My Columbus ppt to teach about bias and point of view.

1. Christopher Columbus
• And the AMAZING discovery of the new
world!!!

2. Christopher Columbus
(from Genoa)
Major Influences
The Adventures of
Marco Polo
The Bible
Carried them both
everywhere he
went
Very intolerant of other
beliefs!!!
Hated Muslims and
how they controlled
the Holy Land
(Jerusalem).

3. Goals in his Life
•In Marco Polo’s book,
Columbus learned of the
fabulous wealth and the
millions of people that
resided in the east.
•Wanted to sail west to get to
Asia because he believed he
found King Solomon’s tomb
(Biblical hiding place for
BILLIONS of dollars)
•With Solomon’s cash-money,
Columbus wanted to convert
the Asian “heathens” to
Christianity so he could march
into Muslim-controlled
Jerusalem, slaughter the
Islamic peoples that lived
there, and BRING IN THE
SECOND COMING OF
CHRIST!!!
Better watch out!!!

4. The world isn’t FLAT
•Columbus wanted to sail
WEST to get to the EAST.
•Despite popular belief,
people of the time of
Columbus did NOT believe the
world was flat.
•Sail west to get to the east?
Terrible idea because…
•Ships couldn’t carry
enough food for that
long of a voyage
•No one really knew
what was out in the
open sea!!

6. Problems with the plan…
• Not enough food
• Not enough water
• No one would go with him
• No one would front the
bill for the voyage.
• Also, he guessed that the
world was 3,000 miles
smaller than it really was!
I ain’t got no money, homes!

7. Get out of here, Fool!
Columbus went to the
English Royalty… they
laughed him out of the
building
He then went to the
Italians… the Portuguese…
SAME THING HAPPENED
No one would finance such
a stupid idea… EXCEPT
THE SPANISH!!!
The Spanish were a new
country whose rulers ALSO
hated the Muslims.
They funded his mission.
King Ferdinand and his lovely wife Queen Isabella
of Spain

8. The Known World 1400AD

9. Who would sign up for
such a dangerous mission?
You are sailing off to
certain DOOM!
No right minded person
would go.
Columbus recruited his
crew from the local mental
institutions and prisons.
Many of his crew were on
death row for serious
crimes.
Do you think that these
kinds of people will act
respectfully if they were to
meet any people?
I want out…

10. The Voyage Begins
•Things don’t go well
•Much of the crew is
sea-sick for entire trip
(not much sailing
experience… with all
that prison time)
•Completely ran out of
food and water.
•The crew tried to
mutiny but land was
discovered before
they could kill
Columbus.

11. OOOPS!
•Crashed into land and
destroyed his ship!
•Claimed the land and people
for the Spanish and forcefully
converted the Natives.
•The criminals went crazy on
the islands (in the Caribbean)
•Stealing
•Murdering
•Columbus was a terrible
leader
•No one listened to him.
A very accurate drawing of the arrival

12. Columbus and Vespucci’s descriptions of the Natives and the land
“…cowardly people, they fled. Father would not stand by to protect his son.”
“They have no other arms than a sharpened stick, which they would not dare use for they are so
cowardly.”
“…they might be made Christians and be inclined to the love and service of their Highnesses and the
whole Christian nation.”
“To the west there are people called the Anuu, which I am told the people have horns and tails.”
“I can give as much gold as you want, and also slaves, as many as you order, who will go gladly to
your side.”
“Each man his own master can have as many wives as he likes. Many men marry the first woman
that he meets.”
“…be assured of this fact because the fathers have already been seen to eat children and wife…”
“The women go about naked and are very libidinous; yet they have tolerable bodies and are quite
beautiful…”
“They have no metals of any kind other than gold…”

13. Columbus’ other voyages
•Built a fort from the
wreckage and made his
men stay behind.
•Returned the following
year to find not a SINGLE
MAN remaining.
•Exacted a holocaust on
the Native people.
Ordered executions.
•Required the natives to
bring back as much gold as
“the size of their heads” or
he would cut off their
hands.
•The Natives fled, so he
swept through the
Caribbean killing as many
people as he could find.

14. The end of Columbus
•Born a poor man,
died a poor man.
•Recalled by the
Spanish crown for
being TOO VIOLENT.
•Imprisoned and never
had any idea what he
did wrong.
•Died from a heart
attack in prison at age
54.

15. What Happened Next
• Basic diseases that Europeans had immunities
to began to spread through the Native
populations. Natives had no immunities to
these.
• Spanish sent Cortez to bring back gold
• Cortez killed everything and anyone he could
find in Central America

16. The End
•AND THEY
LIVED HAPPILY
EVER AFTER