Columbus & the Caribbean

Who was Columbus?• Born in Genoa, Italy

around 1451• Experienced sailor

who worked with Portuguese traders

• May have been Jewish

• Devout Catholic

Marco Polo’s Image of Asia

Columbus Sets Sail• Denied funding by

Portugal, France, & England

• Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand granted the right to rule any land Columbus found

• 3 ships funded for exploratory mission to find a faster route to Asia

Niña, Pinta, Santa Maria

The Caribbean

Who would Columbus Encounter?• Aruak (Taino)

and the Carib• Aruak farmed &

fished• Caribs may have

been cannibals

First Exchanges

• Taino offered Columbus & his men food and gold jewelry

• Columbus forced the Taino to stop fishing & start mining gold

The “Great Dying”• About 95% of the Caribbean Indians died in

the first 25 years of Spanish contact

Illustration by de Las Casas Florentine Codex

The Columbian Exchange

End of Columbus’ Life

• Returns to Hispaniola before his death in 1506

• Conflict with his sailors & arrest for mismanagement of Hispaniola harm his reputation

Changes in Hispaniola• First Royal Governor Fray

Ovando established repartimiento system

• African slaves brought for labor in 1505 & 1518

• Bartolome de las Cases writes The Destruction of the Indies in 1552

Thedor de Bry’s Depiction of the Indies

Bartolome de las Casas