The Four Voyages by Christopher Columbus

The Four Voyages

Christopher Columbus

Published 1847

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Analysis of The Four Voyages by Christopher Columbus

For a review of The Four Voyages, go HERE.

This title counts toward my History Reading Challenge hosted by Fanda @ Fanda Classiclit, and she has posted some great questions for consideration. 

Who is the story about?  

This story is about Cristoforo Columbo and his quest, zeal, and perseverance to explore and prove his ideas about a better route to the Indies, for spices, gold, and riches (to be presented to the Monarchy of Spain) and to spread the Christian (Catholic) faith.

What challenges did he face, and who or what caused them?  

Violent storms of nature; lack of supplies because of distance from Spain; sinful men with prideful, lustful, violent hearts; rotting ships; inability to communicate with natives due to language barrier; and the usual hunger, sickness, and death, were the challenges Columbus faced. 

What does it mean to be human?  

I think this story demonstrates man’s persistence and determination to explore, discover, and prove himself right.  Maybe it was pride that motivated Columbus because he was overly confident that he had found a new way to the coveted Indies.

Why do things go wrong?  

Like I said in my review, if I did not know any better, I would argue that God was against any more exploration of the islands by Spain because of sinfulness.  By the fourth voyage, long and violent storms made the passage to the islands so difficult, that the only thing Columbus could do was try to survive. 

The immorality of the men was rampant: some men disobeyed Columbus and committed crimes against the natives, causing a loss of trust, especially after Columbus used caution to establish trust; some men rebelled against Columbus because they were tired, sick, and hungry and wanted to return to Spain immediately; or other men were desirous of riches or power and stirred up wickedness against Columbus to take control of the expedition.  All of these events worked against the Admiral.

What is the end of the history? 

In the beginning, before finding favor with Queen Isabella, Columbus was regarded as a madman with outlandish claims; but after his first voyage, other nations were regretful of rejecting him and were more willing now to grant supplies to anyone asking to explore new lands.

In the end, Columbus was deserted and rejected as a madman; he never found a quicker, less dangerous route to the Indies, although it may have been believed that he did reach Asia.  And he did not return with shiploads of gold and spices, as promised.  But while he died sickly, exhausted, and dejected, he is still regarded as an important man in history.

Because of Columbus

Columbus initiated and inspired vigorous exploration of the West.  He complained about governments being overly zealous to give anyone, without experience or knowledge, permission to explore unchartered territories by sea.  

Because of Columbus, Spain dominated exploration and conquered South America.  Hence, that entire continent is connected to Spain – its history, language, and culture.  Meanwhile, Britain and France focused on North America, and the United States and Canada can draw its roots to those nations.  

Today, countries in the Americas celebrate Columbus, and Italians think of Columbus Day as an Italian holiday because of his Italian heritage.  

Unfortunately, the world has an agenda

Unfortunately, his memory is being defiled by lies and hate because some people are eager to make a point; but they have no idea what they are arguing.  Those who control the media, textbooks, and what is taught in schools are more concerned with pushing a social agenda instead of learning to thoroughly examine the truth.  

My soapbox

God permitted Europe to discover, influence, and populate the Americas.  This is the way of the world under God's Hand, and He commanded man to spread out and populate the earth. By the way, He set the boundaries of the nations, long before any of us were here.  

But man is sinful; even the aggressive native tribes abused, raped, stole, enslaved, and wiped out whole weaker populations before Columbus even sailed. The problem is not a European problem brought to the Americas by Columbus; the problem is man and his sinful heart.  It always is, and it will always be.

Post Script

Have you seen Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," about the declining Mayan civilization in Guatemala? The Mayans were the cause of their own annihilation.  Upper-class, wealthy, powerful Mayans enslaved and sacrificed the poor, lower masses; they waged war, destroyed villages, and ravaged the environment.  

In the final three minutes of the film, the main character, a poor Mayan, has escaped typical tribal sacrifice, and he is running for his life.  The two aggressive, pursuing men are trying to capture and kill him.  As they come to the beach, they witness the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors.  Because the Mayans were destroying themselves from the inside, their civilization was vulnerable to and ripe for conquest from the outside.   

War, murder, rape, theft, greed, oppression, conquest, slavery, etc. have always existed in every civilization; but some have a romantic view of native people and are determined to perpetuate this untruth, even if they have to spread lies and hate about one single man. But even after they destroy Columbus, they will never be satisfied because Columbus is not really the issue; and the real problem - man's sinful heart - will still remain.

Friday, March 14, 2014

The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus  (by his son Hernando Colon and other historians) Edited and translated by J.M. Cohen

This is a rewritten account of the logbook, given by Columbus’ son, Hernando Colon.  The original document is missing.

It was an easy read, and I learned a few things.  For example, given that Columbus was insistent that he had found a new way to the Asiatic continent, how aesthetically picturesque the environment was, and that it was at a high point on the earth, he was confident that the Garden of Paradise must have been located in the proximity; after all, the Bible cited the Garden to be “in the East.”  Columbus believed that the earth was actually a pear shape; that is why he referred to the area as “high” on the earth, or closest to the sun.

Another speculative idea was that these Caribbean islands had been discovered by Spain, prior to Columbus, and that he would only be restoring them to Spain’s governance once he arrived, Christianized the natives, and brought them under obedience of the King and Queen. 

It is difficult to believe that Columbus instigated this voyage for land, power, and riches.  It took profound courage and superior knowledge to take on this dangerous enterprise; he was a master navigator of the sea and sky.  It cost him seven discouraging years to convince anyone to support his outlandish claim, that he could find a more direct and less dangerous route to the Indies by going west into “unchartered waters.” 

Eventually, King Ferdinand - but mostly Queen Isabella - agreed to equip Columbus with what he needed to explore.  They promised him titles, wealth, and rewards for his accomplishments; and according to Columbus, the Monarchs’ first priority was to spread the Christian (Catholic) faith.

The First Voyage

The first voyage to the Caribbean was two months long, and he lied to his crew that they did not go as many leagues as they truly did, so they would not panic about being so far from Spain.  The first contact with natives was peaceful; the natives believed they came from the sky.  Columbus suggested, in his logbook, he could remove all of the natives to Castile to be slaves, to demonstrate how docile the people were.  In fact, several were peaceably taken on the return voyage, like samples.

During the first visit, Columbus learned of the Caribs, the neighboring tribes who often attacked the docile natives, abducted their women, kept their men and boys for slaves, and practiced cannibalism.  These docile tribes hoped that Columbus’ men would help them make war against and defeat their enemies.  

Columbus left many men behind in order to return to Spain to give an account of his first contact, and then to return quickly with more men and supplies.

The Second Voyage

The Monarch was well pleased with the results, thus far, and Columbus was appointed captain-general and granted powers to appoint whomever he chose to lead the government of the islands.  This "...second expedition was designed to relieve the men who had remained there, to settle more colonists and to conquer the island..."  

But upon reaching the place where the Christians were settled, they were all missing.  The natives told inconsistent stories about what had happened, but it was obvious, by evidence, that the men were dead, probably murdered.   In addition, five of the natives taken to Spain died on the way back to the Indies.

Events grew worse for Columbus when some of the crew plotted against him. Many of these men were Spanish criminals released early from prison because they agreed to go on the expedition.  They were not sailors and many just wanted to get rich easily and go home.  Unfortunately, the work was difficult, supplies were always low, and conditions were treacherous.   There was always tension, and Columbus may not have been the best people-manager.

The rebelling Spaniards caused extra hardships and complicated the situation with the natives, who no longer trusted the Christians.  Columbus had to use arms against the natives to defend his men.  Several Christians and natives were killed. It was amazing that anyone even stayed behind at the settlement, but Columbus believed that he had defeated the natives back into submission.  Then he returned to Spain again.

The Third Voyage

On this third return with supplies to Hispaniola, which was thirty months later, the condition of the settlement was in ruin and rebellion; most men were dead or suffering from syphilis. One Spaniard led the remaining men in a revolt against Columbus and his brothers.  This conflict became a main focus for Columbus, and he could no longer explore the islands as he had wished because he was always negotiating with this relentless renegade.

Then Columbus had to deal with another explorer, Ojeda, who stopped at Hispaniola on his return from Brazil and Venezuela, He harassed Columbus and joined forces with the above-aforementioned renegade.  Interestingly, traveling with Ojeda was an Italian clerk named Amerigo Vespucci, whose name would later be used to identify the continent.  

And finally, the Spanish Monarchy sent a judge, Francisco de Bobadilla, to Hispaniola to oversee the uprising, and was given instruction to take position as governor if he believed Columbus to be unfit.  Long story short, Columbus and one of his brothers ended up in chains on the long voyage home, while Bobadilla took control as governor. 

The Fourth Voyage

Why Columbus wanted to return a fourth time is beyond my understanding.  After the Monarch rejected the harsh report from Bobadilla, Columbus had most of his dignity restored to him; and he went again to the Indies.  But the voyage was so disastrous – if I did not know any better, I would say that God’s wrath was upon the whole idea of Spain returning to the islands.  They were met with violent storms and utter destruction.  It was all about survival.  Even so, there was never any gold – ever.  The closest he ever came to it was right before he was arrested.  After that, Columbus said that the gold disappeared; hence, the Monarchs never saw shiploads of gold he promised them. 

If Columbus had to explore the islands alone, he probably would have been more productive and better-off. Most of his energy was used in dealing with greedy, selfish, whiny men who were not interested in hard work or exploring.  They complained when work was dangerous, and rebelled when they did not have supplies.  They obeyed only their selfish lusts for women and riches, and when they could not get what they wanted quickly, they revolted.  Columbus went days and weeks without sleeping and spent a lot of time babysitting and pacifying the crew. 

After his final voyage, he was exhausted, sick, and senseless.  Due to his mental incapacities, the King and Queen were adamant about not fulfilling any of their promises for titles, riches, or power.  He died eighteen months later.  

This title counts towards my History Reading Challenge.