Christopher Columbus Influence On Society
The Influence of Difference
Imagine a “new world,” one that is “undiscovered” by any respected authority or righteous and powerful country, literally begging to be sought after and perforated. Think about creating the perfect world, where no one was hated, no religious man persecuted, no woman too frail or child too ignorant, a place where people would go to furnish new dreams and forget about their previous struggles. This whole scenario sounds unbelievably amazing, right? Well, if one has studied their history books, they would know that this is exactly what the English strived to accomplish after Christopher Columbus came upon this so-called new world. After this discovery, and throughout the entirety of the 16th and 17th century, even …show more content…
This is evident as Columbus himself even exclaimed, “The women appear to work more than the men”, which came as a huge surprise to not only Columbus and his crew, but to the people back in England as well (Columbus Letter, 1493). Nowadays in society, a hardworking woman is seen as an independent, educated, and strong person, but back in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries in England, a working woman was highly frowned upon. It was seen as though if a household needed the mother to work, then the family did not hold a high enough social status to be respected. This abrupt difference in woman sparked much controversy and confusion in Columbus, his crew, and the people of England, allowing them to add this to the list of reasons of why these “barbaric” Native Americans needed formal religion and structure in their lives. As was just stated, the English settlers also realized that there was no practice of Christianity, or any type of religion it seemed, and the mainstream English settlers aimed to change this. The religious change that was so desperately needed for this land is easily summed up when Juan Lopez de Palacios Rubios states, “Wherefore, as best we can, we ask and require you that you consider what we have said to you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to understand and deliberate upon it, and that you acknowledge the Church as the Ruler and Superior of the whole world…” (Requerimiento, 1513). In the final paragraph of this same document, it goes on to say that if these Native Americans, who have not done a thing wrong, do not accept and convert to Christianity, that the country of England will enter into, and make war against, these Native Americans and their land (Lecture Notes, August 30th,
Imagine a “new world,” one that is “undiscovered” by any respected authority or righteous and powerful country, literally begging to be sought after and perforated. Think about creating the perfect world, where no one was hated, no religious man persecuted, no woman too frail or child too ignorant, a place where people would go to furnish new dreams and forget about their previous struggles. This whole scenario sounds unbelievably amazing, right? Well, if one has studied their history books, they would know that this is exactly what the English strived to accomplish after Christopher Columbus came upon this so-called new world. After this discovery, and throughout the entirety of the 16th and 17th century, even …show more content…
This is evident as Columbus himself even exclaimed, “The women appear to work more than the men”, which came as a huge surprise to not only Columbus and his crew, but to the people back in England as well (Columbus Letter, 1493). Nowadays in society, a hardworking woman is seen as an independent, educated, and strong person, but back in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries in England, a working woman was highly frowned upon. It was seen as though if a household needed the mother to work, then the family did not hold a high enough social status to be respected. This abrupt difference in woman sparked much controversy and confusion in Columbus, his crew, and the people of England, allowing them to add this to the list of reasons of why these “barbaric” Native Americans needed formal religion and structure in their lives. As was just stated, the English settlers also realized that there was no practice of Christianity, or any type of religion it seemed, and the mainstream English settlers aimed to change this. The religious change that was so desperately needed for this land is easily summed up when Juan Lopez de Palacios Rubios states, “Wherefore, as best we can, we ask and require you that you consider what we have said to you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to understand and deliberate upon it, and that you acknowledge the Church as the Ruler and Superior of the whole world…” (Requerimiento, 1513). In the final paragraph of this same document, it goes on to say that if these Native Americans, who have not done a thing wrong, do not accept and convert to Christianity, that the country of England will enter into, and make war against, these Native Americans and their land (Lecture Notes, August 30th,