"From 'Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage'"

This post is comprised of my notes about "Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage" as presented in the 7th edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• This letter was written at sea on February 15, 1493
• The letter details the islands that were discovered by Columbus on his first voyage to the West Indies.
• He begins his description at the Canary Islands.
• From there, it is 33 leagues, he states, to the island which the natives refer to as 'Guarahani' and which he names San Salvador.
• He then proceeds on to find and name Isla de Santa Maria de Concepcion, Fernandina, Isabela, and Isla Juana (which the foot note informs us is today's Cuba).
• He continues on to find what he first believed was China but later learns is yet another island.
• Finally, Columbus finds Hispaniola, which he believes to be the finest island of them all.  He notes it as being "beyond comparison" with the Canary Island, Tenerife.  
• The details that Columbus includes are not all that numerous; however, he notes that there are "people innumerable" on the islands and that he receives no opposition in claiming them for Spain.
• The other details included by Columbus focus on the beauty and wonder of Hispaniola.  He touches on its majesty, the fertility of the land, its harbors and coastline, the tallness and ever greenness of the trees, the birds, the fruits, and the availability of metal to be mined inland on the island.

My Thoughts:

 The idea that Columbus puts forth about receiving no opposition from the native people of the islands when he puts down a banner to claim the land for Spain is kind of silly to me.  It's nice and all for Columbus and Spain, I suppose, but as he is the first explorer (presumably) to find these islands, of course there are no Europeans to dispute Spain's claim.  And as for the natives?  Well, what experience do they have that would allow them to understand that the placing of Spain's banner on the land thus claimed it for the country?  None.  Still, it's a nice sentiment to send back to Spain to be sure.  No opposition for the claim means that there won't be any fighting to keep it from somebody else who wants it (at least for the time being). 

My other primary thought on the letter is that there must be purpose for the great detail that Columbus goes into about Hispaniola.  To me, it seems clear that the reason is all told in the footnote and the Christopher Columbus headnote.  He spends such a great amount of time discussing the island most probably because he is writing the letter to Luis de Santangel, a man who "helped secure financing" for his voyage (32, footnote).  Because of Santangel's backing, Columbus is telling all the best parts of the voyage to him in order to illustrate that his faith and backing was well-placed and that the discoveries being made are worthwhile and will make money for Spain and Santangel. 

Finally, the headnote about Columbus let's the reader know that it is the island of Hispaniola on which Columbus establishes settlements.  This suggests one of two things in terms of an either/or scenario.  On one hand, Columbus may have settled Hispaniola because it had the most obvious resources, space, and general awesomeness for said settlement.  On the other hand, it could be because Columbus was so taken with the island and liked it the most.  Either way, Hispaniola seemed to be Columbus's favorite of the islands discussed, based on this letter alone.