Christopher Columbus is generally recognized as one of the most important players in not only Spanish history but also in the history of humanity itself. His discovery of the Americas drastically added to mankind’s knowledge of its own existence and brought together the Old and New Worlds. Columbus’s letter to the Spanish Crown is of particular interest because it gives a detailed firsthand account of first contact and because it reveals a great deal about late 15th century European imperial values and aspirations.
In 1491 the Reconquista was finally drawing to an end with the fall of the Muslim stronghold of Grenada. The Spanish Crown was eager to rebuild its depleted treasury, get the upper hand on competing nations and continue expanding its developing empire. With the rise of the hostile Ottoman Empire to the east, a safe trade route to the Orient had been placed in jeopardy. For years, persistent Genoese explorer and trader, Christopher Columbus had been seeking after a royal endorsement and financing for an expedition that would try to find a sea route to Asia via the west. In 1492 he finally secured the official support of the Spanish Crown and set sail for what he believed was the Orient.
In his letter, dated the 15th of February 1493, Columbus gives the first written account of his expedition to the New World, which he called the Indies. It is addressed to Luis de Santángel, the Finance Minister of King Ferdinand II, and one of the individuals who helped Columbus get the initial backing of the Crown. The letter is rich in descriptions of a magnificent land and peoples evocative of a utopian promised land flowing with milk and honey. Columbus takes special care to highlight the land’s numerous natural resources and features including metals, trees, fertile ground, fruits, honey, fresh water, and harbors. He goes on to perhaps flatter and entice the Spanish Crown by stating that one of the islands is even larger than the competing nations of England and Scotland combined.
The picture painted of the locals is equally as alluring. They are mostly described as countless naked individuals of a very pleasing appearance who lack any great cities but rather live in tiny hamlets. Columbus writes that they are generous, timid, excessively cowardly, sharp minded, and best of all believe that Columbus and his men are gods that come from the heavens. With regards to securing the islands, he says that the natives don’t know about weapons and only have pointed sticks to defend themselves and would be easy to dominate and enslave.
Understandably, Columbus’s letter created a lot of excitement and was widely published throughout Europe. His account of the discovery of the Americas reads like a modern day travel brochure and helped create a turning point in the development of the Spanish empire and the colonization of the West generally. It emphasizes the fact that Europeans at that time were eager to conquer and subjugate the “idolaters” and strengthen their empires and didn’t seem to have any moral qualms about it. Rather they saw their domination of the New World as a religious good deed that would help bring the natives unto the saving grace of Christendom.
From a modern perspective, Columbus’s letter seems out of touch with humanity. He viewed the land and its people as commodities to be seized and dominated for gain and prestige. He was after all a business man, and a product of a rapidly changing world and his letter helped play an important role in cementing his legacy in history.
