Chistopher Columbus
At the time of Chistopher Columbus’ first voyage known as the “Enterprise of the Indies,”[1] religion played little role in the formation of this journey. Columbus sought a shorter route to the Indies as he knew of the riches in trade that could be established. Having been denied support by the Portuguese King Joao II, Columbus sought financial backing from the Spanish Crown. After having completed a military victory for Granada the Catholic Monarchs approved of his journey.[2]
The formal agreements between Columbus and the Spanish Monarchy don’t allude to the spreading of the Christian faith as the basis for the first exploration, instead the concerns with both parties dealt with the acquiring of wealth and power. The Monarchy was concerned with the Portuguese maritime accomplishments and the riches they could be acquiring, while Columbus wished to secure power over the lands and what would be nobility for his children as the agreement allowed for the powers to be passed hereditarily.[3]
Now on Columbus’ second journey, Barolome De Las Casas describes him as being, “Everlastingly zealous of the honor of God, and imbued with a burning desire to convert these people that the faith of Jesus Christ should take root and multiply throughout these lands.”[4] It was stated that Columbus on his first journey upon meeting the Tainos felt that they were eager to be converted to Christianity,[5] so this portrayal is understandable since he knew that there were people that could be ruled and converted. The Monarchy though, sought what to me is an ulterior motive to incorporate religion into the second journey.
With Columbus having to land in Lisbon on his return and King Joao II, learning of his journey claimed that he had sailed in waters controlled by Portugal, the Spanish Monarchy sought the intervention of the Pope to declare boundaries which therefore avoided a conflict between two tense nations.[6] This greatly benefitted the Spanish and at this point is when you see priests being added to the fleets crew along with bull’s issued by Alexander VI dictating the mission for these new missionaries.[7] Their Catholic faith led to the defeating of the Moor’s, but in the case of the America’s wealth and territorial gain seem to me as the driving factors for the backing of Columbus’ exploration.
[1] Geoggrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2005), 14.
[2] Geoggrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2005), 8-13.
[3] Geoggrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2005), 13.
[4] Geoggrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2005), 48.
[5] Geoggrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2005), 15.
[6] Geoggrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2005), 18-19.
[7] Geoggrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2005), 19.
Hi Justin. You briefly mention Spain’s religious wars and the fall of Granada in your first paragraph; to strengthen your argument, I would elaborate more on this topic and discuss Spain’s religious spirit. As discussed in Professor Stoner’s lectures, the Reconquest began as land wars between the Christians and the Muslims in Spain, and nobles were commissioned to fight for kings who in turn rewarded the nobles with the resources of the conquered lands. These struggles for land eventually became religious wars that hoped to drive out the neighboring Muslims, and a later manifestation of the Reconquest was the Inquisition, which tested if religious conversions were sincere or not. During all of this, the Crown found a spiritual and financial partner in the Church, and this religious spirit carried over and helped define the exploration of the New World. I think adding in this information from the lectures would help support your points by providing more background.
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