On Trial: Christopher Columbus Vs. Taino People

On Trial: Christopher Columbus vs. Taino people

Directions: Read the BACKGROUND, LOOKING DEEPER, and the SITUATION. Then answer the questions that follow. Be prepared to argue for one side or the other. In other words you will decide to favor either Christopher Columbus (Defense) or the Taino people (Prosecution). Once you have read all of the material, you will decide which questions to answer, the Defense or the Prosecution. You only have to answer either or, but read the other questions and be prepared to discuss them. We will be having a class discussion similar to a mock trail on the issues. We will cover each question in class and discuss other questions you may have.

BACKGROUND

Major VoyagesChristopher Columbus made four voyages westward. During these voyages, Columbus and his fellow Spaniards came into contact with the Taino, a Native American nation. The contact and interactions between the Europeans and the Native Americans came to be known as the Colombian Exchange. In this exchange, the Europeans introduced the Native Americans to wheat, rice, lettuce, coffee, citrus fruit, bananas, and olives. They also brought over horses, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, and honeybees. The Native Americans, in turn, introduced the Europeans to corn, potatoes, tomatoes, hot peppers, squash, peanuts, cassava (a starchy root from which tapioca is made), and chocolate. The new products, particularly potatoes and corn, greatly improved the European diet. As a result, the population of Europe increased at a steady rate after Columbus’s voyages.

Columbian ExchangeThe Columbian Exchange also included a two-way transfer of disease. While both the Europeans and the Native Americans contracted on another’s diseases, the Native Americans ultimately suffered the worse fate, falling prey to European diseases to which they had no resistance.

When the Spanish arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, the Taino population was approximately 1,130,000 people. The years of slavery took a terrible toll. The peaceful Taino farmers could not survive the brutal treatment by the Spanish. Hundreds of thousands died of starvation and exhaustion. By 1518 the Taino population had been reduced to 11,000. A smallpox epidemic that year brought the population down to a mere 1,000.

The Taino people also suffered directly under Christopher Columbus. In his pursuit of gold to satisfy the Spanish monarchs, he forced the Taino into slavery to work the mines. To justify his actions, Columbus argues that slavery would allow him to bring Christianity to the Taino, which he believed would better their lives.

LOOKING DEEPER

“The Taino Indians: Native Americans of the Caribbean” (excerpt courtesy of

Theirs was a beautiful culture. They were aware of a Divine presence whom they called Yocahu, and to worship and give thanks was a major part of their lives. They had a social order that provided the leaders and guidelines by which they all lived. They hunted, fished, cultivated crops and ate the abundant fruits provided by nature. They were clever and ingenious and had everything they needed to survive. They had beautiful ceremonies that were held at various times - birth, death, marriage, harvest, naming and coming of age, to name a few. They had special reverence for the Earth Mother (Atabey) and had respect for all living things knowing that all living things are connected. There was little need for clothing due to the tropic heat, but upon reaching puberty both males and females would wear a small woven loincloth. Puberty was also the time at which they were considered old enough to be married. The population estimates for the Taino people at the height of their culture are as high as 8,000,000. That was in 1492....

In 1492, the Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, was loaned three small, old ships from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain for a questionable voyage across the sea in which he hoped to reach India or China. Although Marco Polo had sailed around the world 300 years earlier, and the Norsemen 500 years earlier, there were few sailors willing to sail into the unknown, so the King and Queen released some prisoners early to accompany Columbus on the voyage. On October 12, 1492 after two months at sea Columbus and his crew finally spotted land. Upon reaching the land, Columbus fell to his knees, thanked God for a safe voyage and planted a flag in the ground, claiming the land for Spain - as the Tainos who had lived there for 1,000 years watched from behind trees and bushes.

The Taino had never before seen white men, clothed people, people with beards or ships like that - they thought these people must be from heaven. So the Taino came out to greet them, as was their custom, and brought the travelers - who surely must have been tired and hungry - food, drink and gifts. Such strong swimmers were the Taino that some of them swam right out to the boats some three miles offshore.

That very first night Columbus wrote in his journal that these islands were very heavily populated by a handsome, strong, well-built and peaceful people who had only simple weapons and that with as few as 50 of his men and their weapons he could take over. Much is said about Columbus' desire to convert the "savages" to Christianity, but very little is said about his quest for gold, although Columbus mentions gold in his journal 70 times in his first two weeks in the islands. The very first day, Columbus "took" several Native boys aboard his ship to show him where the gold was.

Columbus spent the next two months looking for gold. Just when he was about to return to Spain, on Christmas Eve his ship the Santa Maria ran aground and sank. The Taino people helped him to retrieve every salvageable item. A problem arose in that now all the sailors who had accompanied Columbus could not fit on the two remaining (and smaller) ships. So a fort was built using the salvaged wood from the Santa Maria and 39 men were left behind at a fortColumbus called La Navidad. Shortly thereafter, Columbus set sail for Spain, taking some of the Natives and birds, food and plants to show the King and Queen.

Columbus was received in a manner never before seen and his stories of the "New World" were listened to with awe. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella immediately gave Columbus seventeen large ships, livestock & supplies to return to their newly acquired lands and colonize them. This time there was no shortage of men willing to sign up for the ocean voyage: 1,200 men eagerly signed up for the voyage and the chance to get rich quick on the gold to be found in the New World.

Upon arrival at La Navidad in the second voyage, Columbus found the fort burned to the ground and all 39 of the men he had left behind had been killed. It seems the sailors left behind had "misbehaved" as our history books tell it, but their "misbehaving" was in often in the form of rape of the local women and children and theft of anything they saw that they wanted.

One of the local leaders - or Kasikes as they were called - named Caonabo, had met with the other leaders and all but one agreed that men who were gods would never have behaved in the manner the Spanish had, and they decided the Spaniards had to go, and so they eliminated the Spaniards and the threat they posed to their people.

Columbus vowed to find Caonabo and retaliate. From that point on, life as the Taino knew it ended. Columbus forced all of them over the age of 14 to work in the gold mines searching for gold for the Spaniards. Those who refused were killed. Those who did not make their quota of gold had their hands cut off and were left to bleed to death. Taino women were given to Spaniards to do with whatever they wished. The fields, unattended, failed to yield enough food for the Taino (and the Spaniards whose supplies had run out). All were hungry. Many Taino starved to death, others were worked to death. They were beaten, tortured, raped, enslaved and murdered. Columbus found Caonabo - they tricked him in order to capture him - and he was put on a ship that was sent to Spain and was never heard from again.

When the time came for Columbus to return to Spain, he did not have nearly enough gold to pay for his expedition, so he had his men round up 1,000 of the very biggest and strongest Taino. They found they could only fit 500 of them in the stinking holds of the ships, so Columbus took those 500 aboard to be sold at the slave market in Seville to raise money to repay the King and Queen, and he gave the other 500 Taino to Spanish colonists. Over 250 of the Taino died en route to Spain, and their bodies were tossed overboard.

When Columbus returned for the third time, not much had changed, there was still little gold. The colonists brutally forced the Taino to look for it. The food shortages were so severe it was said that the Spaniards fed Taino babies to their dogs. The mood among the Taino was one of complete and utter helplessness and desperation. Some took their own lives to escape the brutalities and indignities. The colonists, failing to get rich quick as they had hoped, threatened to revolt against Columbus. Word got back to the King and Queen of the situation and Columbus was sent back to Spain in chains to stand trial for his "mismanagement" of the islands. He was stripped of his titles and all claims to the lands he had "discovered" (to those who had lived in the islands and thought they had discovered them, he would always be known as the "invader").

SITUATION

Christopher Columbus has been arrested and charged with crimes against the Taino people. The charges: enslavement of and bringing disease and death to the Taino. The class will engage in a mock trail (discussion) to determine whether Columbus is innocent or guilty as charged.

Name: ______

7th Grade Social Science

Mr. Streit & Mr. Calderon

7H groups BOTH SIDES / 7R groups Mr. Calderon-Columbus & Mr. Streit Taino People (other side for extra credit)

FOR THE DEFENSE (Columbus)

While we can look back on ChristopherColumbus’s actions and find much fault in his treatment of the Taino, keep in mind that he was a man of his time and that his actions were not meant to deliberately bring about harm. While writing your answers, remember you have decided to prove Columbus’s innocence.

1. Could Columbus have done anything to halt the exchange of disease between the Taino and the Europeans?

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1. How did Columbus’s religious beliefs influence his actions?

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3. What was Columbus’s purpose in sending the Taino to Spain?

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1. What evidence shows that Columbus was a poor administrator? How did his lack of leadership affect the Taino?

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5. What role did those under Columbus’s command play in the treatment of the Taino?

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1. What pressure did King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella put on Columbus? How might those pressures have influenced Columbus’s treatment of the Taino?

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1. Write one original question for THE PROSECUTION group to answer.

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Name: ______

7th Grade Social Science

Mr. Streit & Mr. Calderon

7H groups BOTH SIDES / 7R groups Mr. Calderon-Columbus & Mr. Streit Taino People (other side for extra credit)

FOR THE PROSECUTION (Taino people)

In forming your case against Christopher Columbus, keep in mind what Taino lives were like before Columbus’s arrival and how his actions and those of the settlers he brought with him changed their lives. While writing your answers, remember you have decided to prove Columbus’s guilt.

1. What disease did Columbus and his fellow settlers give to the Taino people? What happened as a result of these diseases?

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1. How did Columbus’s desire for gold and other kinds of wealth contribute to the exploration of the Taino?

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1. What do you think happened to the Taino people that Columbus shipped to Spain?

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1. What kind of work were the Taino forced to perfom? Why were they not suited to do this kind of work? How did their unsuitability cause them harm?

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1. What punishment did those who failed to collect their assigned quota of gold have to suffer?

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1. When Columbus arrived the Taino people formed an opinion of him. As Columbus and his men stayed how did the Taino peoples’ opinion of Columbus and the Spaniards change? Explain.

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1. Write one original question for THE DEFENSE group to answer.

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