How Did the Europeans Feel About the Report of a Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus?

How did the Spanish and the Taino Understand Columbus’s Voyage? It took a bit until they understood they had not found India but a new world. When they realized that they were ex-tactic

 How did the Europeans feel about the report of a discovery of America by Christopher Columbus? The monarchs of Spain were very happy about the gold Columbus brought back. They had been fighting the Moors and pushing them out for years, and wars cost money. They can repay their bankers and hire more soldiers and weaponry. Henry VII of England was envious, I suppose, since he commissioned John and Sebastian Cabot to explore a northern route to Japan and the East Indies. Henry believed in keeping and growing a healthy gold supply in his treasury. The other kings were probably quite envious and quite interested in mounting a few expeditions of their own, once they could afford them. The merchants were impressed by the new route - though it seemed to take a long time, it was better than battling the Turk to get to India and China via the land route, and negotiating with Portugal about who was entitled to go around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. Of course, Spain and Portugal immediately petitioned the Pope to decide who had right of ownership to the new discoveries, and to the sea routes. How did the Taino, the native Caribbean people Columbus encountered, feel about his reported discovery? Columbus and other early European visitors to the Caribbean viewed the islands, with their splendor of flora and abundance of fish and birds, as tropical paradises. Some Europeans considered the Taíno way of life as utopian, or ideal. What was the nature of Taíno culture at Columbus’s arrival? How did Taíno and Spanish cultural values differ? In this lesson, students will learn facets of the Taíno culture—diet, housing, activities—prior to European influence. This knowledge should help students understand the Taínos’ vulnerability in upcoming dealings with the Spaniards.

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