Journal #3

Michelle Romero
Eng. 48
Dr. Scott Lankford

Topic: The Role of Slavery in the works of Columbus

Quote: "...there I found very many islands filled with people innumerable, and of them all I have taken possession for their highnesses...." (32).

The above quote was taken from a letter Columbus writes to his patron Luis de Santangel, describing what he discovered on his journey.

This passage reeks of egotistical superiority. Columbus admittedly came upon people "innumerable" who he supposedly took "possession" of. Oddly enough, Columbus was under clear instruction that slavery was not condoned. However, he claims to have taken possession of them all, in the name of King Ferdinand and Isabella. I imagine, he had in mind that he was the new Big Man on Campus. His nonchalant tone in this passage relays his ignorance of the people and cultures he "discovered" and asserts a supremacist’s view that white culture is divinely superior since he did it on behalf of his own country.

Later, Columbus explains how they "...found an infinity of small hamlets and people without nothing, but nothing of importance" (33). This line is purely shocking in its blatant ignorance. He clearly was aware of the mass number of people who populated his newly found land, yet he still thought that they were not important, they were nothing. He clearly thought that he still had a right to possess and conquer them. He should have probably thought instead, to try and learn something from these people since they obviously had survived there for hundreds if not thousands of years before Columbus ever arrived.

For me, these passages are so shocking because they reveal egocentric thinking in a way that is no longer politically correct. In a way, it is really disheartening because although we do not and can not, socially speaking, make these same bold statements, many people living here today still think this way and Columbus's letters simply remind us of this.

His letters provide an example of how ignorance and dominance played a role in the development and evolution of slavery.