Trinity and Columbus

1. Before reading the chapter: write down all that you think you know about Columbus, including myth as well as reality, you should have at least 5.
1. Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in italy. He went on a quest to find a new route to Asia. When he found America, he named the area the Indies, that’s also the reason he called the natives Indians. A common myth about Columbus is that he set out prove the world was flat, when he already believed it was round in the first place.

a. After reading the chapter: write down passages in the text that either support or contradict each item generated by the list above, then identify those events and actions discusses in the text that has not been part of your thinking about Columbus originally. a. Really the only part that I found to support my prior knowledge was that he called this new land the Indies and the people it Indians, he explains this in the excerpt from his log, from when he first meets these people. I gained much new knowledge from this reading though. Before, all I had was the basic knowledge about Columbus that everyone knows rom elementary school, I had no idea he had interest in slaves or spreading his faith.

2: Finish the statement using detail/facts in the text: a: The purpose of Columbus’s voyages... was to find a shorter route to India, this was so they wouldn’t have to exchange with Italian and Muslims. Therefor trade would be cheaper. b: The result of Columbus’s voyage was...Columbus stumbling across the uncharted lands of the Americas. He did not know that another entire continent was in the way between Spain and India. But instead of finding a new route and gold, he found a new race.

3. Write down the five most important things Zinn says about Columbus (including page numbers) write down the two most important things he says about writing history. a. One of the most important things I read in the passage was when Zinn wrote about Columbus claiming the reward, I found that very interesting because it revealed more about Columbus’s personality (pg. 3). Also when Columbus writes to the king and queen a very over exaggerated report about the land and the Indians, you can tell he is willing to do anything to get more money to make a profit for himself (pg. 4). Then when Zinn quotes Columbus “let us in name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold.” I get the sense that Columbus may have used his faith to excuse some of his behavior (pg. 4). When Columbus turns towards slaves to make up for the failure in gold mining, his total image is changed, the celebrated explorer is turned into a monster (pg. 4).When Columbus sends the Indians to do the impossible task of finding enough gold, he is simply trying to put the fault on someone else's shoulders (pg. 4). These important parts, seems to portray a Columbus that takes credit for work that is not his, and blames others for his mistakes.
b. While reading about Columbus in Zinn I was surprised about many of the events. Zinn explains that many educators and historians don’t talk about the ugly parts of Columbus. Even Morison doesn’t come out and blatantly describe the genocide; he just mentions it randomly and moves on (pg. 8). I agree with Zinn when he says “in telling history.accuse, judge, condemn Columbus...” because without telling the whole story, it’s not truly history (pg.9)