Muhammad White

Silver Stream
Columbus Essay

Tainos: 5%
Columbus: 35%
Columbus’ Men: 30%
Ferdinand and Isabella: 25%
Imperialism: 5%

In 1492 Columbus and his men set foot on the island of Hispaniola and the
world of its inhabitants would be forever changed by the terror that was brought
to the native people. There were a lot of powers involved with the murdering of
the Taino Indians in the voyages of Columbus. While researching trying to find a
remnant of truth to the crimes put against Columbus I distributed blame in the
best way possible.[shown above].
Columbus had a plan to find an effective trade route to India. After
countless attempts to kings and queens of countries such as France and
England he decided to take his proposal to Spain. The king and queen of Spain
were hesitant to give Columbus the funds for his voyages until a friend of
Columbus interceded on his behalf a priest named Father Perez. When funded,
Columbus was given a crew of convicts by the king and queen.
King Ferdinand & Isabella thought to gain not only a trade route to India,
but through imperialism an expansion of their kingdom. When Columbus reached
the new world, which he believed was India he quickly began exploration. During
the voyage Columbus suffered a loss in men just from the hardships of the sea. I
believe that is why Columbus left men on these various islands. This worked out
better it gave the men time to be on land while also establishing Spanish
settlement.
While Columbus traveled back and forth to Spain his men where left in the
new world to maintain the settlement’s and continue to search for gold and other
things of value. This was perfectly understandable seeing how Columbus had to
repay the king and queen of Spain for there funding of his exploration. When
Columbus returned he found that the Tainos murdered the men he left behind.
The acts committed by the Taino whether for self-defensive or because they felt
the Spaniards had over stayed there welcome was the first blow that fueled, even
possibly lead to the ultimate destruction of their people.
As an act of vengeance Columbus forced the Indians to work in gold
mines in search for enough wealth to repay the king and queen. It is party
because of the demands of the king and queen that Columbus felt the need to
over work and become a tyrant in the eyes of is men and the Tinos.
So much so that when he returned the third time his men threatened a
revolt. As this was the least of his worries because the word had already gotten
to the king and queen of the mistreatment of the Taino, which brought about an
intervention by a man named. Francisco de Bobadilla. He arrived in august of
1500 and by October of that year Columbus and his brother were sent back to
Spain imprisoned for mismanagement of the new world. However he was
released upon arrival by the king and queen to be sent back for a fourth voyage.
 Even with knowledge of the horrific tragedies that had taken place in the
new world the king and queen still felt necessary for Columbus to return. Through
imperialism the king and queen sought to gain control thus gaining power in this
region to further establish their monarchy. Making an idea of an expansion and
leaving it in the hands of a man that was already deemed unable to manage the
very place that he was being resent to.
By this time 60 thousand Tainos remand, most in hiding. It can be said that
the tainos played a big part in there own demise by striking the match, but
Columbus was the flame using his authority to control what can be described as
a militia of convicts, regular, citizens and who known’s what else to complete a
voyage that was proven to be unsuccessful. The furry Christopher Columbus
unleashed upon these people with the control given to him by the king and queen
of Spain is without a doubt one of the most remarkable forms of injustice seen in
our world’s history.