value of a pin.” Columbus probably did this to show the natives that they came in peace and did not want to harm them. When a small group of natives walked toward the company and one of the members of the group stepped forward, Columbus gave him some hawk’s bells and glass beads. This delighted the man and probably wiped away the fear of Columbus. The rest of the natives came down from the mountain and Columbus asked if they would fill up their ship’s water supply in exchange for more glass beads. I think that Columbus knew that it really was not that fair of a trade. He was not paying them the amount that they deserved for fetching the water. Columbus was taking advantage of the native’s time and effort, and they did not even realize. At first, Columbus was interested in the natives and what their culture was like, but soon realized he could take advantage the natives with extreme ease.