Columbus and De Las Casas: A Study of Early Spanish Encounters with Native Americans

Columbus' Characterization of the Taino Tribe

Task:

There should be a least one quote from the text integrated into your response, with an appropriate MLA in-text citation. I will expect about a page to a page and a half, double spaced, with standard margins, per question . I should see clearly that you’ve read the entirety of the primary sources provided here. Note that these two primary sources are written about 50 years apart Columbus’s letter in 1493, at the time of his first voyage – and De Las Casas’s works in 1542 (The Devastation of the Indies) and 1550 (Opening arguments in the Valladolid Debate (In Defense of the Indians). In other words, Columbus is writing long before most events of the Spanish conquest, while De Las Casas is writing after the conquest is complete in most parts of what is now Latin America, and the encomienda system has been put in place. Columbus; Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella How does Columbus characterize the Taino (the Native American tribe he first encounters)? List 10-12 characteristics and notes that he makes about their life-style. The editor, writing the introduction to his letter, makes two excellent points.

She writes that Columbus deals with the strangeness of the New World by “assimilating it to Europe” and “making the alien familiar”. Where do you notice him doing this? Do you feel this is a common way in which people try to understand the new and foreign? Or does it seem to be specific to the age of Columbus? What does this mean about the way we can read this primary source? Columbus does not seem to have a very fully formulated vision of how Spain will use these newly discovered lands, but he does imply some future uses (since he really does have to show the king and queen the value of what he’s discovered). What uses for these lands are implied here? Does he foresee any dangers or problems? De Las Casas: Two Documents De Las Casas gives a blood-curdling description of the actions of the Spanish toward the Native people of the Caribbean islands (including those islands that Columbus is writing his “first encounter” impressions of.

Give some examples of how the Spanish treat the Natives? Why do they treat them this way what is the goal? What do you think might be de las Casas’ goal in delving into these horrible events in such detail? (FYI: In Foner’s text, he notes that these accounts were such that other European powers attempted to prove that they were different from the Spaniard, less bloodthirsty etc. – you can judge as we continue…) De Las Casas, a very devout priest, himself, and a missionary, is horrified by this. His account is interesting in that, rather than focusing mainly on the supposedly foreign and uncivilized Indians, his account of Spanish Christians reads much like an account of the foreign and uncivilized. What is his criticism of this group of people (remember, he’s Spanish himself)? How does he describe their motivations, their actions and the way they excuse themselves? In the Vallidolid Debate “In Defense of the Indians” (it’s the second document in this file!), De Las Casas uses the formidable argumentative skills of his Jesuit training to knock down the arguments of Sepulveda in favor of conquest. Why does he feel it is so important to do so? What are Sepulveda’s claims and how does he challenge them? (note: he is using St. Augustine’s “Just War” theory as a basis)