The story of Christopher Columbus is one of great controversy and mystery, as historical accounts and myths are often used interchangeably by individuals without knowing it consciously. Children's biographies provide an excellent example of the confusing custom of myths, misconceptions, and legends surrounding Columbus; more often than not, they serve as fodder for prejudice and colonialism. Commonly using cheerful tones and phrases such as "great adventurer" and "the greatest sailor of his time", biographies written for children frequently tell a story of heroism and flawed perspective. Yet behind this tale of bravery, chance and discovery lies the messy reality of greed, intolerance and relentless intervention. With the original version of Columbus's diary missing from the public sphere, historians have only an inadequate summary of Columbus' accounts in the New World. However, from his remaining accounts it can be determined that: “Yes, in 1492, Columbus sailed the blue ocean – but he did much more than that. » Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay From the beginning of his voyages, Columbus's motivations for exploration were wealth, power, and fame. By successfully convincing Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon to finance his ambiguous voyages, Columbus accomplished a very difficult task while also demanding ten percent of all wealth brought back to Spain along his ultramodern trade route to Asia. To further his outrageous orders, Columbus ordered that his family inherit all of its prosperity and demanded that this agreement be respected and honored by the Spanish monarchs for all eternity. Lacking the unfathomable riches that could be guaranteed by safe passage westward to the Indies, the Spanish monarchs complied with Columbus's demands, granting him the power to explore and conquer whatever he could "discover." during his travels. For a man like Columbus, land is money. It mattered little to him that the lands he was crossing were already inhabited; if Columbus “discovered” it, he took it. As almost all the slaves died en route to Spain, finding that slavery was not as lucrative as he had hoped, Columbus focused his attention on the quest for untold riches in gold. Regarding his search for gold, Columbus ordered the indigenous peoples of the islands he invaded to forfeit a consistent quota or face punishment for failing to meet those expectations. As a result of Columbus' decree, hundreds of thousands of natives of these islands lost their lives, unable to satisfy Columbus's demands for their gold and resources. Children's biographies of Columbus acknowledge his unreasonable demands, going so far as to praise his greed and selfishness as the goal of adventure. “Of course, Columbus wanted it a lot! What was wrong with that? James de Kay tells this to young readers in his book Meet Christopher Columbus. Columbus “would claim the new lands he found for Spain and convert the people he found there to Christianity.” But this quest for wealth as a motivator for one's travels is downplayed in the light of Enterprise and adventure. “To explore” meant traveling to “unknown places” where one could discover “stories of untold wonders.” Essentially ignoring Columbus's motivations of wealth, greed, and power for himself and the Spanish empire, the literature of Columbusaimed at primary school students emphasizes themes of religion, adventure and curiosity; which makes children's understanding of international affairs extremely flawed. It should be noted, however, that all of these highlighted aspects of Columbus' voyages have no relevance without the power and economic desires of the Spanish crown. These books also encourage children to misunderstand the fundamentals of foreign policy, thereby discouraging foreign policy analysis. A "less altruistic explanation" of why the United States is involved in problems abroad . Through the bibliographies analyzed, we can see that the majority of children's literature that mentions Columbus avoids the "dirty" details of his voyages and the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean. On the contrary, these books intended for young readers present Columbus in the wrong light, that of affection and admiration, even referring to him by his first name. “It was fortunate that Christopher was born where he was, otherwise he might never have gone to sea.” “Once upon a time there was a boy who loved the salty sea.” “Yes, the queen would help Columbus!” “After all these years, Columbus would get his ships back!” » Structured as a conversation between father and son, Gleiter and Thompson's Christopher Columbus depicts Columbus as a kind and compassionate admiral of the ocean, illustrating him with straight white teeth and a bold jawline. Ironically, depicting Columbus as a real human being with real thoughts and feelings, children's literature accounts do not bother to mention the indigenous peoples of these invaded islands and what they might have wanted. As each biography encourages him to India, children are constantly presented with the story of Columbus from his point of view; the “most unfortunate part of his great adventure” being that of the late arrival of his crews on the islands. If one of Columbus's men had asked the Indians, they would probably disagree, arguing that the liquidation of the majority of their people was slightly more "unfortunate" than an inconvenient delay. Perhaps the most evasive and misleading children's literature accounts of Columbus. are those of Where do you think you're going, Christopher Columbus by Jean Fritz? and Christopher Columbus: The Intrepid Mariner by Sean J. Dolan. Delving into the gist of his reasoning on the second page of his work, Dolan highlights the influence of religion in Columbus's life by stating: "Columbus believed that the awe-inspiring beauty that surrounded him could only be the work of of the one true God. , and he felt safe under the protection of his Lord and Savior. “If only my crewmen shared my beliefs,” Columbus thought. Dolan's story continues on this tangent of "Columbus as a saint" for one hundred and seventeen pages, almost strangling his readers with the virtuous halo of Columbus. Similar to Dolan's religious depiction of Columbus' expeditions motivated solely by his faith, Fritz also misleads young readers through his use of euphoric language; claiming that Queen Isabella "was such an enthusiastic Christian that she insisted that everyone in Spain be equally Christian... Indeed, she was so religious that if she found even Christians who were not sincere Christians, she made them burn alive. Although adopting a somewhat skeptical tone, Fritz's implicit criticism is probably lost on upper primary school students; the target audience of his book. The recurring theme of Christianity, as well as the close associations established between God and Columbus in children's literature, discourage young students from criticizing the actsreprehensible actions of Columbus. “Columbus marveled at how God had worked everything out for the best. » This statement alone indirectly encourages children not to question the conduct and motives of Columbus Enterprise. Leaving aside religion and biblical references, biographies of Christopher Columbus written for young students do not encourage children to think or critically analyze the texts; they just have to sit and absorb information like incompetent sponges. Once again, the opinions of the natives, as well as their feelings regarding the plundering of their homes on the islands by the Spanish, are left out of these accounts; making Columbus’ expedition one of the first encounters “between two peoples – us and them – where children will learn that “God is on our side.” » At the basis of Columbus's tale is the conception that he and his crew members "discovered" America. During the research process for their book, The Worlds of Christopher Columbus, written by William D. Phillips and Carla Rahn Phillips, the two authors examined more than two hundred and forty history textbooks used in schools across the United States in during the 19th and 20th centuries. centuries. Their study concluded that American children's literature has rarely painted a uniform picture of Columbus and his foreign voyages. The same thing is found in most children's books mentioning Columbus; one might assume that the same author wrote each book, with very slightly different details in each edition. In his book Meet Christopher Columbus, de Kay tells the story of Columbus' arrival in San Salvador and his encounter with the natives, stating: "He tried to talk to the people...but they couldn't understand him . " Obviously, Columbus could not understand the natives either, but "the inability to understand is attributed to the Indians alone." Once again, the authors of Columbus' literature written for children offer a subtle injustice to the natives of the islands; which suggests to young readers that the ignorance of the Indians is what allowed strange armed men to invade their land and claim it as their own in the name of a kingdom on the other side of the world . Although they introduced indirect bias, at least some authors managed to mention the existence of indigenous peoples inhabiting the islands. Unlike the others previously mentioned, Robert Young completely avoids the native controversy in his work, Christopher Columbus and His Voyage to the New World, failing at all to educate his young readers about the native inhabitants of the islands. In his work, readers will only find illustrations of palm trees and deserted beaches – lands without inhabitants. This scene of Columbus's interactions with the native Indians—more likely than not, a scene that almost every American child has read or learned about in school—creates an incredibly moving metaphor regarding the relationships between nations and their peoples; one who teaches not only the world of more than five hundred years ago, but also one who teaches the world today. “Modernized”, Christian, light-skinned men armed with “advanced” weapons from a more developed country “discover” a land inhabited by “uncivilized”, non-Christian, unarmed, naked and naked men. dark skin – and claim it in the name of their homeland or their hierarchy. Although it does not directly tell young readers that this type of behavior is acceptable, Columbus's children's literature suggests to them that whites should rule over people of color, that Christians should "civilize"non-Christians and that more developed nations should control less developed nations. Every indirect response that students might draw from the language and images in their books undoubtedly highlights and rationalizes colonialism and prejudice: “it is acceptable for one people to determine the fate of another people; it is acceptable for white people to control people of color. » In most cases, children's literature about Columbus and his voyages to the New World presents the natives of the islands as "mere background noise." Although the indigenous peoples inhabiting the islands are mentioned in most children's books, the value of their thoughts and lives is not considered. Columbus children's literature is only about Columbus and his thoughts about indigenous people, not the other way around. Demonstrated in Mary Pope Osborne's Christopher Columbus: Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Osborne states that Columbus "believed that the Indians could easily be overpowered and that they had no religion of their own." He wrote that they would make “good Christians and good servants.” Again, although he mentions the Indians, Osborne fails to create a critical text that young readers could analyze by neglecting to raise the question of what the Indians thought of Columbus's actions. and his men.Like the majority of authors in Columbus's children's literature, Osborne's Indians have no thoughts, feelings, or verbal communication. Present in much children's literature about Columbus, these silent Indians therefore imply a message that most would find unfavorable to young readers; White people in technologically “advanced” societies have consciousness and representation, but people in third world places are distracted, voiceless objects. The consistent language and images that students are exposed to in these texts inevitably lead them to assume that “they are not like us.” Ideas of dissociation and isolation develop in their minds, that we are more qualified than they are to decide what the best conditions are for them socially, economically and politically. Interventions around the world, including Vietnam, Chile, Grenada and Panama, Nicaragua and Angola, and countless others, impress upon young students that the right to determine what is best for others is the main conduct of our country's foreign policy. The “classic” story of Columbus told to children across the United States during their first exposure to foreign policy encourages young people to recognize the unequal distribution of power across the world and accept it as valid. With some of Columbus' literature for children ignorant of Indians', others conveniently ended their tales with the end of Columbus's first voyage. As a result, these perpetrators escaped the confrontation of slavery and genocide – ignoring the plight of Indians as a whole. This clever avoidance of detail allows the myth of Columbus to remain simplistic and pure in the minds of young readers; simple and untainted by violence to keep the traditional history intact and healthy. By avoiding Columbus's second voyage in February 1495, authors of children's literature neglected to inform young readers about the Taino slave raids on Hispaniola, where the unnecessary violence and barbarity inflicted on the natives by the Spanish led to liquidation of almost an entire ethnic population. Acting out of greed and the false sense that we should control these people because they are not like us, the behavior of the Spanish towards the Indians cost the natives quantitiescountless lands, resources and, above all, their lives. Although they mention Columbus' downfall by taking slaves from the islands, their reviews are poor, as neither children's book educates its young readers about what slavery specifically entailed for its undeserving victims. One particular account, that of Christopher Columbus of Monchieri, mentions that forcibly removing the natives from their island resulted in "a great failure of Columbus... He saw nothing wrong in enslaving the American Indians and to make them work for Spanish masters.” Additionally, Christopher Columbus: Admiral of the Ocean Sea by Mary Pope Osborne states that "this terrible treatment of the Indians was the true downfall of Columbus." Monchieri's and Osborne's accounts fail to show the horrific and unjust aspects of slavery in which Columbus and his men willingly participated. Reinforcing his reluctance to denounce Columbus for his inhumane actions towards the Indians, Osborne goes so far as to justify his actions by saying: "Since Columbus felt despair and disappointment at not finding gold in India, he decided to be like the African explorers and try. sell these Indians as slaves. In either case, neither author takes the trouble to critically analyze the narrative of their story to account for the character of the slave. In most cases, that is, when indigenous peoples are mentioned, even when they are mentioned, authors of children's literature about Columbus consistently justify the unfavorable nature of their story. aspects of the action of the white man in the New World. In his work Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?, Jean Fritz defends Columbus' taking of slaves by saying: "African explorers always sent Africans back to the Spanish slave markets... moreover, the natives were all pagans. It wasn’t like he was selling Christians into slavery.” Once again, without presenting readers with a direct critique of Columbus' wrongdoing, authors aimed at young readers promote the ideas of racism and imperialism. This notion is particularly emphasized in Dolan's account: “Because the Indians were not Christians, Columbus believed that they could be enslaved and converted without the Spanish feeling guilty. » Dolan goes on to state: “Given the attitude of men in general, however, Columbus had no choice but to give his approval to the slave sorties. " This statement alone can be condemned, however, every narrative that even acknowledges the Indians in the slightest always manages to fail to speak for them. Rather, each children's story only identifies Columbus's justifications for his actions committed on the natives of the New World. “Between 1494 and 1496, a third of the indigenous population of Hispaniola was killed, sold or frightened. » Although Fritz manages to talk about the punishments meted out to Indians who did not meet Columbus' daily quota of gold, his use of the passive voice in the preceding sentence serves to protect the perpetrators of the acts of misconduct. These stories intended for young readers do not raise any questioning of the conduct of Columbus and his men, nor of the economic and social systems they represented. These atrocities have affected hundreds of thousands of real people with real feelings who remain missing because they are presented to readers as everyone else. According to the majority of children's literature about Columbus, students should value courage, deviousness, and diligence over human beings' rights to life and autonomy—we prefer them. 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