Christopher Columbus Structured Academic Controversy
Historical Question:
Why did the Constitution allow slavery to continue, if the Declaration
of Independence claimed that “all men are created equal”?
SAC QUESTION: Was Christopher Columbus a hero or a villain?
Team A will argue: YES, Columbus was a hero.
Team B will argue: NO, Columbus was not a hero, he was a villain.
PROCEDURE
30 minutes With your teammate, read the documents in the Columbus document set and answer the Guiding Questions. Find four pieces of evidence that support your side.
10 minutes Team A presents. BOTH PARTNERS MUST PRESENT!!! Team B writes down Team A’s arguments and then repeats them back to Team A.
10 minutes Team B presents. BOTH PARTNERS MUST PRESENT!!! Team A down arguments of Team B and then repeats them back to Team B.
10 minutes Everyone CAN ABANDON their positions. Groups of 4 attempt to develop a consensus.
Document A: Journal Entries (modified)
They…brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned…They were well built, with good bodies and handsome features…They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane…They would make fine servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.
As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.
.
Vocabularysubjugate: to bring under control
Source:Christopher Columbus, Selections from Journal, 1492.
Document B: Personal Account (modified)
Bartolome de las Casas, a young priest who participated in the conquest of Cuba (Hispaniola) and transcribed Columbus’ journal. For a time he owned a plantation and Indian slaves. He later opposed the conquest of the new world, wrote this account in 1542, and sent it to King Philip II of Spain in 1552
…the admiral (Columbus), it is true, was as blind as those who came after him, and he was so anxious to please the King that he committed irreparable crimes against the Indians …
…(the Spaniards) grew more conceited every day and after awhile refused to walk any distance…(They) rode the backs of Indians as if they were in a hurry or were carried on hammocks by Indians running in relays…(They) thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades…
…They (Indians) suffered and died in the mines and other labors in desperate silence, knowing not a soul in the world to whom they could turn for help…
…(In 1508) there were 60,000 people living on this island (Hispaniola), including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it…”
Vocabularysubjugate: to bring under control
Source:Bartolome de Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, 1542.
Document C: Letter (modified)
I have determined to write you this letter to inform you of everything that has been done and discovered in this voyage of mine.
On the thirty-third day after leaving Cadiz I came into the Indian Sea, where I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance. To the first of them I have given the name of our blessed Saviour…to each of the others also I gave a new name…
Hispana abounds in various kinds of species, gold and metals. The inhabitants of both sexes of this and of all the other island I have seen, or of which I have any knowledge, always go as naked as they came into the world, except that some of the women cover their private parts with leaves or branches, or a veil of cotton…
They are all, as I said before, unprovided with any sort of iron, and they are destitute of arms, which are entirely unknown to them, and for which they are not adapted; not on account of any bodily deformity, for they are well made, but because they are timid and full of terror. They carry, however, canes dried in the sun in place of weapons, upon whose roots they fix a wooded shaft, dried and sharpened to a point. But they never dare to make use of these; for it has often happened, when I have sent two or three of my men to some of their villages to speak with the inhabitants, that a crowd of Indians has sallied forth; but when they saw our men approaching, they speedily took to flight, parents abandoning children, and children their parents. This happened not because any loss or injury had been inflicted upon any of them. On the contrary I gave whatever I had, cloth and many other things, to whomsoever I approached, or with whom I could get speech, without any return being made to me; but they are by nature fearful and timid.
I gave them many beautiful and pleasing things, which I had brought with me, for no return whatever, in order to win their affection, and that they might become Christians and inclined to love our King and Queen and Princes and all the people of Spain; and that they might be eager to search for and gather and give to us what they abound in and we greatly need.
Vocabularydestitute: not having
Source:Christopher Columbus' letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, 14 March 1493.
Document D: Biography (modified)
Columbus was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his mind were energetic, but irregular; bursting forth at times with that irresistible force which characterizes intellects of such order. His mind had grasped all kinds of knowledge connected with his pursuits; and though his information may appear limited at the present day, and some of his errors palpable, it is because that knowledge…was but scantily developed in his time.
His own discoveries enlightened the ignorance of that age; guided conjecture to certainty; and dispelled numerous errors with which he himself had been obliged to struggle.
His ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts, and an anxiety to distinguish himself by great achievements…His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views and the magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly found countries…he sought to colonize and cultivate them, to civilize the natives…A valiant and indignant spirit…a visionary of an uncommon kind.
Vocabularypalpable: able to be touched or felt
scantily: in small amount
conjecture: an opinion based on incomplete information; guesswork
magnanimity: nobility
ravaging: plundering
indignant:
Source: Excerpt from the biography by Washington Irving, A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, v.4, 1828. Irving wrote in the 19th century and focused on themes in American life.
Document E: Biography (modified)
Now, more than five hundred years after his birth… [Columbus's discovery of the New World] is celebrated throughout the length and breadth of the Americas, his fame and reputation may be considered secure for all time. He had his faults and his defects, but they were largely the defects of the qualities that made him great—his indomitable will, his superb faith in God and in his own mission as the Christ-bearer to lands beyond the seas, his stubborn persistence despite neglect, poverty and discouragement. But there was no flaw, no dark side to the most outstanding… of all his qualities—his seamanship. As a master mariner and navigator, Columbus was supreme in his generation. Never was a title more justly bestowed than the one which he most jealously guarded—Almirante del Mar Océano, Admiral of the Ocean Sea.
Vocabularyindomitable: impossible to defeat
neglect:being uncared for
mariner:a sailor
bestowed: given as an honor or a gift
Source: Excerpt from the biography by Samuel Eliot Morison, Christopher Columbus, Mariner, 1955. Morison is a professional naval historian.
Document F: Biography (modified)
For all his navigational skill, about which the salty types make such a fuss, and all his fortuitous choices, about which they are largely silent, Admiral Colón [Columbus] could be a wretched mariner. The four voyages, properly seen, quite apart from bravery and fortitude, are replete with lubberly [clumsy] mistakes, misconceived sailing plans, foolish disregard of elementary maintenance, and stubborn neglect of basic safety . . . Almost every time Colón went wrong it was because he had refused to bend to the inevitabilities of tide and wind and reef or, more arrogantly still, had not bothered to learn about them; the very same reckless courage that led him across the ocean in the first place, and saw him through storm and tumult to return, lay behind his numerous misfortunes..
Vocabularyfortuitious:happening by accident or chance, rather than by design
fotitude:courage amidst pain or adversity
replete:filled, or well supplied
lubberly: clumsy
tumult: confusion or disorder
Source: Excerpt from the biography by Kirkpatrick Sale, The Conquest of Paradise,1990. Sale is an independent scholar and environmentalist.
Name______
Columbus Guiding Questions
Document A:
1.Sourcing: Who wrote this document? When?
2. Close reading: What is the main idea of this journal entry? How would you describe the attitude toward the natives?
Document B:
1. Sourcing:Who wrote this document? When? What do you think is the document’s purpose?
2. Close Reading: According to this documents, how did the Spaniards treat the natives? (Be sure to use quotes from the document)
Document C:
1.Sourcing: Who wrote this document? When? To whom is it written? How might this affect the content of the letter?
2. Contextualizing: Imagine you are a native. How would you describe these visitors based on this letter?
Document D:
1.Sourcing: Who wrote this document? When? How might the author’s perspective shape his view of Columbus?
2. Close Reading: How does the author explain any “errors” that Columbus may have made?
Document E:
1. Sourcing: Who wrote this document? When?Based on the author’s expertise, what might he claim about Columbus?
2. Close Reading: The author claims that Columbus had his “defects,” or flaws. How does the author explain these.
Document F:
1.Sourcing: Who wrote this document? When? What is unique about this author’s perspective? Based on this perspective how might this author view Columbus?
2. Close Reading:How would you describe the language the author uses to make his claim about Columbus?
ORGANIZING THE EVIDENCEName______
Use this space to write your main points and the main points made by the other side.
Columbus was a hero: List the 4 main points/evidence that support this side.
1)From Document _____:
2)From Document _____:
3)From Document _____:
4)From Document _____:
Columbus was a villain: List the 4 main points/evidence that support this side.
1)From Document _____:
2)From Document _____:
3)From Document _____:
4)From Document _____:
Coming to Consensus
STARTING NOW, YOU MAY ABANDON YOUR ASSIGNED POSITION AND ARGUE FOR EITHER SIDE.
Use the space below to outline your group’s agreement. Your agreement should address evidence and arguments from both sides.