It’s shocking to me that I haven’t heard about the Lieutenant Nun before. I feel that this would have been a concept more spoken about considering her actions and what she did was completely against the values specifically towards religion people had during her time. Overall I think what she had done was very brave, from leaving the Church to sailing the seas. In a way she didn’t let herself become the person society expected her to be at the time. Thus, part of her reason to change her appearance and identity to Francisco Loyola. Part of what I am wondering is how difficult at times it must’ve been for her to experience leaving and with that changing in ways where her mother wouldn’t identify who she is or her father’s conversation with the Captain.

She managed to sail through the seas, and fight alongside men something that at the time it wouldn’t be “right” for a woman to do, as well as her actions going against what women should do or not do. She was faced with several moments where she had to defend herself, like with her brother. She wanted to be treated the same like everyone else, in this case in her experience and environment, she wanted people to treat her like men are treated However, though some of her actions do seem to be brave, there is also her actions that diminish the view of her being “heroic” from taking advantage of people to stealing… so overall who is the Lieutenant Nun?

Do you think she ever had a moment of regret in leaving the Church in the first place?

What would have happened if she hadn’t changed her identity?

Ultimately is she the villain or the hero?

Reading through Christopher’s entries, how the world looked like to him, his point of view on the natives, it was shocking to read through. I’ve always known a brief history of what had happened after he arrived, his diary entries bring a clear idea to how bias and Christopher Columbus was. Upon arrival as the natives come up to him and his crew, Christopher’s first few thoughts were associated with negative connotation such as how they appeared “to be very poor people in all respects,” (94). Reading through his however, Christopher describes his journey and his interactions with very little truth, almost “sugarcoating” behind what had happened.

Through these passages, it seems like he had left out a lot of the terror, pain, and loss that had occurred as he was in the islands. As he sees the natives for the first time one of his thoughts were that “they must be good servants, and intelligent, for I see that they can quickly repeat everything said to them.” (94) Columbus did enslave a lot of natives, and they were treated with violence and brutality, but in these passages Columbus writes his thoughts as though he is doing a good thing for the natives, that he’s helping them. As he mentions how the natives in page 94, he says that through “Gods will” he will “take six of them” with him “for Your Majesties.”

Clearly, you can’t just “take six of them” for someone else’s needs. He though doesn’t describe how the natives must have reacted through this, it’s dehumanizing. Another example is when he mentioned religion, though he doesn’t know if the natives do or do not have a religion, he immediately assumed they don’t since they “appear” to him “that they have no religion” and claims to covert them to Christianity.

There is so much that had happened when Columbus landed on those Islands that he doesn’t fully mention, though perhaps in his mind he was doing certain actions for a good cause, in the end his actions were from his bias, selfishness, and his desires for gold.

• Were there people from Christopher’s crew that rebelled against him for his actions?
• What would have happened if the natives immediately approached Columbus with violence?
• When was the truth of the violence and brutality of the natives officially published for the world to know?

Hi guys

My name is Daniela, people usually call me Dani.
To tell you a bit about myself…

• I’m from Ecuador but I have lived in Thailand for 11 years.
• I’m 19 years old, born on August 18th.
• Hablo Español, I can also speak English, et français.
• I’m currently in the Faculty of Arts, considering psychology as my major but I’m unsure.
• I love photography and dance.
• I play sports (basketball, soccer, and track & field).

The reason to taking LAST 100 was to get a better understanding of Latin America. I’m from Ecuador but I haven’t been integrated in the country despite the annual visits to see family, so I crave to learn more about not only where I am from but about Latin America as it has always intrigued me.

So far, I am a little bit nervous about being in a new place with a bunch of new people, it’s all a little intimidating but it’ll be fun to get to know everyone in class by the end of the semester :3