Significance and Historical Impact of Christopher Columbus’s Report of the First Voyage
On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas that he later called San Salvador (The Gilder Lehram Institute of American History). This day is considered the beginning of American history, eventful, but rather controversial.
The confirmation of this idea is found in Columbus’s Report of the First Voyage written in 1493, immediately after the great traveler and adventurer returned to Spain. The second paragraph of this document is considered of a great importance, because it depicts the relations between colonizers and the indigenous population in an unvarnished manner. Columbus’s remarks make it clear that rich lands were a lure for adventurers, while simplicity and trust of local peoples were shamelessly exploited.Columbus begins his report from describing the vivid contrast between the indigenous population and his people, and it serves as a justification for the misdeeds of the latter. The traveler writes that the local people “all go naked” (28), “have no iron weapons, nor they are capable of using them” (ibid), and “are wonderfully timorous” (ibid). The tone of Columbus’s writing suggests that Spaniards treat the indigenous population patronizingly, an understandable reaction of people who consider that they belong to a more developed civilization.
Such treatment veils colonizers’ numerous indiscretions, as it is seen from Report of the First Voyage and other documents of the period. When continuing his report, Columbus notes that once the local people get used to the presence of foreigners, they demonstrate a friendly attitude towards them. The historical significance of this remark should not be understimated, as it points to the imbalance in the relationship that developed between the local population and the colonizers, and that helped the latter to set unconditional control over new territories. The illustration of this idea is found in Columbus’s description of the exchange that occurred between the Spanish sailors and the indigenous population: “it was ascertained that a sailor for a strap received gold to the weight of two and a half castellanos, and others much more for other things which were worth much less” (28). In addition to the exchange of material goods, Columbus’s indicates “keen intelligence” (28) of the local people as another source of influence over them. Being very inexperienced, they trust Spanish sailors, because they “all believe that the source of all power and goodness is in the sky, and they believe very firmly that I, with these ships and people, came from the sky” (28). The perception of foreign sailors as god-like creatures was an important leverthat helped colonizers to secure their rights over new lands and to allocate the local people a very modest role of dependents.
Summing up, it is important to admit that Report for the First Voyage, particularly its second paragraph, is of historical significance that is attributed to three major reasons. Firstly, Columbus’s report is the first mention of the new land, its riches, and the …
