Christopher Columbus and His Goals

Christopher Columbus and His Goals

Christopher Columbus and his goalsCertainly, Columbus was a devout Catholic. He lived during the period of the great Spanish Inquisition, which led to the defeat of the Jews and Muslims. Perhaps he wanted to continue the Spanish legacy and spread the faith toward the west.

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However, personal ambitions may have also sparked Columbus’s interest in finding a water route to the Indies. He asks for gold many times from the natives and searches all the islands in hopes of discovering more. He views the natives as a source of economical benefit, hoping to employ them for practical purposes.

Even though there are not any indications of immense amounts of gold and spices in the New World, Columbus continues to ask for more Spanish support in order to pursue his desire for fame. Throughout his logbook, Columbus brings to light another reason for his exploration.

He mentions his divine purpose as his right to the New World. He thinks that God has chosen him to discover and cultivate this new found land. Columbus has chosen to include both his God given right and his own intentions in his journal…
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…es rather than genuinely trying to lead them toward the path to salvation.

Throughout his logbooks, Columbus claims that God led him to discover the New World in order to justify his own ambitions. Since God is the embodiment of all that is good, following him can certainly not be seen as selfish or inappropriate. Columbus’s quest for gold, exploitation of the natives, and desire for glory are certainly not saintly goals. However by masking these actions under the righteous authority of God, Columbus attempts to make them appear justified.