In the source from the past Columbus stated that when he arrived that the Native Americans were friendly to them. Columbus said that he knew then that forcing the natives to convert was not going to be effective. …show more content…
Love was the tactic he took on his conversion because he says the natives were very gentle people and that they had no clue as to what evil was. They were religious and they know that there is a God in Heaven just like most European people. Columbus gave some of them red caps and beads which they put on their chest any many other things of small value. According to the source from the past he was very friendly to the natives and he felt as though it was important for the Europeans to form a friendship instead of them just taking the land directly from them.
According to the book Columbus and the Four Voyages by Laurence Bergreen, Christopher Columbus noticed that the natives were always naked or half naked. He mentions their nudity a lot throughout chapter three “Ship Wrecked” of the book. He also talks about how the inhabitants as he calls them make their houses out of wood and straw in a form of a bell.
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1 Laurence Bergreen, Columbus and the Four Voyages, 76-95.
He mentions how when they first arrived the women and children brought them bread and water in calabashes and earthenware pitchers.
Whatever the Indians gave him he said they gave with true confections and a pure heart. He never used any spears, darts, or arms on him so he concluded that there was nothing to fear. The Native Americans once told him that his feet descended from heaven. The Native Americans obviously liked Columbus and had a lot of respect for him at this time. They gave him many offering which mostly included food. The Natives showed Columbus that they were not a threat in any way and that they could be easily manipulated. When comparing the source from the book Columbus and the Four Voyages by Laurence Bergreen and the history book they obviously have many similarities. According to the Columbus when he first arrived the Native American people were very nice to him. They treated him with respect and they showed absolutely no threat to him and his people. Columbus felt as though the Native Americans were very easy to manipulate and that it would not be as difficult as he thought to get them to see and do things his way. He did not have to immediately resort to violence because there was no need for
it.