The Journey of Christopher Columbus offers insight that have filled important gaps in my knowledge of his experiences. One of the most interesting aspects of his trip was the main reason why he went in the first place, religion. In addition to claiming new land for his King and Queen, his religion played an extremely influential role for Columbus, he wanted to answer the Great Khan’s plea for learned men in his faith. It was also interesting to see how he believed that it was easy to convert the indigenous people because he thought they were inferior to himself and the rest of his explorers.
It also struck me as odd how he never mentioned the Great Khan or his location until later on his journal. It seemed as if his actual primary goal was to search for gold. This seems more plausible because he asked almost every indigenous tribe he encountered for the King he believed that had all the gold. Also, in not asking any of the natives if he was in India, it led him to believe he actually was, evidenced by Columbus calling the natives Indians.
I also found it peculiar how the natives Columbus first encountered weren’t wary of them, instead eager to barter and trade for these newfound items. This also fueled Columbus’ views that he and his explorers were superior because they traded him for items he considered invaluable for the indigenous people’s items he deemed valuable.
Additionally, it was also compelling to see how much Columbus appreciated the beauty of the land he had found. His observations ranged from everything like beauty of the plants, animals and water to the handsome men and beautiful women he witnessed. I also believe he attributes their nakedness to further his belief in their inferiority. It was also interesting to see how an explorer would describe a land that nobody else has ever documented before.
This journal that Columbus wrote also seemed to be about convincing the King and Queen about funding a second voyage to these newfound lands. When describing the native’s primitive tools, it seemed as if he was implying how easy it would be to defeat and conquer them. Their timid and shy nature is described as a weakness by Columbus and is why he thinks they can be easily converted and exploited. It is also puzzling why Columbus would take some of the natives captive back to his homeland.
I also thought it was interesting how Columbus sometimes seemed to know that he was discovering something new but then later reverted back to believing he was in Asia. It is so intriguing to see his internal struggle with trying to figure out where he is and what is going on. It seemed as if he distracted himself from his failure to find the Great Khan by putting all his efforts into finding gold to please the King and Queen.