Transcription
Children in the United States learn that Christopher Columbus "discovered" America in 1492. But since there were already millions of people living on the American continents when he arrived, what is Columbus' real importance in history? This video will show what really happened during his voyages between two worlds, and how they helped shape the world we know today.
In 1451 Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa. There he began his sailing career. But in 1477 he was hired as a merchant mariner for King John II of Portugal. Portugal was gaining power on the seas: colonizing Atlantic islands and establishing trade with African kingdoms. By the 1480s, they found out the Indian Ocean was on the other side of Africa. This discovery gave them a fast and cheap trade route to the rich goods of Asia.
During Portugal's rise in power, a group of European scholars thought the earth was smaller than what was previously believed. This meant one could reach Asia by sailing west. Because of the newly invented printing press, Columbus read about these recent theories and was enthralled with the idea of sailing west for riches. He tried to get funding for an expedition from Portugal, but King John didn't believe in the "small earth theory". He then tried in France, England, and Spain with no luck until 1492 when the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, decided to help fund three ships for a voyage. They saw Columbus as a means to compete against Portugal's success.
The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria on August 3, 1492. After a stop on Grand Canary, the rest of the trip took five weeks. On October 12 land was spotted, and at dawn, Columbus went ashore. Because he believed in the small earth theory, Columbus thought he was near Japan. He called the natives of this island "Indians" because India is what many Europeans called Asia at the time. But the natives were really called the Taino.
Trade began between the two parties, but it was clear that the Taino did not possess the fabled riches of east Asia. However, some of them wore gold as jewelry. Columbus was hungry for gold to bring back to Spain. He wandered around searching for a large amount of gold until the Santa Maria crashed into a reef on Hispaniola. Columbus left 39 men at the site to build a colony. He promised he would return for them and sailed back to Spain.
When he arrived in Europe, Columbus was famous. He had sailed into the unknown and returned to tell the tale. He brought back many things to show the Spanish king and queen, including Tainos he had kidnapped. But he did NOT bring enough gold, so Ferdinand and Isabella equipped Columbus with 17 ships for a second voyage, and named him governor of all the lands he discovered.
Columbus was an excellent sailor. He found his way back to Hispaniola using his own keen navigation skills and kept the coordinates of his route a secret. When the fleet arrived at Hispaniola, they found out that the 39 men who were left there to build a colony had been killed by a local chief. They also found out the same chief had lots of gold on his land. Columbus led a crew into his territory and found a gold quarry. The chief was angered by the arrogance of these invaders, and soon fighting broke out. To make things worse, there was soon no gold left to mine.
Columbus sent letters back to Spain on a ship and exaggerated the amount of gold that was found. To produce more profit for the king and queen, Columbus suggested starting a slave trade. Without waiting for a response, he seized over 500 natives and sent them to Spain. Most of the remaining natives fought against this injustice so Columbus unleashed terror on them. Once defeated, they were forced to pay tributes of gold to the Spanish. It was worse than slavery. People who didn't find enough were punished brutally. Forced to constantly look for gold, the Taino could not farm their lands anymore. Many escaped into the hills, only to be hunted down. During the first few years of the tribute system, 50,000 natives died.
Columbus' brutal command made him enemies in the colony as well as in Europe. In 1496 he sailed for Spain to defend his actions to Ferdinand and Isabella. He left his brother, Bartolomeo, in charge of the colony until he returned. The king and queen listened to his defense and allowed him to return to Hispaniola in 1498. By now the colony was a disaster. Bartolomeo was just as bad at governing as his brother was, if not worse. A rebellion had begun among the Spanish, and soon the king and queen sent a royal investigator to assess the situation. He put the Columbus brothers on trial. They were found guilty of numerous crimes against both the Spanish and the natives. The brothers were arrested and sent back to Spain. Christopher Columbus was no longer in charge of the New World.
Now old and humbled, he was allowed one last voyage across the ocean, but he was not permitted to return to Hispaniola. He explored the Caribbean for two years before sailing back to Spain, where he died in 1506. We have learned that Columbus was ambitious, intelligent and courageous, but he was no hero. His exploits in the colony were disastrous for the native inhabitants and their way of life was destroyed by his actions as governor. But his efforts led Europe to dominate the world through colonization and the expansion of kingdoms into empires. If Columbus did not succeed, someone else would have. But since his journey was the first to establish a link between the Old World and the New, his name is remembered.