Age of Discovery

The Age of Discovery brought new lands and riches to established European countries. But at a cost....

Read the following primary source documents and answer the questions associated with them. 

DOCUMENT 1

"I gave to them some red caps, and to others glass beads, which they hung about their necks, and many other things of slight value, in which they took much pleasure… They all go quite naked as their mothers bore them. None of them more than 30 years old, very well built, of very handsome bodies and very fine faces. They ought to be good servants and of good skill, for I see that they repeat very quickly whatever is said to them."  Letter by Christopher Columbus, 1492

1. How does Christopher Columbus depict the natives as being an inferior people? 

2. How does this passage foreshadow the relationship between Columbus and the natives?

DOCUMENT 2

"They have a custom, horrible, and abominable, and deserving punishment… Whenever they ask anything of their gods, in order for their request to be fulfilled, they take many boys, girls, men, and women, and in the presence of the statues of their gods they cut open their chests. While they are still alive they take out their hearts and entrails. Then they burn the organs, offering the smoke as a sacrifice to their gods… No year passes in which they do not kill and sacrifice 50 souls at each temple in their kingdom… I did everything I could to steer them away from their false gods and to draw them to our Lord God. Montezuma agreed that I probably knew best… He said that as long as I taught the Aztecs our religion they would follow my directions. Therefore, I removed the statues of the false gods, cleaned the temples, and taught the people our religion. The rest of the Aztecs did not accept the new religion that I was giving them. They did make sure, though, that they did not sacrifice any more humans while I was in the city… "  Letter to Carlos V, 1520 Hernan Cortes

3. Why was Hernan Cortes horrified by the Aztecs?

4. How did Cortes respond to this religious difference?

5. Would his actions be considered successful? Why or why not?

DOCUMENT 3

As a witness of the atrocities of the Spanish conquistadors against the Taino Indians, Chief Hatuey rounded up his people and fled to another island. He was finally captured and sentenced to burn at the stake for having organized an uprising against the Spanish. A Spanish monk who was present on the day of the execution attempted to convert him to Christianity. The friar explained to the chief about conversion, baptism, and the Catholic concept of heaven and hell. He offered to baptize Chief Hatuey. The chief requested some time to think about the ofer. After a few moments he gave his legendary response. Hatuey first asked the monk, “After being baptized, where does one go after death?” The monk responded, “To Heaven.” The chief then asked, “And where do the Spanish go after death?” The monk replied, “If they are baptized, they will also go to heaven like all Christians.” Then the chief bravely responded, “If the Spaniards go to heaven, then I certainly do not want to go there. Do not baptize me, I would prefer to go to hell!”   Oral History of Chief Hatuey, 1512

6. Why did Chief Hatuey and the Tainos flee? What sentence did he receive upon his capture?

7. How did Christianity play a role on the day of his execution?

8.Why didn’t Chief Hatuey have any desire to go to heaven?

DOCUMENT 4

"Of all the people of the world, the Indians are naturally the most patient and peaceful. They hold no grudges and do not start fights. Because they are so weak and willing to please others, though, they are unable to endure heavy labor and soon die of some disease. They are also poor, possess very little, and have no desire to own more. For this reason they are not greedy. They are very clean, with intelligent minds. They are ready and willing to learn, so it is very likely they will accept our Catholic religion and our virtuous customs. Yet into these sheep came some Spaniards who immediately behaved like wild wolves. The Spaniards killed and terrorized the native peoples in order to gain more gold and to make themselves richer. With their horses and metal weapons, the Spaniards began to carry out massacres and strange cruelties against Indians. For example, they made bets as to who could split a man in half or could cut of his head or spill out his entrails with a single swing of a sword or pike. They took infants by the legs and pitched them headfirst against rocks or by the arms and threw them into the river, roaring with laughter the whole time. They made some gallows where they hanged victims with their feet almost touching the ground… then set burning wood just under their feet and burned them alive. The few survivors, if there were any, would then be divided up by the conquistadors to be slaves."  A Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies, 1542 Bartolomé de las Casas

9. How does Bartolomé de las Casas characterize the people of the Indies? Use three specific examples from the excerpt to support your answer.

10. What violence did the Spaniards commit against the people of the Indies?

DOCUMENT 5

October 13, 1492

"I cannot get over the fact of how docile these people are.  They have so little to give but will give it all for whatever we give them, if only broken pieces of glass and crockery.  One seaman gave three Portuguese ceitis (not even worth a penny) for 25 pounds of spun cotton.  I probably should have forbidden this exchange, but I wanted to take the cotton to Your Highnesses, and it seems to be in abundance.   I think the cotton is grown on San Salvador.  Also, the gold they were hanging in their noses comes from here, but in order not to lose time I want to go to see if I can find the Island of Japan."

11.  What product does Columbus thinks grows in large quantities on San Salvador?

12. What island is Columbus still in search of on October 13, 1492?

DOCUMENT 6

WRITTEN ACCOUNT BY BERNAL DIAZ (ONE OF CORTES MEN IN MEXICO)

DURING THE CONQUEST OF THE AZTECS

"The moment we arrived in this huge market we were shocked at the great numbers of people, the amount of merchandise that it contained, and at the good order that was maintained.

We first visited those areas of the market set aside for the sale of gold, silver, jewels, of cloths woven with feathers, of other manufactured goods, and of slaves.  To keep these slaves from running away, they were fastened with halters around their neck, though some were allowed to walk freely. Next to these came the dealers in cotton, twisted thread, and cacao.

In another area of the market there were the skins of tigers, lions, jackals, otters, red deer, wild cats, and other animals, some of which were tanned.  Another place sold beans, sage, herbs, and vegetables.  A particular market area was set aside for the merchants in fowls, turkeys, ducks, rabbits, hares, deer, and dogs.  Also, there were sellers of fruit, pastry, and tripe."

13. What was Bernal Diaz’s reaction when he entered the Aztec marketplace? 

14. List three items Diaz saw in the Aztec market.