Christopher Columbus

The discovery of the New World is considered one of the world’s greatest achievements, alongside the age of space exploration. Literary theorist and historian Tzvetan Todorov has stated that because the astronauts’ voyage resulted in “no encounter at all,” they held limited significance. Unlike, “the discovery of America, or of the Americans, [which] is certainly the most astonishing encounter of our history.” However, in the case of Christopher Columbus, his presentation of the New World was explicitly shaped by the expectations of the Spanish Monarchy. Like other conquistadors of his time, Christopher Columbus worked under the system of royal patronage which encouraged rapid claims of success in exploration and conquest.¹

To understand Columbus’s exaggerations one must understand the ideological framework of the Spanish Empire. As stated by Restall, “The ideology of the Spanish empire was rooted in medieval jurisprudence and the mythology of the Christian reconquista (reconquest) of the Iberian peninsula, in Judeo-Christian concepts of time as progressive and providential, and in recycled Roman notions of universal empire. From the 1490s on, an additional factor was added to this potent mix: the experience of the Discovery and Conquest.”² The result was a Spanish ideology that made discovery and conquest a moral duty and shaped how explorers described their experiences.

Because the crown expected wealth, success, and religious converts, Christopher Columbus framed his discoveries in ways that aligned with those beliefs. As Restall explains, “…their enterprises needed to meet royal definitions of colonial success. Simply finding and claiming lands was not enough. Putative colonies needed immediate economic viability, preferably in the form of gold and silver mines and sedentary native societies to locate and work the mines and provide other goods and labor.”³

Additionally when taking into consideration the titles of Don and High Admiral of the Ocean Sea bestowed to him by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, another dimension gets added to Columbus’s exaggerations under the system of royal patronage. This is explicitly stated by Christopher Columbus himself in the logbook of his first voyage, when he says, “Your Highnesses commanded me to go with an adequate fleet to those parts of India, in return you granted me great favours bestowing on me the titles of Don and High Admiral of the Ocean Sea and Viceroy and perpetual governor of such islands and mainland as I should discover and win or should in future be discovered and won in the Ocean Sea, and that these rights should be inherited by my eldest son and so on from generation to generation.”⁴

Showing that Columbus’ credibility and future depended on the success of his voyage, which created a strong incentive to exaggerate the value of the land he found in front of him. As Restall explains:

“These assertions of fulfillment or compliance were crucial to Columbus’s being able to take his third of all trade revenues from the discovered lands, as well as to administer them as ‘Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor’—as guaranteed in the Capitulaciones. Columbus’s insistence that he had both reached Asia and found new lands was disputed as soon as he returned to Spain from his first voyage. His claims were increasingly contested as further voyages by Columbus and others revealed more and more about the Atlantic and the Americas. Afraid of losing his contract-based privileges (as he eventually would), Columbus averred ever more stridently that ‘I have found and continue to find nothing less in any respect than what I wrote and said and affirmed to their Highnesses in days gone by.’”

For example, as noted by William D. Phillips Jr., Columbus’ European mode of thinking exacerbated his exaggerations of the economic potential of the lands he found, often claiming to find gold, pearls, and spices. However, in reality he only saw these commodities in small quantities and did not know where to find them. And as his hopes faded, his exaggerations increased, with claims of finding the highest mountain in the world (Cuba), among other things. However two days later he would write that building a fortress on the newly discovered land would be profitable if trade developed, admitting that large scale trade did not exist in the Caribbean. As a result he would shift his plans to the European Atlantic island model.⁵

As stated by Restall, “…Expedition leaders were quick to claim that regions were overflowing with precious metals and compliant native peoples. Such claims began with Columbus, who from the outset was keen to convince the crown that he had fulfilled the terms laid out in his contract (known as the Capitulaciones de Santa Fe, after the garrison town near Granada where the agreement was drawn up in April 1492).”⁶ It was crucial for Columbus to exaggerate his findings and show successful results to the crown, if he did not want to lose his contract based privileges.

Drawing on The Life of the Admiral, written by Columbus’s son Hernando Colon, he explains how the Spanish monarchy organized to establish permanent colonies and Spanish control, and notes that Papal confirmation transformed Columbus’s voyages into divine sanction.⁷ This would further reinforce the Spanish ideological framework Columbus would be working under, intensifying the pressure placed on him and lead him to portray his discoveries as successful.

Moreover one could examine Christopher’s European mode of thinking and treating biblical sources as geographical evidence. As Phillips points out, the Judeo-Christian heritage and capitalism that surrounded Columbus shaped his mental image of fifteenth century Europe. As such, Columbus would combine real world experiences with secular and religious literature. Which would lead him to believe he was in Asia at the time, as Phillips explains, “Columbus was convinced that each of his first three voyages had approached the terrestrial paradise mentioned in the Bible.”⁸

Columbus would adjust his geography to fit his belief of being in Asia, for example in an entry in his logbook, during October 19–22, Columbus describes how he explores another island he renames Isabela, believing he’s near Asia and explains how plans to find the Great Khan. He eventually sets out to Colba, which he believed to be Japan (Cipangu).⁹ This would help explain why Columbus could sincerely claim to be near the “terrestrial paradise” while simultaneously exaggerating the wealth of the lands he encountered.

Finally, in an undated Letter from Christopher Columbus to the King and Queen of Spain, the exaggerations of Columbus and the economic reality of Hispaniola become apparent. Columbus describes the island as ready for colonization and gold extraction, and he lays out plans to build churches and towns. He explicitly goes over gold regulations and administrative order, framing it as evidence to the Crown that he has fulfilled his mission.

Interestingly he admits, “As regards [to] the division of the gold, and the share that ought to be reserved for your Highnesses, this, in my opinion, must be left to the aforesaid governor and treasurer, because it will have to be greater or less according to the quantity of gold that may be found.”¹⁰ In turn, showing how this exaggeration was necessary for Columbus to keep royal support and control from the Spanish Empire.

Overall, Columbus exaggerations cannot be taken as a sign of deception. His exaggerations were produced under a system of royal patronage that encouraged discovery and conquest and was tied to wealth, success, and power. Additionally, Columbus’ European way of thinking cannot be taken at face value. Influenced by secular and biblical text of his time, he truly believed he was in Asia and close to the terrestrial paradise. As a result, his exaggerations were shaped by an ideology that helped meet royal expectations and justify discovery and conquest.

Notes

1. Restall, M. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Oxford University Press Academic US, 2021, p. 12.
2. Restall, M. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Oxford University Press Academic US, 2021, p. 44.
3. Restall, M. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Oxford University Press Academic US, 2021, p. 43.
4. Cohen, J.M. The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus. The Penguin Group, 1969, p. 38.
5. Phillips Jr., William D. “Africa and the Atlantic Islands Meet the Garden of Eden: Christopher Columbus’s View of America.” Journal of World History, Vol. 3, No. 2, University of Hawai’i Press, 1992, pp. 158–159.
6. Restall, M. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Oxford University Press Academic US, 2021, p. 43.
7. Cohen, J.M. The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus. The Penguin Group, 1969, pp. 127–128.
8. Phillips Jr., William D. “Africa and the Atlantic Islands Meet the Garden of Eden: Christopher Columbus’s View of America.” Journal of World History, Vol. 3, No. 2, University of Hawai’i Press, 1992, pp. 149–150.
9. Cohen, J.M. The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus. The Penguin Group, 1969, pp. 71–72.
10. Columbus, C. “Christopher Columbus, Letter to the King And Queen of Spain.” Great Neck Publishing, 2017.

Works Cited

Cohen, J.M. The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus. The Penguin Group. 1969.

Columbus, C. “Christopher Columbus, letter to the King And Queen of Spain.” Great Neck Publishing. 2017.

Restall, M. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Oxford University Press Academic US. 2021.

Phillips Jr., William D. “Africa and the Atlantic Islands Meet the Garden of Eden: Christopher Columbus’s View of America.” Journal of World History, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 149–164. University of Hawai’i Press. 1992.