Posts

1. Clarke, John Henrik. Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery and the Rise of European Capitalism. Brooklyn: A & B Books. Print.

SUMMARY: In this book, it shows how all the events in Columbus life impacted today’s world.

2. Columbus, Christopher and Edward Everett Hale. The Life of Christopher Columbus from his own Letters and Journals. Chicago: G.L. Howe & Co. Print.

SUMMARY: This is first-hand view and thoughts of Christopher Columbus. This shows the interactions that went on day to day and shows how he treated those around him

3. Schlene, Vickie J. “Christopher Columbus: Bridge Between the Old and New World.” OAH Magazine of History. Volume 5. Issue 4. March 1991. 47-48.

SUMMARY: Shows the connection between what we have today and why it is there. This talks to the fact that without Christopher Columbus and all the discovers he made the world would not be the same as it is today.

4. Williams, Eric. Capitalism and Slavery. Richmond: The William Byrd press, Inc. Print.

SUMMARY: This is more of a history of capitalism and slavery book. This book shows the domino effect that that capitalism and slavery have had on the country and the world as a whole.

Ben Finicle

Cathy Ryan

English 1110.01 MWF 10:20am

Columbus Annotated Bibliography

10/2/17

Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?

• Columbus, Christopher. “Saturday, 13th of October.” Journal of Christopher Columbus, translated by Clements R Markham, Cambridge University Press, 2010, pp. 39–40, latinamericanstudies.org/columbus/Columbus-Journal.pdf.

Observations and Excerpts: “I was attentive, and took trouble to ascertain if there was gold. I saw that some of them had a small piece fastened in a hole they have in the nose, and by signs I was able to make out that to the South, or going from the island to the south, there was a king who had great cups full, and who possessed a great quantity.” Columbus was looking for gold and other riches that he could report back to his king.

Abstract: This is an excerpt from Columbus’s journal of his first journey. This section pertains to one of the first encounters he has with natives and him taking note of their riches. The link is to Columbus’s Journal.

• Churchill, Ward. “Columbus and the Beginning of Genocide in the ‘New World.’” Indians Are Us, Common Courage Press, 1994, mit.edu/~thistle/v9/9.11/1columbus.html.

Observations and Excerpts: “The tribute system, instituted by the Governor sometime in 1495, was a simple and brutal way of fulfilling the Spanish lust for gold while acknowledging the Spanish distaste for labor. Every Taino over the age of fourteen had to supply the rulers with a hawk’s bell of gold every three months (or in gold-deficient areas, twenty-five pounds of spun cotton); those who did were given a token to wear around their necks as proof that they had made their payment; those who did not were, as [Columbus’s brother, Fernando] says discreetly “punished”-by having their hands cut off, as [the priest, Bartolome de] las Casas says less discreetly, and left to bleed to death.” As a direct result of Columbus discovering the “New World” the natives were forced into supplying the Spanish invaders gold by cutting their hands off if they did not give them any.

Abstract: This is an excerpt from a book that details the punishment the natives received if they did not provide an offering to their Spanish overlords.

• “The Indispensable Zinn.” Edited by Timothy P McCarthy, Google Books, Google, 29 May 2012, books.google.com/books?id=51Rp4lqRZWIC&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq

Observations and Excerpt: “…(In 1508) there were 60,000 people living on this island (Hispaniola), including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it…” In a little over a decade the effects of Columbus’s expedition to the “New World” resulted in the deaths of three million natives of Hispaniola (a name given to the Island by Columbus himself).

Abstract: This excerpt is a quote from Bartolome de Las Casas regarding the affects the Spanish                had on the natives in a short time period.

• Columbus, Christopher. “De Insulis Indie Supra Gangem.” Received by Lord Raphael Sanchez, Apr. 1493, gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/Columbus%27s%20Letter%20abridged.doc.pdf.

Observations and Excerpt: “…I promise, that with a little assistance afforded me by our most invincible sovereigns, I will procure them as much gold as they need, as great a quantity of spices, of cotton, and of mastic (which is only found in Chios), and as many men for the service of the navy as their Majesties may require.” In this excerpt Columbus is writing to the Treasurer of King Ferdinand, stating that he will obtain (steal/pillage) any resources the King desires, including enslaving natives.

Abstract: This link is to an abridged letter written by Columbus himself to the King’s Treasurer, Raphael Sanchez. The letter is a report of what Columbus found in the New World that is valuable and of use to the King.

Christopher Columbus: Murderer or Visionary?

SOURCE: Nabokov, Peter. “Indians, Slaves, and Mass Murder: The Hidden History.” The New York Review of Books, School for Advanced Research Press, 24 Nov. 2016, www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/11/24/indians-slaves-and-mass-murder-the-hidden-history/.

EXCERPT: “The European market in African slaves, which opened with a cargo of Mauritanian blacks unloaded in Portugal in 1441, and the explorer Christopher Columbus, born in Genoa ten years later, were closely linked. The ensuing Age of Discovery, with its expansions of empires and exploitations of New World natural resources, was accompanied by the seizure and forced labor of human beings, starting with Native Americans”.

SOURCE: Doak, Robin, et al. “The Ages of Exploration.” Ages of Exploration, The Mariners Museum and Park, exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/christopher-columbus/.

EXCERPT: “We know that in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. But what did he actually discover? Christopher Columbus (also known as (Cristoforo Colombo [Italian]; Cristóbal Colón [Spanish]) was an Italian explorer credited with the ‘discovery’ of the America’s. The purpose for his voyages was to find a passage to Asia by sailing west. Never actually accomplishing this mission, his explorations mostly included the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America, all of which were already inhabited by Native groups”.

SOURCE: Fernandez-Arnesto, Felipe. “Columbus – Hero or Villain?” History Today, May 1992, pp. 4–9. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO], Christopher Columbus hero or villain.

EXCERPT: “Herein lies what was unique in American representations of Columbus: his ties to empire, discursively constructed through the centuries, remained intact, yet he was now also held up as a democratic, anti-monarchical symbol”.

SOURCE: Stolley, Karen. “The Legacy of Christopher Columbus in the Americas: New Nations and a Transatlantic Discourse of Empire by Elise Bartosik-VéLez.” Early American Literature, vol. 51, no. 3, 2016, pp. 741–746. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO], doi:10.1353/eal.2016.0066.

EXCERPT: “From his last years, his reputation dipped: writers were obliged to belittle him in the service of monarchs who were locked in legal conflict with Columbus’ family over the level of reward he had earned. Yet his own self-perception was passed on to posterity by influential early books. Bartolome de Las Casas – Columbus’ editor and historian – professed a major role for himself in the apostolate of the New World and heartily endorsed Columbus’ self-evaluation as an agent of God’s purpose. Almost as important was the Historic dell’Ammiraglio, which claimed to be a work of filial piety and therefore presented Columbus as an unblemished hero, with an imputed pedigree to match his noble soul”.