Christopher Columbus First Voyage To America

Over the years many historians have recorded findings of various places such as the Americas, but the first known European recording belonged to Christopher Columbus an Italian-European explorer who sailed the ocean blue in 1492. “Journey of the First Voyage to America” is an explorative narrative by Christopher Columbus about his journey to the west and reports on what he had discovered to the Spanish Royals. In 1492, Columbus attempted to reach India by sailing through the Atlantic Ocean as opposed to crossing Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia to reach his destination. He ended up on the island of San Salvador and made it up the Caribbean to reach North America. Christopher Columbus’s letter to the Spanish crown about his travels to the
newly discovered Americas is unreliable due to its biased views influenced by greed and impression. To begin with, Christopher Columbus left Europe in order to search for the riches of India and other Southern Asian regions, but ended up in the American continent where he still thought that he was in India.
For instance, Columbus is speaking about an island nearby called Coba (Cuba), “... I shall examine on the passage, and according as I find gold or spices in abundance, I shall determine what to do…” (Columbus 64). He was looking for materials on the islands such as spices and gold to take back to the king and continue his journey. Columbus had a goal and he had to achieve it and if he did not reach it, then no profitable noble would just give him and the crew money to explore an unsettled territory with unknown inhabitants and uncertain resources. In addition, the historical context or time frame of the document is the 1490s and Columbus was attempting to get to India by going through the Atlantic Ocean. His letter was created in October 21st, 1492 which means that his journey to the Americas occurred during the Age of Exploration. To illustrate, Columbus records the day of his arrival in San Salvador, “Sunday, Oct. 21st [1492]. At 10 o’clock, we arrived at a cape of the island, and anchored, the other other vessels in company” (Columbus 62). Since it is the Age of Exploration, the wonders of seeing something and someone entirely new can be overwhelming to anyone, especially if their continent has been ignorant to the outside world for a long period of time, so some
events might not have been entirely true. Subsequently, not only was the entry in the journal is unreliable to the reader because of historical context on why it was created in the first place, but also because of the over exaggeration and choice of diction. Likewise, it seems quite awestruck and optimistic in the document with plenty of resources, along with shy natives who seem engrossed in the Europeans foreign supplements. Specifically, when Columbus and the natives of the island finally met personally, ¨...one of them [natives] came up to us, to whom we gave some hawks’ bells and glass beads, with which he was delighted¨ (Columbus 63). He stated as if the natives welcomed his arrival without worry and had no problem interacting with them, even if the natives were a bit shy at first and didn’t try to protect their land. Just as important, ¨I saw a snake, which we killed, and I have kept the skin for your highnesses” (Columbus 63). His use of vocabulary seems very positive when talking about the natives and the huge specimen that would’ve been conventionally feared or terrified others. Columbus apparently respected the land very much despite the fact that historians have discovered that Columbus eventually raided the island of the natives by selling them off to slavery or executing them for attempting to escape capture. Hence, dependability the document can also be proved by not only the embellished truth, also the reasons for whom the document was initiated at.
Following up to Columbus’s journal entry, the historians can identify the exaggeration in the writing in order to receive more funding for the expedition. This shows how he strongly used his vocabulary to keep or maintain his funds from the nobles that were supporting him. Beyond that, he states how everyone expected his arrival and how his crew are the only ones coming in contact with the Indians.For example, Columbus began to interact with the natives,“Presently we saw several of the natives advancing towards our part…” (Columbus 63). The Spanish throne must be interested in this glorified discovery to allow more funding or sponsoring to the crew and Columbus. In addition, Columbus finishes his entry to the Spanish royal family, “... till I succeed in meeting with the king, in order to see if I can acquire any of the gold, which I hear he possesses.” (Columbus 64). At the closing of his letter he adds in Your Highnesses confirming that he is in contact with more powerful and wealthy patrons. With this in mind, the viewpoint of the writer is rather biased since Columbus wished to catch the attention of his benefactors by either overstating events or over glorifying the journey’s discoveries. In particular, Columbus arrives to San Salvador with his crew, “After having dispatched a meal, I went ashore, and found no habitation save a single house, and that without an occupant; we had no doubt that the people had fled in terror of our approach, as the house was completely furnished” (Columbus 62). He uses specific diction that directly implies his point of view and how everyone respected or at least feared his authority. Also, his word is probably the only form of communication with the royal crown since captains of expeditions are typically the ones who interact with the patron. As a result, the credibility of the letter to Spain can be questioned because of perspective of who the writer is, and the audience who received the report as well. To conclude, the journey of Christopher Columbus and his journal entry is dubious because it was only meant to appeal to the Spanish Monarchy.
Therefore, the given document of the first voyage to America, is undependable due to who the document was meant for, and was created to gain more sources of income. Lastly, many readers can understand why earlier documents of exploration were described as paradise or placed on a high pedestal despite other factors that disprove it
otherwise.