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"Christopher Columbus's Journal from His First Voyage, 1492…

- - - - Financial Backing
      - Provided 3 Ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and Santa Maria
      - Gave him a crew, totaling 88 men
      - Why did they sponsor his voyages?
        
        To spread Christianity (More specifically Catholicism)
        
        To discover a shortcut to Asia
        
        To create a more powerful Spain
        
        To find more natural resources
        
        To increase their social status
- - - - Studied Navigation and Sailing
- - - - "We saw naked people, and I went ashore in a boat with armed men... I took the royal standard, and the captains each took a banner with the Green Cross...."
      - "I could see that they were people who would be more easily converted to our Holy Faith by love than by coercion, and wishing them to look on us with friendship..."
    - - "The Indians tell me that there are gold mines and pearls on this island, and I saw a likely spot for pearls, wit clams, wich are a sign of them."
    - - "A canoe came alongside us yesterday with six young men. Five f them came abroad, and I ordered them to be seized and have brought them away with me. I then sent men to a house on the west side of the river, and they brought back seven females, some young and some adult...."
      - Why did he do this? To show the Queen and King?
      - Do you think these captured Natives ever made it back to their homeland?
    - - Leader of the indigenous peoples cried - "He burst into tears when he heard the news of our misfortune, and sent all his people from the village in numerous large canoes."
      - "From time to time he sent one of his relatives to me in tears to console me and tell me not to be distressed or downcast, for he would give me everything he had."
      - "The king and all his people kept weeping as if deeply affect by our loss."
      - Why are the indigenous people so upset about this accident?
      - Do you think the indigenous people volunteered to help? Or, were they enslaved and/or coerced into helping the Spaniards?
  - - - Submissive, Timid, and Weak
      - "I, with my small company, could walk all over these islands unmolested, for I have already seen three of my seamen go ashore and a whole multitude of Indians flee from them without being threatened" (pg. 6).
      - "They are like the people I have seen, with the same beliefs; the thought we had come from Heaven. They will give you whatever they have, straight away, in exchange of anything at all, never saying that it is not enough, and I think they would do the same with spices and gold if they had them...." (pg. 6)
    - - Portrays some of the Natives as animals, savages, and cannibals.
    - - Irreligious
        
        Convertible to Christianity?
    - - Is he basically informing the King and Queen that the Natives can be easily conquered and enslaved?
      - Do you think he is telling the truth?
      - Is it important for the Natives to "adopt our ways"?
  - - - Nov. 16 (pg. 5) - "I am leaving a cross planted everywhere I land in these island and territories..... We knelt before [the two timbers in a shape of a cross] in prayer, and I have ordered a great high cross to be made using the two timbers."
      - Nov. 27 (pg. 6) - "And Your Majesties, in my opinion, should not allow any foreigner to do business or gain a foothold here, but only Catholic Christians, for that is the beginning and end of the whole enterprise; it should be or the growth and glory of the Christian faith, and you should allow no one but good Christians to come here."
    - - Oct. 11 (pg.3) - "The islands are very green and lush, with sweet breezes..."
      - Oct. 16 (pg. 3) - When describing the fish, Columbus writes, "No man could look at them without amazement and delight, the colours are so beautiful."
      - Oct. 19 (pg. 3) - "I do not know where to go first, and my eyes never weary of seeing such marvelous vegetation, so different from our own."
      - Nov. 27 (pg. 5) - "The beauty and freshness of the river, so clear that we could see the sand on the bottom; all the various sorts of palm tree, taller and more beautiful than any I have encountered before; the endless variety of other trees, so tall and green; the birds; the greenness of the level ground-all this made me want to stay here forever."
  - - - Sep. 15 (pg. 1) - "Early in the night we saw a marvelous bolt of fire fall from the sky into the sea...."
        
        "These various things are disturbing and depressing the men, who are interpreting them as signs that we have taken a dangerous course."
        
        What do you think the lightning bolt symbolizes? Upcoming danger and hardship?
    - - Sep. 17 (pg. 1) - "We saw large numbers of dolphins, and they killed one from the Nina. These signs are coming from the west, where I trust that the great God in whose hands all victory lies will give us a landfall."
        
        In Ancient Greece, dolphins often served as a sign of blessings & adventure, and they also acted as a sea messenger for the Gods.
        
        Is this a bad sign?
        
        Why kill an innocent creature?
        
        How do you think the King and Queen reacted?