1. HAT: Christopher Columbus
Many of us remember the rhyme “In1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” and remember being taught that Columbus discovered North America. Columbus is often celebrated as a hero in American History and in fact we have a holiday dedicated to him. However the true legacy of Columbus is much darker than your textbook would have you think.
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Explorer and navigator Columbus was born in 1451, in the Republic of Genoa (Italy) to the son of a weaver. Columbus first went to sea as a teenager, participating in several trading voyages in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Columbus participated in several other expeditions to Africa gaining knowledge of the Atlantic currents flowing east and west from the Canary Islands, but had his sights set on finding an alternative route to Asia.
Rejected by the Portuguese king for a three-ship voyage of discovery, Columbus took his plan first to Genoa and then to Venice but was rejected there too. He then went to the Spanish monarchy of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon, in Their nautical experts too were skeptical and initially, Columbus was rejected. However, in August of 1492, Columbus left Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña along side. After 36 days of sailing, Columbus and several crewmen set foot on an island in the present day Bahamas, claiming it for Spain. There he encountered a timid but friendly group of natives who were open to trade with the sailors exchanging glass beads, cotton balls, parrots and spears. The Europeans also noticed bits of gold the natives wore for adornment.
Returning to Spain in 1493, Columbus gave a glowing, somewhat exaggerated report and was warmly received by the royal court. That same year he took to the seas on his second expedition and explored more islands in the Caribbean Ocean. Upon arrival at Hispaniola, Columbus found that his settlement had been destroyed with all the sailors massacred who were left behind. Spurning the wishes of the queen, who found slavery offensive, Columbus established a forced labor policy over the native population to rebuild the settlement and explore for gold, believing it would prove to be profitable. His efforts produced small amounts of gold and great hatred among the native population.
Unfortunately, conditions at the Hispaniola settlement had deteriorated to the point of near-mutiny with settlers claiming they had been misled by Columbus' claims of riches and complaining about the poor management of his brothers. The Spanish Crown sent a royal official who arrested Columbus and stripped him of his authority. He returned to Spain in chains to face the royal court. The charges were later dropped but Columbus lost his titles as governor of the Indies and for a time, much of the riches made during his voyages.
In the two remaining years of his life, Columbus struggled to recover his lost titles and in May of 1505 did regain some of his riches, but his titles were never returned. He died May 20, 1506 still believing he had discovered a shorter route to Asia.
Paraphrased for readability by Joshua Frazier
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Visual Response –
Visualize what the author is saying and draw an illustration in the margin.
Ask yourself:
-What does this look like?
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Make connections within the reading to your own life and to the world.
Ask yourself:
-How does this relate to me?
-How does this relate to other parts of the text?
-How does this relate to the world?
Question -
Question both the ideas in and your own understanding of a text.
Ask yourself:
-What is the author saying here?
-What is the purpose of this section/word?
-What do I agree/disagree with?
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2. Columbus had difficulty finding financing (someone to pay) for his expeditions? Why do you think that was?
According to the reading and your previous knowledge what do you think Columbus’ main motivation was for the many trips to the new world?
Columbus’ claimed the island of Hispaniola for the Spanish monarchy even though people had been living there for many hundreds of years before. What problems do you see with this act?
What events led to the colony of Hispaniola deteriorating? Why do you think this happened?
Considering Columbus’ is still honored with his own holiday today, were you surprised to learn how he spent the later years of his life? Explain
In America today few people are patriotic, less people attend church than ever, we constantly ask for change, we have multiple permanent alliances and education is frequently undervalued. Do you think the country would better today if we had followed more of Washington’s advice? Explain.