Christopher Columbus had no intention of finding a New World. He was sailing westward across the Atlantic in hopes of finding a faster water route to Asia. He wanted to bring wealth and prestige to the Spanish government, and to himself. Instead, using maps that were incorrect (although he did not know they were incorrect) he ran into an island in the Caribbean and thought he was near India. This is why, of course, he called the locals Indians!
The legacy of Columbus is one of bravery and accidental genius. There is a dark side to the man, however. We will get to that on our next blog. For now, read this story and discuss in the comments section your initial thoughts on Columbus.
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ReplyDeletesorry, i had a spell error
DeleteWhen I read the part about Columbus lying to his men, I was astonished. Columbus kept two logs about their trip. One was his secret journal that told the actual distance travled from Spain, while the other was a lie to con his men into beleiving that they had not travled far at all. I think Columbus had a reasonable explenation for this. If Columbus had not lied, his men would have had a mutiny, and they would go home. Did that make it right to lie? No. Eventually, the men found out and prepared for the mutiny. Before they could have a mutiny, Columbus promised them that if they did not sight land in two days, they would turn back. The next day, he landed in North America and "discovered" the continent. (133)
ReplyDeleteColumbus went on his explorations primarily for the fame and fortune for himself and his country, which seems selfish. He deceived his crew into thinking they were not so far away from home, knowing they had gone much further. I think he deceived them so they wouldn’t feel so homesick, so I don’t think he had bad intentions. I like the story though about the crew being lied to and how if they didn't spot land in two days they would go back. I also thought it was funny how everybody thought Columbus had discovered a “new world" when really he just found more land that already had people. (109)
ReplyDeleteAs I began to read this, I had to bring myself to two states of mind. First for Columbus, then for the crew. From Columbus view, he was doing what was right for his crew by keeping the distance traveled a secret. This helped keep the morale up among the crew, and as long as they were kept happy while they were sailing, they were more able to focus on the bright side. This also helped Columbus because if he were truthful about how far the had gone, it would have stressed the crew into believing they were lost and would never find their way back. But when I look at it from the crew's side, they had a dishonest captain who wanted nothing more than personal fame and riches for himself. He was also a man who decided what was good and bad for they whole crew to know and not know. But in any case I believe Columbus made the right decision by keeping two logs and think that it showed just how much he cared for his crew and wanted to keep everyone happy and peaceful. (190)
ReplyDeleteoh, and by the way, love the title [0.0]
ReplyDeleteChristopher Columbus “discovered America”. That is really the only thing I think about when I think about him and his crew on their voyage. This story really helped me learn a lot more about what actually happened during their voyage. I think Columbus was trying to do the right thing for his crew when he lied to them about how far they had sailed. If he had told them the truth then they would probably be worried about not getting anywhere and being lost through the rest of the trip. I don’t necessarily agree with what he did, but I think he did what was best for his crew. I think it was very smart of him to keep two logs. That way his crew wouldn't be worried about being lost, and the actual distance that they sailed can be known. I thought that it was really cool that Columbus said they would turn back and go home if they didn’t find land in two days, and then the next day they discovered land! :) (174)
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ReplyDeleteWhenever people think of Christopher Columbus they think of that saying, "In 1942, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." They also think of the guy who sailed on a ship and "found" America with "Indians" on it. Some people know that him "finding" North America was a mistake, others don't. But there was so much more to his life though, starting with just a simple record of the journey. I am not exactly surprised that he lied to his crew about the distance in the log, but I am wondering exactly why he did that. Was he trying to make himself not look ignorant and lost? Or was he really trying to do what was best for the crew by helping them not feel homesick? Although Columbus was credited for finding America, even though people were already there, either way he opened a whole new world (by mistake!) to the Europeans, making it "The Most Glorious Fail!" :) (155)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe Christohper Columbus lied to his crew. I had always thought he was a great man and didnt know he would say that the had gone shorter than they really had gone. I wonder why Columbas refered to himself as admiral instead of calling himself by his real name? It could have been the king ordered him to or maybe he was a humble man. I had always heard the story of Columbus like he just said out to discover new land and to see if the earth was a square. I never had heard that the natives actually wore no clothes. I wonder why there was only one girl they saw. I hope some day more people can discover the hidden facts of the voyage.(127)
ReplyDeleteEven though Columbus’s discovery was a fail it was still amazing. While he didn’t find what he was searching for, he still made one of the greatest discoveries off all time. The story said that the journey took a long time and I knew that, but I never knew that it lasted longer than what anyone on Columbus’s ships expected it to be. I guess it’s not something that they teach in school about Columbus. I never knew that Columbus kept the real log a secret and gave his crew a fake one. I would’ve thought that since he discovered the New World he would’ve been a nice guy, but apparently not. Luckily he managed to find the new world, because if he hadn’t have found it in two days they would’ve turned back and we might not be here today.(141)
ReplyDeleteChristopher Columbus comes across to me as "the founder of America".As I started looking into this I found out that wasn't very true. He wasn't even trying to find America. He was actually going West to Asia for the riches there. I have mixed feelings about him having two log books. I think its wrong that he told his crew lies about how far they went. They have a right to know since they didn't have to come along with him at all. I also see why he did that to them. They probably would have forced him to turn around thinking that they would get lost out in sea or something. I liked reading about his voyage because when Columbus promised that they would turn around in two days if they didn't find land, and then they found land the next day. It just shows how God was with them during this journey.(156)
ReplyDeleteColumbus sailed across the Atlantic hoping he would land in the country of India. I think Columbus had to lie to his crew members to get their spirits up because it said that the crew members got tired and wanted to go home after a long time. I find it funny that the article said that the Admiral was apparently sitting on a castle of poop while the other ship, the Pinta, was trying to signal them. His discovery of the land of America is quite remarkable, but I think it is kind of mean to come to a place and just randomly calling them the name Indians. I think Columbus was a greedy man because he only sailed the Atlantic only to seek riches from the real Indians. (128)
ReplyDelete(MR.HASTON, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THIS!) Okay, after finishing my history homework, i feel as though I should post yet again. I think Columbus was not thinking that he was doing any harm to his crew, in fact, the Atlantic Ocean is quite big and because during this time people were saying crazy and scary things about monsters, whirlpools, and falling off the edge of the world, they were probably scared about going to far away from home. Imagine if for some reason Mr. Haston decided to take us into the amazon rain forest to try to find artifacts without any maps or GPS. the farther we went, the more chance there would be that we would never come back. I think this is what Columbus was thinking instead of himself.(107)
ReplyDeleteWow. I always thought of Columbus as "the guy who discovered The Americas." This story really changed my perspective of him. I'm sure not many people know about the two journals, including me before now. I think it was pretty crafty of Columbus to trick his crewmates into thinking that they hadn't gone as far as they really had. Yea, of course it's not particularly right to do, but I think of it like this: A real explorer/discoverer person would have the sly, devious brain to think like that. Columbus had a goal, and he was going to achieve it, lying or being truthful. I actually kinda admire him for doing that. I also found it weird that the natives had parrots to give to Columbus and his crew, and he said they had "handsome bodies." haha Oh, and poor 40 people that had to stay with all of the naked natives!(153)
ReplyDelete~1DirectionNiall4eve:)~
P.S. Columbus reached land on my bday! Andddd my profile pic is of the beautiful, Irish, Niall Horan:)
After reading this I have come to think of Columbus much differently. I had always thought of him as the man who "found America". However, we know this is not true. It was very interesting to try to comprehend the reasons behind him lying to his men. My first thought was crews are supposed to be really close and trustworthy, so why would he deceive him? My second thought was many people in those days were afraid of sailing, as they traveled uncharted waters, so maybe he protected the welfare of his crew by lying to him; nevertheless, lying is never right. I think it's amazing and quite unfair that Columbus was credited in finding America because as we all know the Natives were here first.
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P.S. Nice Morgan (:
I always thought Columbus discovered America and yada yada yada but... what is the real story? to me a man who lies to his crew is not the person i want to remember as discovering america! And really anyone on the ship could have said "hey there's land", but i do know that Christopher Columbus did choose to go on the adventure. This journal was made to tell what happened on their journey. I think it does a good job of explaining the new land, but the thing about the naked people was a little disturbing. Anyway, it just goes to show that you should never lie to your crew!
ReplyDelete-Beeez kneeez (the discoverer of my house:)
oh by the way thats 110 words :)
ReplyDeleteI think that was a good article! I was very surprised when I found out that Christopher Columbus lied to the rest of his crew. He told them that they were much closer to home than they actually were. He probably felt like he had to lie in order to keep them in the crew and on the ship with him. But obviously, he was have know something was going on, or else he would not have wanting to keep going either. I think that it was very lucky that they found the land literally exactly when they needed to. If they hadn't made it though, I feel like Columbus would have made them keep going anyway. He knew that there couldn't be too far from land because he knew that the world wouldn't just "drop off" like everyone else was sure that it would. I think that, even though he didn't exactly plan what land he was going to find, he knew that he would find land. (170)
ReplyDelete(line 5) he had to know**
Delete(line 6) wanted**
DeleteFor some reason I always thought of Christpher Columbus as the saying "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue". Now I actually realize that it was way more than that. He was only trying to prove that the earth was round and he found America. I wonder what was going through his mind when he figured out he had just accidently found America! When I read about the part when he lied to his crew I was kind of shocked. He was the captain of these men and he lied to them! Also I try to imagine the thoughts of his crew. They were promised to go back to their families if they weren't there in two more days, but they found America the next day. What timing!
ReplyDeleteby the way thats 129 words
ReplyDeleteWow, honestly, this story makes me quite angry, mostly because for years I was told the story of Columbus, the man who discovered America. Now, I hear that he not only didn't discover America, but he lied to his men to get more time!! He not only lied, but he even kept a fake journal to make the crew think that they were much farther along than they actually were. Although, in all fairness, Columbus did think he was doing the right thing by lying to his men and getting more time to find land. You also would have to give Columbus the credit that if he didn't lie to his men and the ships had canceled the voyage and went back to Spain, it may have been a much longer time before the Americas were dicovered by people from the Miiddle East or anywhere else in the world. Thus, changing history completely. Still, no act can justify a lie. (160)
ReplyDelete~1DirectionLouis4eve:)~
P.S. This is Hartwig. Mo wanted me to have the same blogger name as her except mine says LOUIS instead of Niall cause Louis is wayyyyy better than him. :)
I thought this was very interesting. I had always thought of Columbus as a man to be looked up to for finding America. Now, I don't think I look up to him as much at all. Not only did I find out that he did't actually discover America, but I am now also aware that he was a liar! I understand his reasons for doing so, but I dont believe that makes it right of him. Imagine how his poor sailors felt of him! I think I would have acted upon the same way. If you think about it, they were away from their families and their homes and in unknown seas not knowing if they would ever return to their home. I do believe though that Christopher Columbus' scams paid off in the end by the crew reaching the Americas. (132)
ReplyDeleteAfter I read this story, I did not just think of Christopher Columbus as the man who had discovered America. Just like Abigail said, we all know him by the poem about him sailing the ocean blue in 1942. I knew that he was sailing west to find gold, pearls, and spices. I did not know that he kept two sets of log books. I also could not believe that he would lie to his crew. I thought your crew was someone you could tell anything to because you would be with them for a while on the boat. I also did not know that Bartolorne de las Casas wrote a biography about Christopher Columbus. I do not think that Christopher Columbus should get all the credit for finding America because the Native Americans were there first.(137)
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