Christopher Columbus Case Essay

Christopher Columbus is one of the most well-known explorers in history. Christopher Columbus had many voyages that he had done throughout the years. There was several letters that he had written, one regarding his first voyage was to Luis de Santangel that explained what he had found, and the way he felt during his voyage. Another was his fourth voyage to Ferdinand and Isabella, in which he shows sorrow and regret for his discoveries. In the letters that Christopher Columbus had written his tones were very distinct and different. It is hard to think that it is even the same person wrote the two letters. Columbus made a complete change from arrogant to humble in his attitude. The letter that Christopher Columbus had written to Luis de Santangel was regarding his first voyage and his tone in this letter can be described as very eager, passionate, and anxious for his upcoming voyages. When reading the first letter you can tell that he is excited just by the way he describes the way the island looks. He goes in great length about the marvels of the new lands he encounters. He explains them as he is a child experiencing something new for the first time. â€Å"All are most beautiful, of a thousand shapes, and all are accessible and filled with trees of a thousand kinds and tall, and they seem to touch the sky† and â€Å"Espanola is a marvel†. Christopher Columbus radiates his excitement through his letter to Luis de Santangel. Christopher Columbus almost feels as he truly has the whole world at his finger tips, and awaits more. In His letter Regarding the Fourth Voyage that was to Ferdinand and Isabella you see a much different demeanor about him. Very pessimistic and down attitude surrounds his writing. He speaks of â€Å"weeping† when he thinks about the lands that he has found, due to the fact that they are pretty much barren. He goes on by saying people are dying them daily because of the audacity that people have there, imprisoning people, and taking their lands. He goes on deeper by explaining how he has grown old and grey. â€Å"Not a hair on his body that isn’t gray†. He states how everyone is trying to explore and plunder without any knowledge of exploration or any heart for the matter, just trying to get a piece of the action. I think he feels somewhat betrayed, and asks mutual punishment for Alonso de Ojeda, who is the man that took almost everything he had. â€Å"The same punishment is due to him who robbed me of the pearls, and to him who infringed my rights as admiral†. Christopher Columbus is one of the most well-known explorers of all time. Columbus’ life was a voyage in itself. While he rose to fame as an outstanding explorer, he also had terrible lows in his life. During his voyages, Columbus wrote letters documenting his experience. His tone and diction in Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage is upbeat and hopeful, while his tone in the Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage is full of sadness. His series of four voyages between 1492 and 1504 produced a brief moment of wonder following by a longs series of disasters and disappointments, which reflect his attitudes at these different times in his life.