Columbus and his Mayflower

Christopher Columbus: His letters

"... [I] found an infinity of small hamlets and people without number, but nothing of importance. (33)"

Columbus was Last, that is why he did not find anything of importance. The natives were already decimated and fearful of outsiders. Besides the reason Columbus went was to find wealth.

Although we know nothing of his birth or really anything about him before 1492, lots can be said about afterwards. Even if he was the last to go over and went for all the wrong reasons his adventure made headlines. And now people "knew" there was a whole new world out there and would soon flock over in greater number to exploit it. So in a way Columbus did make a substantial event, even though he did not discover anything, but it lead to the destruction of the Native Americans in the process.

His letters were all about selling America as a place that could be exploited. Columbus mentions how beautiful the land is but nothing about the people except that there is a lot of them. And his letter from the fourth voyage is him pleading to be excused for his actions and let out of prison in Jamaica. So in a way he is selling himself as an important resource that should be secured.