The First Explorers

Journals Day-to-day account of events and personal reactions First hand account---allows for details shared only known to those who lived event Do you think it is totally reliable? Why or why not?

Subjectivity When writing for others, journalists can “color” the truth. What impact does this have on the information in the writing? Columbus was writing for Ferdinand and Isabella (those sponsoring his voyage) The excerpt you will read from Columbus is in fact taken from the transcript of the manuscript made in the 1500’s by Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish priest and historian.

The New World Columbus –October 1492, island of Guanahani (San Salvador) –6 years to believe in new continent

Reaction/Reflection If you had sponsored Columbus’s voyage, how would you feel upon reading this account?

Exploration and Settlement Desire to explore and describe new continent inspired many of the earliest works of American literature 50 years after Columbus, Europeans exploring new land –Faster trade route to China –Earthly Paradise (cure all for diseases) –Rivers of gold –Fountain of Youth

Changing from Exploration to Settlement New settlers = exploration Adventure and gold Established inhabitants = settling Food is plentiful and poor people might own land The land of possibilities

With settlement comes…. Literature –Inexpensive pamphlets in Europe –Advertisements

Captain John Smith 1579 or "History is the memory of time, the life of the dead and the happiness of the living." J. Smith 1630

First to successfully promote settlement of America

Objectivity Some writers tried to maintain objectivity, so they wrote in 3 rd person point of view. Being objective means what? –Being unbiased John Smith tried to maintain objectivity in his writing by writing in 3 rd person, but we have to wonder was he really objective?

Provide some examples from A General History where Smith was more subjective and less objective.