Christopher Columbus and Captain James Cook - Essay Example

? 24 June Comparative Analysis of the Excerpts: Christopher Columbus and Captain James Cook were two famous travelers in the history, the former being about three centuries older than the latter. Both of them made voyages to different places for different reasons at different times, and reached different conclusions. This paper makes a comparative analysis of the voyages of Christopher and Cook with special emphasis upon the excerpts on pages 474 and 544 in the book Traditions & Encounters: a Global Perspective on the past by Bentley and Herbert. Columbus and Cook share certain traits. Both of them were great travelers and made use of wonderful traveling techniques, yet the fundamental reasons of their travel were totally different from each other. It is also noteworthy that the two had made their journeys at different points in time, and the success or failure of the voyages of Cook was fundamentally influenced by the proceedings of Columbus since he had made his voyages before Cook, thus leaving the latter reduced opportunity of discovering new places. In order to thoroughly understand the underlying causes of travels of the Columbus and Cook, it is imperative that a brief insight to the history of empires is taken. In the 16th century, Habsburg Spain was the heart of first global empire and was a superpower. It had rich culture and the 17th century was a golden era for Spain. It was only after the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 that Spain became deprived of a major share of its power and lost territories in many Low Countries including Italy. In the Continental politics, Spain befell into a second rate nation. Nevertheless, Spain kept hold of its empire overseas. The Genoese sailor, Christopher Columbus was in Spain in 1486, and required support from Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand which he was denied twice, but in the year 1492, Columbus finally gained their support. It was the same year when the last Moorish King of Granada was driven out by Spain. It was a big victory for Spain having achieved which, the Christians of Spanish origin began to dream of triumphing over Islam. Thus, the victory of Christianity was a primary goal of the Spanish Christians. The fundamental reason behind sending Columbus abroad was the spread of Christianity, and accordingly, the empire of Spain. Columbus notes in the letter which appears at the preface of the journal of his first voyage: …Your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians . . . took thought to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the said parts of India, to see those princes and peoples and lands . . . and the manner which should be used to bring about their conversion to our holy faith,… (Columbus cited in Fiske). This explains why Spanish King opted to send Columbus to far off regions. However, complete understanding of the voyages can not be gained without comprehending Columbus’s own interests in making the voyages. On his journey to the western hemisphere, Columbus compiled journals in which he shared his experiences. The journal of Columbus’s first journey conveys his original impressions of the indigenous people of Caribbean islands. The first excerpt mentioned in the book of (Bentley and Herbert 474) essentially depicts the two main reasons of Columbus’s travels, namely commerce and Christianity. These journals have been written by Columbus in an exaggerated manner in order to convince the Spanish Queen into presenting him gold and rewards. Columbus was promised great rewards and power if he succeeded in attaining the objectives of the Spanish empire. Columbus has also mentioned his personal interests in the very letter in these words: Your Highnesses commanded me that, with a sufficient fleet, I should go to the said parts of India, and for this accorded me great rewards and ennobled me so that from that time henceforth I might style myself "Don" and be high admiral of the Ocean Sea and perpetual Governor of the islands and continent which I should discover . . . and that my eldest son should succeed to the same position, and so on from generation to generation. (Columbus cited in Fiske). Spain had assigned Columbus, the task of sailing west and reaching Cipangu. Columbus acceded to their proposal. However, instead of reaching Cipangu, Columbus reached the continent of America, thus opening the door to Spanish colonization in America. Columbus wanted to assert that he managed to make friends with the indigenous people, so he asserted that the local people exchanged gifts with him. Columbus tried to portray the indigenous people of America as totally blank yet full of an urge for education, culturing and preaching. Columbus described their appearance and said that he found no weapons with them. When he asked them about the marks on their bodies, they said that they had captured those marks in an attempt to break free of the hold of people from nearby islands who wanted to enslave them. Columbus found that the indigenous people were ethically sound yet had no religion and could easily be convinced into accepting Christianity. They did believe in God and only needed slight education in order to be converted into Christians. Thus, by emphasizing upon their tendency to embrace Christianity, Columbus tried to reassure the Spanish Queen and King that America was one region, where their objective could be achieved with minimal inconvenience. Contrary to Columbus, Captain James Cook had altogether different reasons for making voyages to different parts of the world. Cook’s concerns were different, and so were his voyages and his findings and experiences with the indigenous people of places he visited. James Cook was moved by his scientific queries. Therefore, he set off on a voyage in 1768, almost three centuries after Columbus for scientific investigation. Cook had observed the transit of Venus at Otaheite, across the sun in the Pacific. So he intended to either approve or disprove the reality of a Great South Land by sailing towards south-west. Thus, it would not be wrong to say that Cook was essentially a scientist who was interested in discovering facts, unlike Columbus, who was interested in impressing the Spanish royalty for personal gains. The 18th century highlighted the Pacific unlike the 15th and 16th centuries that were largely about the Atlantic. And this time, it was Britain and not Spain that instigated exploration of the pacific. Cook served in Canadian navy and had fought against France in the time of war. Unlike Columbus who was sent by the Spanish royalty to Cipangu, Cook was sent by the British Navy to explore the pacific ocean and see if the myth of the southern continent had anything to do with reality. In an attempt to accomplish this, Cook made voyages to several places including Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia all in the south of the pacific ocean, but no mythical continent could be determined. This excerpt in (Bentley and Herbert 544) offers Captain James Cook’s account of his voyages to the Hawaiian islands. The first Europeans that have ever visited the Hawaiian islands were Spanish mariners. In this document, Captain James Cook has made such an explanation of the indigenous people of those islands that make them resemble the people of Tahiti and Polynesian islands. The document is an account of three days i.e. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday that Cook spent with the indigenous people of the Hawaiian islands. Cook exchanged things with those people. They had nothing but fish to offer in exchange of anything they were given, though they valued iron and nails a lot. They did not have any weapons except for some stones that they kept with them in the canoe. They found the people extremely honest in their trade. Although some of them acted thievishly in the start, but later they were as decent as the rest of them. Captain Cook’s writing style is modest, “but we now realize that a plain, sailor-like style is admirably suited to a narrative of endurance and achievement” (Dickinson). Although Columbus and Cook went to different places at the distance of centuries for different reasons and encountered different people, yet the general response they got from the indigenous people was largely the same in many ways. Both exchanged things with them, and they happily did. Both find the indigenous people humble and friendly in general. However, owing to the exaggeration made in Columbus’s excerpt, one can not exactly tell if the people in America were really that innocent, humble and friendly and ready to embrace Christianity as Columbus showed them, whereas the journals of Cook are generally thought to be very objective. Columbus visualized the aboriginal people as a subject of colonization whereas Cook’s concerns were science oriented, thus his reflection was more objective and truthful as compared to that of Columbus. Finally, Cook failed in finding the Great South Land. Upon his third and essentially, the last voyage, Cook was killed in Hawaii on his way back from the North. On the other hand, Columbus’s end was no better than that of Cook. In his search for gold, he could not discover the Pacific. He reached Sanlucar in 1504 to find the Queen dying, and two years later, passed away. Annotated Bibliography: Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. “Christopher Colmbus's First Impressions of American Peoples.” Traditions & Encounters: a Global Perspective on the past. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. “Captain James Cook on the Hawaiians.” Traditions & Encounters: a Global Perspective on the past. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. Dickinson, Michael. “Pacific Explorers Library: Captain James Cook.” Pacific Island Travel. 2007. Web. 24 Jun. 2011. . This article lays a comprehensive account of the voyages made by Captain James Cook. The author explains the scientific significance of his interest in travel. The author has referred to all important events that occurred and incidents that happened on Cook’s way to his destined places. What Cook ate, what he found, and where he went has all been sequentially narrated. The fundamental purpose of Cook’s voyage was to check if there is a Great South Land, which turned out to be non-existent at the end of Cook’s journey. Cook went to New Zealand, Australia, and several other places including Hawaii. Cook had a loving wife but could not spend much time with her and he was finally killed in Hawaii. It is an all-in-one article that has totally captured the precious moments of Cook’s voyages. Fiske, John. Discovery of America. 1892. Web. 24 Jun. 2011. . This book offers a complete, detailed and comprehensive biography of Christopher Columbus starting from his birth till death. The author has sufficiently covered all important events of the life of Christopher Columbus. The author makes clear how Christopher Columbus, who is considered as the discoverer of America, accidentally discovered it when he had originally meant to discover Cipangu as per the dictations of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain who had promised him big rewards and authority if he became successful in attaining their objectives, spreading their empire and Christianity far and wide. Columbus was an adroit traveler, but could not find Pacific. He found the Queen at the death bed when he returned and two years later, passed away. Read More