Christopher Columbus and John Smith
Christopher Columbus and John Smith will always be remembered for their ego in their leadership. For many residence of Virginia, John Smith is considered as a hero. However, recorded documents provide varying evidence on his leadership and life in general. On the other hand, Christopher Columbus is seen as an explorer who encountered the Americans and was able to achieve immorality to satisfy his egos. He took advantage of every opportunity and is considered to be a leader who did not accept no as an answer which enable him to succeed and even come back to influence after a great misfortune. It is however clear that the success of Smith and Columbus as leaders of exploration can be attributed to their egos. Their writings were full of imaginations and fiction and are considered by some historians to be liars about the newly discovered world.
John Smith was an English explorer and a soldier who has remained in the books of history for his role in the establishment of a British colony in America. He reigned Virginia British colony which was based at Jamestown for one year between late 1608 and late 1609. During his reign, he used his experience as a soldier and an explorer to lead exploration of major rivers around the colony. Smith was first involved in plans to establish a British colony in North America in 1606 for personal gains with a London company which had been granted a charter by the King of England. Towards the end of that year, Smith led an expedition team with three small ships towards Virginia. While on voyage, Smith became a troublemaker and the captain made plans of executing him once the ship docked. However, he was spared since the king had designated him as one of the council members of the colony. He was later captured in his exploration expedition and he was taken to the Chief of the Powhatans who planned to execute him. However, he was saved by the daughter of the chief on the day of his execution and he was released. His expeditions were in search of food since the colony was faced with collapse due to adverse weather, lack of food and water (Horn, p 47).
During his leadership, more and more settlers from Britain settled in his colony. To satisfy his ego, he conquered and proudly held hostage and killed leaders of neighboring communities. He used his powers to force the communities to surrender their food reserves. However, his administration met resistant from the natives who fought against the colonialists. During the fight, he was seriously injured. When he went back to England for treatment towards the end of 1609, he never went back to Virginia. Although smiths credibility as an author has been criticized by many people, his work on his experiences in the New World was inspired by the need to promote the European colonies in North America. He is criticized for description of the way he was saved by Pocahontas, the chiefs daughter. However, he did not exaggerate the facts about Americans and warned his readers of the possible dangers that would be experienced as a result of establishing colonies in America. Despite him being considered as a liar, and a coward by some historians, some consider him as a hero not only in exploration and leadership but also in literature. His Pocahontas story has stood the test of time and he is considered to be the father of the canon of American history. The time gap between when the letter was written and when it was receives raises some speculation about whether what is recorded really happened. It is claimed that smith created the story himself. By the time the letter was analyzed, all the witnesses of the incidence had possibly died and therefore the details could not be verified. Some historians argue that Smith invented the incidence to add quality to his fiction work and is therefore considered to be the father of archetypal patterns in literature (Price, p 207).
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and a colonialist who navigated through the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century creating awareness of the existence of American continent to the Europeans. He is considered to be the man who inspired the Spanish settlement and colonization in America. His work has been famous among the historians due to his contribution in devising ways of crossing the ocean to the west to establish new trade ties. Before the successful expeditions done by Columbus, the Europeans believed that it was not possible for a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean to the west supporting his crews with water and food and therefore Columbus voyages were considered a great success (Sale, p 152).
During his first voyage, he had gained the trust of the Spanish empire from the king to the public. Although he had not achieved what he was looking for in the expedition, the Spanish turned in large numbers to welcome him back home after the expedition. His main aim was to find a trade route that could be used to access the much needed spices from Asia. However, due to his ego in the subsequent expeditions, he promoted genocide and slavery which was not the initial intentions of his expeditions. Later, he embarked on putting to death some of his crew which led to the deterioration of his relationship with the Spanish empire. Due to his successes in the first expedition, he was made a viceroy and a governor. He governed all the islands he had discovered and a good number of Spanish settled in the islands in search of gold. During his reign as the governor, he was accused of being a tyrant. The increased competition from the Portuguese for the newly discovered islands in the west increased the confidence the king of Spain had on Columbus and believed that he had abilities to find more islands in South America (Davidson, p 23).
From Columbus letters which he wrote to Spain after his voyage, it is believed that Columbus wrote about his imagination about the newly discovered islands. His description on the nature of the new islands, the plants, landscape and the inhabitant seems more of an imagination rather than the reality. His description of the speculate language of the inhabitants, the fertility, productivity and diversity of the island in his first letter was very sanguine and inspired the Spanish kingdom to fund his other voyages in search of even better lands. In one of his letters, he describes how he had captured islands on behalf of their highnesses of Spain to secure their support for further expedition voyages. The letters were therefore intended to demonstrate his loyalty to the queen and king of Spain and the Spanish empire. For example, when he discovered the Indian, he did not hesitate to name it in honor of the Spanish king and for religious reasons although he states that the native people had a name for the island.
However, the work of Bartholome de las Casas accompanied Columbus in some of explorations has been essential in understanding the leadership of Columbus. Although some of Columbus diaries disappeared, Las Casas documents have survived which in some ways have been able to reveal some of Columbus evil deeds as a colonialist. He criticized Columbus for genocide and capturing natives of the discovered islands and sending them to Spain as slaves. According to his view, Columbus did this to pay back the expenses of his expeditions. He incorporated Columbus in his writing where he makes it clear that the major source of funds for Columbus was the sale of captured slaves. He witnessed the cruelty of Columbus in torturing, enslaving and slaughtering of the native people (Bartolome de Las Casas, p 60).
In conclusion, the leadership of the two great explorers, John Smith and Christopher Columbus has some similarities in their description of the newly discovered world. Their letters were full of fiction and personal imaginations. They both believed in their abilities and were able to convince their sponsors that they can deliver. However, their success as exploration leaders can be attributed to their ego.
John Smith was an English explorer and a soldier who has remained in the books of history for his role in the establishment of a British colony in America. He reigned Virginia British colony which was based at Jamestown for one year between late 1608 and late 1609. During his reign, he used his experience as a soldier and an explorer to lead exploration of major rivers around the colony. Smith was first involved in plans to establish a British colony in North America in 1606 for personal gains with a London company which had been granted a charter by the King of England. Towards the end of that year, Smith led an expedition team with three small ships towards Virginia. While on voyage, Smith became a troublemaker and the captain made plans of executing him once the ship docked. However, he was spared since the king had designated him as one of the council members of the colony. He was later captured in his exploration expedition and he was taken to the Chief of the Powhatans who planned to execute him. However, he was saved by the daughter of the chief on the day of his execution and he was released. His expeditions were in search of food since the colony was faced with collapse due to adverse weather, lack of food and water (Horn, p 47).
During his leadership, more and more settlers from Britain settled in his colony. To satisfy his ego, he conquered and proudly held hostage and killed leaders of neighboring communities. He used his powers to force the communities to surrender their food reserves. However, his administration met resistant from the natives who fought against the colonialists. During the fight, he was seriously injured. When he went back to England for treatment towards the end of 1609, he never went back to Virginia. Although smiths credibility as an author has been criticized by many people, his work on his experiences in the New World was inspired by the need to promote the European colonies in North America. He is criticized for description of the way he was saved by Pocahontas, the chiefs daughter. However, he did not exaggerate the facts about Americans and warned his readers of the possible dangers that would be experienced as a result of establishing colonies in America. Despite him being considered as a liar, and a coward by some historians, some consider him as a hero not only in exploration and leadership but also in literature. His Pocahontas story has stood the test of time and he is considered to be the father of the canon of American history. The time gap between when the letter was written and when it was receives raises some speculation about whether what is recorded really happened. It is claimed that smith created the story himself. By the time the letter was analyzed, all the witnesses of the incidence had possibly died and therefore the details could not be verified. Some historians argue that Smith invented the incidence to add quality to his fiction work and is therefore considered to be the father of archetypal patterns in literature (Price, p 207).
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and a colonialist who navigated through the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century creating awareness of the existence of American continent to the Europeans. He is considered to be the man who inspired the Spanish settlement and colonization in America. His work has been famous among the historians due to his contribution in devising ways of crossing the ocean to the west to establish new trade ties. Before the successful expeditions done by Columbus, the Europeans believed that it was not possible for a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean to the west supporting his crews with water and food and therefore Columbus voyages were considered a great success (Sale, p 152).
During his first voyage, he had gained the trust of the Spanish empire from the king to the public. Although he had not achieved what he was looking for in the expedition, the Spanish turned in large numbers to welcome him back home after the expedition. His main aim was to find a trade route that could be used to access the much needed spices from Asia. However, due to his ego in the subsequent expeditions, he promoted genocide and slavery which was not the initial intentions of his expeditions. Later, he embarked on putting to death some of his crew which led to the deterioration of his relationship with the Spanish empire. Due to his successes in the first expedition, he was made a viceroy and a governor. He governed all the islands he had discovered and a good number of Spanish settled in the islands in search of gold. During his reign as the governor, he was accused of being a tyrant. The increased competition from the Portuguese for the newly discovered islands in the west increased the confidence the king of Spain had on Columbus and believed that he had abilities to find more islands in South America (Davidson, p 23).
From Columbus letters which he wrote to Spain after his voyage, it is believed that Columbus wrote about his imagination about the newly discovered islands. His description on the nature of the new islands, the plants, landscape and the inhabitant seems more of an imagination rather than the reality. His description of the speculate language of the inhabitants, the fertility, productivity and diversity of the island in his first letter was very sanguine and inspired the Spanish kingdom to fund his other voyages in search of even better lands. In one of his letters, he describes how he had captured islands on behalf of their highnesses of Spain to secure their support for further expedition voyages. The letters were therefore intended to demonstrate his loyalty to the queen and king of Spain and the Spanish empire. For example, when he discovered the Indian, he did not hesitate to name it in honor of the Spanish king and for religious reasons although he states that the native people had a name for the island.
However, the work of Bartholome de las Casas accompanied Columbus in some of explorations has been essential in understanding the leadership of Columbus. Although some of Columbus diaries disappeared, Las Casas documents have survived which in some ways have been able to reveal some of Columbus evil deeds as a colonialist. He criticized Columbus for genocide and capturing natives of the discovered islands and sending them to Spain as slaves. According to his view, Columbus did this to pay back the expenses of his expeditions. He incorporated Columbus in his writing where he makes it clear that the major source of funds for Columbus was the sale of captured slaves. He witnessed the cruelty of Columbus in torturing, enslaving and slaughtering of the native people (Bartolome de Las Casas, p 60).
In conclusion, the leadership of the two great explorers, John Smith and Christopher Columbus has some similarities in their description of the newly discovered world. Their letters were full of fiction and personal imaginations. They both believed in their abilities and were able to convince their sponsors that they can deliver. However, their success as exploration leaders can be attributed to their ego.
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2 comments:
OwO
So interesting
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