American literature - Essay Example

Spain on the other hand had different motivation, they explored in the name of God, for glory and gold. So those countries and continents they had reached were not only robbed of its riches, but its people were also converted to Christianity and enslaved to expand Spain’s territories. Two of the most prominent explorers under the flag of Spain were Christopher Columbus and Bartolome De Las Casas Between the two, it is very obvious that Christopher Columbus is more prominent than Bartolome de Casas during the late fifteenth century (and even until today).

But his prominence however is not about how good or great a man he was but rather on his brutality and savagery as a conquistador. Bartolome De Las Casas even deferred to his brutality against the natives that he had enslaved saying in his diary that “Such inhumanities and barbarisms were committed in my sight as no age can parallel" adding "My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write" (Kasum). In addition, Bartolome De Las Casas is also just one of Columbus men that made it difficult to argue that he is more prominent than his superior.

De Las Casas even showed have even shown fascination with Columbus when he brought “beautiful green parrots, …. Masks made of precious stones and fish in Spain” (your book). This indicates that between the two, it is Columbus who is the acknowledge explorer and pioneer while De Las Casas is a just a fascinated supplicant which later become one of Columbus men. In addition to discovering the New World particularly the Indies, Columbus and his party (the Christians) was responsible for destroying and depopulating the people.

In the account of the Hispaniola, Columbus found the people of Indies (which is now Bahamas) to be friendly and Kasum gave details that this people were Lucayans, Tainos and Arawaks and how Columbus responded to the generosity that the natives have shown to him and his party. Columbus was