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
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