Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies : A Brief History with Documents

In 1492, previously separate worlds collided and began to merge, often painfully, into the world-system in which we live today. Columbus's four Atlantic voyages (1492-1504) helped link Africa, Europe, and the Americas in a conflicted economic and cultural symbiosis. These carefully selected documents describe the voyages and their immediate impact on Europe and the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. Symcox and Sullivan's engaging introduction presents Columbus as neither hero nor villain, but as a significant historical actor who improvised responses to a changed world. Document headnotes provide context for understanding Columbus's voyages within the broader context of fifteenth-century Europe and the policies of the Spanish crown. Maps, illustrations, a chronology, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography invite students to analyze and interpret the documents. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: Columbus—The Man, the Voyages, the Legacy....Pages 1-40 Front Matter....Pages 41-41 Christopher Columbus....Pages 43-59 The Four Voyages....Pages 60-139 The Spanish Crown, Portugal, and the Papacy....Pages 140-154 European Constructions of the New World....Pages 155-176 Back Matter....Pages 177-192 A general introduction to Christopher Columbus' life and voyages, followed by a series of documents. These include excerpts from the log of his first voyage, his agreements with the Spanish crown, papal bulls concerning the colonial empires of Spain and Portugal, and judgments by contemporaries on Columbus and his achievements