Columbus, Indians and Human Progress

Columbus, the Indians, Human Progress When Columbus reached land in the Bahamas he was greeted by the Arawak’s who were without clothing. They greeted Columbus and his men with gifts of food and water. Columbus instantly knew that he and his men could subjugate them and make them do whatever they want. The Arawak’s were remarkable for their hospitality and their beliefs in sharing which, were not present in the Europeans. The reasoning for Columbus’ voyage to the Americas was because Spain was expanding incredibly fast and it came to a point where 2% of the population owned 95% of the land. The Spaniards sought gold because it was more useful than land for it could buy anything. There was thought to be gold in Asia along with other goods such as silks and spices and a Western sea route was needed. Spain decided to take the risk and send their men across an unknown ocean. Columbus was promised 10% of what was found along with governorship over newfound lands and fame. Columbus was a merchant’s clerk from the Italian city of Genoa. He was an expert sailor and set out with three ships. The Santa Maria was the largest at the time. It was 100ft long and contained 39 crewmembers. Columbus miscalculated and ended up thousands of miles farther than he had calculated. On October 12, a man named Rodrigo saw the first bits of land and shouted out. They had landed on an island in the Bahamas. Supposedly the first person to see land was entitled to a yearly 10,000 maravedis for life. Rodrigo never got it because Columbus had claimed he had seen a light the evening before so Columbus then got the reward. On the island Columbus and his men had made a fort out of the timbers from the Santa Maria. This was the first European base in the Western Hemisphere. The Arawak Indians had developed crops such as corn, yams, and cassava they could spin and weave but had no domesticated work animals. The Indians wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears, which led Columbus to take them as