Columbus: A Man of Great Honor
Marco Polo. George Washington. Neil Armstrong. These are a few of history�s most influential and renowned people. But there is one name that stands out just as much, if not more, than any of these: Christopher Columbus. Everyone knows the old saying, �On fourteen-hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.� But it wasn�t that he just sailed the ocean. He discovered a whole different world. Rightfully so, he named it the New World. He discovered what was to be the most distinguished country in the world: America. Columbus should be honored among the highest people ever to exist. He made more than his share of contributions to history. The revolution that began with his voyages altered science, geography, philosophy, agriculture, law religion, ethics, government, and basically passed European culture.
Columbus also should be admired because he was very accurate. He traveled from Europe to new worlds to positions close to where he was before. This is an achievement in itself, without adding in all of the discoveries he made and changes he brought about by visiting the New World. He also thought that it would be better if he would see what exactly transpired on his voyages. In his journal, he wrote, �As part of my duty I thought it well to write an account of all the voyage. I shall forget sleep, and shall work so that the service may be performed. I propose to construct a new chart for navigating, on which I shall delineate all the sea and lands of the ocean in their proper positions.� He was talking about making a map. Columbus made maps about where he had gone and where the land masses or changes in currents of water were.
On May 12, 1492, he came to the town of Palos, a seaport, and he equipped three vessels, supplied them with provisions with many sailors. The three well-known ships were the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. It is believed that the latter was a nao and both of the former were caravels, which were the best sailing ships of Columbus�s time. The Nina was the fastest of the ships, and was often used as a scout, to look ahead of the others for land. The fact that they could sail when there was only 7 feet helped Columbus in his explorations. Without these few seemingly minor facts, we may never have been born. And, if these vessels weren�t very seaworthy, then the New World might have gone undiscovered for a long time, which would have slowed technology and advancement for the entire world. These little contributions the king and queen of Spain made played a vital role in history. Perhaps, they could have been just as important as Columbus�s discoveries. Columbus had a good power of persuasion for the king to allow him to take a voyage that, at the time, was doomed from the start.
Columbus overcame superstition, which was admirable at the time. They saw a volcano erupt, which meant that bad things were to come. Columbus also saw a meteorite, which was another bad omen. No one else had ever sailed out of sight of land for more than 14 days, so this only contributed to the already present sense of nervousness. Columbus even had to tell the crew they had traveled less than they actually had so that the sailors would not become alarmed. Even though Columbus may have believed in bad omens, he overcame them. It is unfortunate that other people didn�t have their fear reduced by seeing the success that Columbus had.
Columbus was a good observer and was nice to the natives. He gave the people red caps and glass beads to put around their necks so that they could form a friendship. They came to the ship�s boats, bringing them parrots, cotton threads, darts, and and exchanged them for the articles they had given the Native Americans. Columbus wrote, �They seem very intelligent, for I observed that they quickly took in what was said to them.� He was quick to judge them, but it is very fortunate that he judged them for the better. He discovered new foods, animals and inventions, which he brought back home to Spain. Some food he found were pumpkins, Indian corn, and cassava bread. Hammocks were integrated so the a sailor could sleep in them for his bed. Animals discovered were iguanas, conches, parrots, and giant rodents called hutias. He improved life not only for the people on board the ship, but also for the people in Europe who got to received the benefits of his findings.
Columbus opened up the age of discovery and was so influential that even King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the two people who had allowed him to go and had funded his voyages, recognized him. He was made Admiral of the Ocean Sea, and he became Governor of all the islands he discovered. He was immediately given more ships to make another voyage. Columbus wrote positively about all of the people he discovered. The only things that were negative in his log book were about the sailors� greed. After Columbus discovered the New World, the age of discovery was open. His missions inspired other explorers. Magellen and Marco Polo were two influential explorers. Without Columbus, other people might not have tried to discover new worlds or to go on new voyages. He was immensely influential in many areas.
One contribution Columbus made was he tried to help spread Christianity through the New World. One of his remarks in a log entry on Christmas Day, 1492, was, �They love their neighbors as themselves; at the same time they exhibit the most gentle, cheerful manner, always accompanying their courteous speeches with a smile,� and on December 26, �These people are quite free of any covetousness toward the property of others and their king himself is so very righteous.� He was talking about the Native Americans. His perceptions suggested that Columbus had discovered people who were much like Christians. Columbus was driven by the determination to convert subjects for his overlords. That was one of the reasons King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally allowed him to go on this mission that seemed impossible at the time. If he could convert people to Christians, or even better, Catholics, his mission would be one of success. He was convinced they could be Christians, which is seen from another entry on December 16, �I hope to God that Your Highnesses will make of them good Christians and thus your subjects, as I already regard them to be.� This mission, however, all but failed because of his shipmates. Columbus was a very good person. He didn�t want his crew to be greedy or to affect the lives of the natives in a negative way. He counseled moderation and was against conquerors� boundless contempt for human beings in the New World. If he would have been with a ship full of Christopher Columbuses, he would have succeeded not only in converting Indians, but in the well-being of everyone. Of his shipmates, he wrote, �For the natives were good-hearted generous, while the greed of my shipmates could not be contained. They were not satisfied to obtain everything their hearts desired in return for a piece of ribbon or glass, a shard of clay or any other kind of worthless thing, but they wanted to despoil the Indians of all their possessions, although I most strictly forbade it.� He was not satisfied at all with their behavior, and for that, history has lost a great deal of what might have been.
The customs, traditions, and items Columbus brought black influenced life in Europe greatly. He helped form a new era, beneficial to all. Columbus was a man of great honor. If it weren�t for him, many events might not have taken place. He set into motion a chain reaction of events that would ultimately lead to the establishment of the United States of America, the greatest superpower in the world today. Here we have many diverse people and we are prospering very well. Without Columbus to find the New World, we might not be here today. The New World would have eventually been discovered, but we may have been centuries behind in technology, ideas, and values. With no United States, there would not be anyone to intervene when struggle or mass death occurs. Look at all the millions of lives that would have been lost, and all of this if Christopher Columbus would not have succeeded. And it makes you ask yourself a question: What if Christopher Columbus had returned from the New World, only to keep his findings secret.