Table of Contents
Questions for Queen Isabella
Did you order Christopher Columbus to travel to the Indies? This will help prove Christopher Columbus is innocent, because he was doing his voyages and finding gold under the order of Queen Isabella. This means someone more powerful than him controlled his voyages. I except the witness something like: Yes, I did send him to the said lands of India, to meet with the Princes, and visit the cities and lands of this well known country. I sent him with a view to convert them to our Holy Faith. I ordered him to go by the west land and not the eastland. I also told him he would be the governor of all islands and main lands he discovers. With this, I gave him three ships, the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria (Columbus).
What did Columbus do when he brought the natives back? This will help prove Christopher Columbus is innocent. Christopher Columbus was under the command of Queen Isabella, who was educated and believed everybody should also be educated. This means when the natives came to Spain she offered them education, and ordered Columbus not to put them to slavery. I except the witness something like: I ordered Columbus to not enslave the Indians he encountered with. I also applied a rule that any Natives under the Castilian crown shall not be enslaved, or used against their will. I also sent back the Natives for them to be educated about our holy faith (Highfield).
Why did you accept Christopher Columbus’s voyage? This will help prove Christopher Columbus is innocent, because it will show he had good intentions. It will also prove he was a different man and thought outside the box. I except the witness something like: When Sir Columbus first showed me his plan I was suspicious.
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Was it possible for our world to be so small? However, I was immediately impressed by his courage and his baldness to defy these well-known believes. I also choose him because he was a devoted Christian. He wanted to spread our holy faith (Carroll).
Questions for Native
What benefits did you get from the Columbian Exchange? This will help prove Christopher Columbus is innocent, because it will show that without the Columbian Exchange, the natives wouldn’t be literate. It also shows that without the Columbian Exchange they wouldn’t have the technologies the Europeans had. I except the witness something like: Our people didn’t have anything before the Columbian Exchange. Columbus brought the Europeans to the new world. The Europeans wanted the resources we had and they offered to bring animals such as horses, pigs, cattle, chicken, sheep, and goats These creatures helped us with food, labor, and transportation. While they gave us these great animals, we gave them turkeys, alpaca, and guinea pig. The Europeans also brought us sugarcane and we gave them maize and potatoes. We also became literate when Columbus arrived. The Columbian exchange was a major part of America’s history as it helped the natives build civilization (“The Columbian Biological Exchange”).
In what ways did your society change after Columbus? This will help us prove Columbus is not guilty, because the natives wouldn’t have the food they have and the life they have without the Columbian Exchange. I except the witness something like: Before Columbus came we didn’t have much. We didn’t have the same stuff we had right now. Columbus helped the natives by making them more modern” (Ehresman)
Was your life better before Columbus? This will help us prove Columbus is not guilty, because even before arriving, the Natives were in a war with other tribes. I want the witness to say something like: Before Columbus arrived to our land, warfare was a common, almost cultural way of life. Even though wars were not as bloody before Europeans came, torture played a huge part. Warfare was created mostly to stabilize population. When tribes had captives that were not adopted by the society, they tortured them to death. With the arrival of Columbus, the population became more stable, and those kind of warfares stopped (“American Military History”).
Questions for Historian
How did Columbus affect history? This will helps us prove Columbus is not guilty because it will show that without Columbus discovering America and conquesting, it would be really different from America today. According to New World Encyclopedia, due to the Spanish Conquest, people came together, and understood each other more. I except the witness to say something like: he produced the Columbian Exchange; this trading system advanced both, the old and new world in several ways. They were progressing and so was Europe. Columbus was doing it all in the name of his country. He’s comparable to a soldier, but they are not charged with murder and are honorable. Having Columbus charged should be no different” (“The Columbian Exchange”).
Why did Columbus go to the New World in the first place? This will help us prove Columbus is not guilty, because it would show he didn’t have malicious intentions. All he wanted to do was bring honor to Spain’s name. He also wanted to spread Christianity, and open a new trade route. I except the witness to say something like: He wanted to prove everyone wrong for one. At a time where people did not believe in him, did not believe he could successfully sail to a different land, he wanted to be everything they told him he couldn’t be. To add to that, he wanted to honor the kingdom and the church. Come back with different kinds of treasures and converted catholics. He wanted God, Gold, and Glory all along and that’s human nature (Columbus).
According to your research, who committed these crimes Columbus is being charged for? This will help prove Columbus is not guilty, because it will show he isn’t the only governor to do this. It will show he is falsely accused for others crimes. I except the witness something like: The thing about all this is that Columbus is the face of everyone else’s crimes; he is being blamed for rapes and torture of thousands, but these are the actions of his men. At worse, this makes him an accomplice, but even this is a reach. Everything is very circumstantial. Take this into a more modern example and say that someone has killed someone else; if this murderer was your friend, you would not get charged for this (Carroll).
Questions for Christopher Columbus
Why did you go to the New world in the first place? This will help us prove Columbus is not guilty because it will show what his intentions were at the beginning. I want the witness to say something along the lines of: I went to the New World under the order of Queen Isabella. At that time, I was commanded to go search for gold, and expand our Holy Faith. I also searched to open a new trade route.
How was your first interaction with the Natives? This will prove Columbus is not guilty, because if he had good interactions at the beginning than he would probably want to keep this type of relationship with the natives. I want the witness to say something along the lines of: Did you attempt to stop any kind of harm committed against the Natives? This will help us prove Columbus is not guilty, because if he shows he tried stopping violence against the Natives, than it will show he was falsely accused. I want the witness to say something along the lines of: when I landed the colonie to my brother, after leaving for the sea myself, Pedro Margarit, one of my enemies, started to exploit women and gold living on the lands surrounding his castle. Within five month, he ravaged the lands I landed to him. I ordered Pedro Margarit to make the Indians jealous in order to be more interested in Old world technology. Once the indians were interested, as her Majesty, Queen Isabella ordered, they should be treated nicely, and gently converted to Christianity. Once, he got his share, Margarit stole few of my ships and went back to Spain to sell the gold he got. When this information reached to me and my brother, we ordered Pedro Margarit to stop. However, he claimed he was independent (Carroll).
Works Cited
- Chambers Whiteclay, John. American Military History. Oxford University Press, 2000. Carroll, Warren H. “Honoring Christopher Columbus .” Ewtn, 1999, www.ewtn.com/library/homelibr/columbus.htm.
- “Christopher Columbus.” History, A&E Television Network https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus
- Columbus, Christopher. Journal of The First Voyage of Columbus. Carlos Sanz, 1962.
- Highfield, J.R.L. “Isabella” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isabella-I-queen-of-Spain
- Ehresman, Brian. “American History.” Columbian Exchange, 1 Jan. 1970, brianehresman.blogspot.com/2013/02/columbian-exchange.html.
