The Requests of Columbus (This is reguarding the letter that Columbus wrote to the King and Queen of Spain in 1494)
...y they would “administer the sacraments and perform divine worship”. He added that they expected the Indians to convert. Another thing Columbus added was the expectation of gold in the land. He had carefully thought out every aspect of the gold and requested several strict laws in order to prevent problems. He implied that Spain would benefit from the gold as well. He even suggested that Caribbean islanders could be sold as slaves in order to cover the costs of exploration. He called the inhabitants “savages” which he believed would make them better slaves. There are several areas of the letter where some may argue that there is a tone of cynicism. For instance, in numbers five, six, and seven, Columbus listed specific rules regarding colonists searching for gold. “That none…shall go to seek gold without a license”, “…and that he must first take oath to return”, “All the gold…shall be smelted immediately, and stamped”, and “gold that may be found without the mark…shall be taken”. These statements lead me to believe Columbus was not on...