Preview

1492 Conquest Of Paradise

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
477 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
1492 Conquest Of Paradise
The assignment for this class participation short essay paper was to watch and write a critical analysis of the film "1492 Conquest of Paradise." The information I used for this paper came from various web pages, which are enclosed, "The American Nation Textbook", and finally the movie itself. I believe the biggest item that should be talked about is how historically accurate this film is, and did the director try to accurately portray what really happened during that time period.

From the start of the movie I was thrilled to see how the Director "Ridley Scott" followed the beginning of Christopher Columbus adventures. The opening scenes were strong indications that the Director wanted us to feel Columbus convictions that the Indies could be reached by sailing westward. In my textbook chapter 1, page 6 there is an engraving by Theodore de Bry, showing Columbus about to depart from Palos. I mention this engraving for one reason. During the Movie after watching the scene where Columbus was about to depart Palos one thing came to mind the engraving.

Weeks at sea and Columbus's crew becoming more and more restless, and mutiny becomes more of and option for the crew. Columbus was even losing trust from the Captain's of his boats. Everyone on board knew in their mind that Columbus was lost at sea, and wanted to know just how he was navigating. This is where Columbus showed one of the Captain's a way of navigation called "Dead Reckoning" or "DR". I found this information concerning navigation at the Columbus navigation homepage.

There are many theories concerning where Christopher Columbus had landed in the new world, and the movie adds just a view of one of those theories of how the life really was in the new world. Columbus had lived a hard life during hard times, it really doesn't matter if you read it from a textbook or find information concerning his journeys on the internet I think the movie I saw today was very entertaining, but also educated me in many ways
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    More Than Bows and Arrows
    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages

    More Than Bows and Arrows

    Overall, I found this film very surprising. I never realized how many Native American achievements that have been overlooked in today’s society. Native Americans have done so much to affect the formation of today’s country that it is astonishing. They have made so many contributions that I had never realized prior to this film. I thought that some of the most important contributions were irrigation techniques and medical procedures. Religion also played a vital role in shaping America today. Native Americans literally were involved in the development of nearly all aspects of America including sports and food. This film is an important one because it shines light on the long forgotten Native Americans. They made contributions in architecture, fishing, schools, industry materials, and government to name a few. I enjoyed the film because it is a celebration of Native Americans cultural contributions. I never realized how much has been overlooked. The film is also effective in disproving countless stereotypes that depict the typical Native American as some sort of savage warrior who is illiterate and misinformed. This could not be more far from the truth and must be corrected. Most of these stereotypes have been shaped by Hollywood television. It’s important to eliminate these stereotypes of Native Americans. Today, I believe that when most people think of an Indian they think of a crazy half naked man screaming through the forest with bows and arrows. This is contrary to the truth that many Indian societies were incredibly civilized and organized. This occurred in many different ways many of which have been incorporated into American life today. In the end, this film was very effective in shining light upon the issue. I think it’s great that this video has become so widespread and I hope that this trend will continue. That way, more people can understand the issue at hand. I cannot believe that some individuals can be so naïve and that…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of A Voyage Long And Strange By Tony Horwitz
    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Summary Of A Voyage Long And Strange By Tony Horwitz

    As I mentioned before I have always heard the saying but was always uncertain as to Columbus’ claim to fame. After reading about him I realized he had lots going for him other than the famous boats the Nina and Pinta. I thought it was interesting how his life before setting sail was rough, he was washed onto the shores of Portugal and his wife died during their marriage. “The Lord having opened my mind to the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies” (p. 51). This quote to me says that he really had his mind set to finding the land and he was a very persistent and religious man. I found the picture of Columbus leaving Ferdinand and Isabel to be somewhat comical because of the boats in the background just waiting for him to get…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Joining Christopher Columbus on His Voy
    • 811 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Joining Christopher Columbus on His Voy

    As we all stood in line to aboard our supplies for a hazardous exploration mission, you could feel the despair in the atmosphere. The thought of going into unknown territory away from your love ones, with the threat of unknown new diseases, however there were those men that looked at this as a new start and a way to make history. Although there were rumors that Columbus had no entirely told the truth about are objective. Columbus thought that by sailing west he would find a quicker and easier route to the East. Like everyone else, he thought that the earth was smaller than it is, and like all other Europeans at that time, he did not know about the existence of America.…

    • 811 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Christopher Columbus And Cabeza De Vaca
    • 607 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus And Cabeza De Vaca

    Columbus, C. (2013). Letter to Luis de Stantangel Regarding the First Voyage. In N. Baym, & R. S. Levine, The Norton Anthology of American Literature (pp. 25-26). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.…

    • 607 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Columbus Rhetorical Analysis
    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Columbus Rhetorical Analysis

    Columbus once said “For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.” simply saying that he used his mind to find his trip rather then doing the math behind it to find the correct coordinates so he sailed to sail he didn't necessarily know where he would dock his ship. The way that this quote would relate to the current day and age would be that we still have pirates that sail without using math and just sail the waters to raid ships or just do it to travel in general. The paragraphs following this will talk about columbus’s journey and what he thought about the islands he found for instance how he used “ All these islands are beautiful…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Gloria Deak's Everything You Need To Know About Columbus
    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gloria Deak's Everything You Need To Know About Columbus

    The fascination of the voyages of Christopher Columbus will forever be told and celebrated by many. Gloria Deak answers the questions about Columbus' historic endeavor to fill in the blank spots on who he was ,what he set out to accomplish, and where he succeeded. Deak describes Columbus as a great sailor whose success in crossing the Atlantic Ocean was an unequaled feat of navigation. She goes on to explain that very little is given accurately in the information we have on him to suggest that he was the gallant Renaissance figure often depicted in schoolbooks. She paints Columbus as an imaginative, courageous, and contained man with a capacity for extreme cruelty. One key aspect to his character she nailed down was his intense religiosity. He had a deep-seated belief in the Bible and logic of destiny that was noticeably messianic.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    1492 : Conquest of Paradise and Indians
    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    1492 : Conquest of Paradise and Indians

    1492: Conquest of Paradise is a movie directed by Ridley Scott and it was released in 1992. The main character Christopher Columbus was played by Gerard Depardieu and the movie was about his attempt to find a way to go to India by sailing west. The movie begins with Columbus teaching his son how the earth is round. Then Columbus thinks about the ways to get to India and that the best way was to go west. The people in Salamanca agreed to seeing his proposal all they do is laugh at it and challenge his idea. Even though the council rejected the idea he goes to Queen Elizabeth I which is played by Sigourney Weaver, and she gave him a chance. This other man wanted to help him but wanted money in return but Columbus did not accept and was to become a monk but the queen did not allow it and the queen supported the trip. They use this pendulum this to help them navigate and to find what degree latitude or longitude they are at. It has been weeks and the men think that they have gone off track and they do not trust in Columbus. They finally reach land and they go and explore until they find the indians. At first the indians are scary and Columbus’s plan does not involve force. They did not really find any gold except the artifacts the Indian’ gave them. The spanish were treated as gods. About 39 men stayed behind to build a fort while they go back to Spain cause the captain called Mendez played by Kevin Dunn, had a fever that would not go away. When they get to Spain they get applauded and and now he wants to go back with 7 ships and 1500 men. So he goes back to the West Indies and all his men are dead and the village they were at was burned down to the core. He wants peace with the Indians and so the Indians help bring in this bell and they help construct this fort and village. Then the Indians were put to find gold and they had to go turn it in everyday and one did not find anything and this man comes and chops his hand off and that starts a war with the natives. So the…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    7 Myths Of The Spanish Conquest Summary
    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages

    7 Myths Of The Spanish Conquest Summary

    Mathew Restall’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is a well-written book that serves an important purpose. That purpose being: the debunking of generally accepted falsehoods about the Spanish Conquest beginning in the 15th century. Restall’s book is separated into seven chapters that specifically address general myths most historians and students perceive as basic --- universal truths. Restall uses the term “myth” to describe the inaccurate/fictitious depiction of history “commonly taken to be true, partially or absolutely.” These “myths” are the progenitors of unintentionally self-centered perceptions of events historically recorded in subjectivity. The Self-absorption, relating to the…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Christopher Columbus Persevere
    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Did Christopher Columbus Persevere

    Columbus was a restless explorer during the Age of Exploration. He led many voyages to the West to find a new route to Asia to reduce the trading costs of products like silk and spices. On his travels, Columbus found the Americas, but did not realize it. After he voyaged to America, the Columbian exchange of people, goods, technology, culture, and diseases began. The discovery of the “new world” and the revolution that Columbus started in trade between the two continents gave him the historic respect and recognition that he lacked during his lifetime.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Columbian Exchange Significance
    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Columbian Exchange Significance

    From the late 1400’s to the sixteenth century, European kings and queens were overwhelmed by, what is now known as, the Age of Discovery. With all the extensive overseas exploration by European nations trying to colonize on foreign land and globalize, many explorers took their chance to propose an idea for voyage. Arguably one of the greatest sails man and captain in history, Christopher Columbus first proposed his idea to sail west into the Atlantic Ocean to Portuguese royalty, where it was rejected. With his vision and persistence, he then approached Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to propose his ideas and plans, where it was accepted in 1492, and the world was never to be the same again. It was because of Columbus that the New…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    5 Major Figures in Early American History
    • 3292 Words
    • 14 Pages

    5 Major Figures in Early American History

    Christopher Columbus is one of the most well known names in the western world because of what he accomplished during his lifetime. He was an explorer, a navigator, and a colonizer and, with his unrelenting determination, he would be the man to “discover” the New World. Although he thought that he found India and a better route to Asia rather than sailing around the southern tip of Africa, he had really stumbled upon the Americas. While he may have had the actual location wrong, his accidental discovery has effectively changed the timeline of human existence greatly, and has helped shape the world as we know it into what it is today.…

    • 3292 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Christopher Columbus Conquering
    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Christopher Columbus Conquering

    There is no one face of conquering. Like a coin, there are two sides, and what you see depends on how you flip it. There are positives and negatives in any conquering event, and to truly understand how the world works you need to explore and understand both. There are many different conquering events to explore and understand, but this paper will look into only two of the ‘big ones’ that are recognized in the world today.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Bartolome De Las Casas
    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bartolome De Las Casas

    Lester, touches upon the different portraits of the famous explorer across various time periods, their origins, and their impact on society. Right from when I started reading this piece, I still had the memory of the previous article fresh in my head. Christopher Columbus was the one who started all that tragedy, wasn’t he? If he had never discovered the Indians and their land, the natives could have lived peaceful lives on their own. That is not the way things went down though, and at the cost of the natives’ peace and even their lives, Columbus found a gold mine; which can be interpreted in two ways. One: He found a pretty primitive population who the Spanish could use as slaves; and two: he found a brand new land, filled with untapped minerals and resources. To be completely honest, the beginning of this reading which talked about celebrating Christopher Columbus and his deeds did not appeal to me much. I agreed more with the outraged American Indian groups who said he was a man who “makes Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent,” because it can indeed be argued that his deeds were worse. Moreover, as the reading continues, different portraits of Christopher Columbus, hailing from different artists and time periods, are examined. I think the fact that there were so many different and unique portraits of him shows us that no one really knew what Christopher Columbus looked…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Christopher Columbus As A Hero
    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Christopher Columbus As A Hero

    Las Casas directly displays the evil wrongdoing and savagery of the Spaniards and Christopher Columbus when he displays the empirical data of the Island of Hispaniola. The island was once so densely populated, estimated to have roughly 3 million inhabitants, now a population of just two hundred people. (Casas) This contradicts the notion of Columbus as a hero because it depicts him as a rabid exterminator. A hero saves people and the manner in which Las Casas describes Columbus’s actions are anything but heroic. In Columbus’s own journal he describes the events that transpired on his voyage in a way that make him appear as if though he were not the hero many people gave him credit for. One specific example from Columbus’s Journal that display this lack of heroism is the following line, “I understand the natives but imperfectly, and perceive them to be so poor that a trifling quantity of gold appears to them a great amount.”. (Columbus) I believe this quote to portray Columbus in a way that almost certainty conveys greed and prejudice, because after he says this he begins to slaughter anyone that stands between him and this gold that is ever so valuable to these natives. Heroism is not stealing from the poor in order to gain for yourself, a hero displays qualities of charity and not thievery. Christopher Columbus has been celebrated throughout history as a hero, but in a growing popularity of opinion, he is beginning to be questioned. These questions deserve to be raised and examined, so that we can better understand our…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    history essay questions
    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages

    history essay questions

    HIST 1301 – Midterm Study Guide Be prepared to answer the following essay questions. Be sure to include specific examples that support your thesis and conclusions. Your response to each essay must be at least 500 words in length. 1. A series of events and conditions existed in the Old World at the dawn of the fifteenth century that made New World exploration not only possible but also desirable.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics