Dai fatti alla Storia - volume 1

The Discovery of New Worlds MATERIALS The First Image of the New World When Columbus came back from his first expedition, he sent a letter to Luis de Sant ngel, who was the secretary of the Royal Treasury, to describe the inhabitants and the new lands that he had explored. Columbus had read reports by missionaries, travel literature and works of fiction. He had expected to meet cannibals and Amazons, and find goldfields, but in reality he met a few frightened natives who were attracted by objects of small value and were ready to receive the Christian religion. His point of view was that of a conqueror. In fact he was sure that the natives could provide important resources such as precious goods and serve as a workforce to the Spanish monarchy. A 19th-century etching showing the landing of Christopher Columbus in America. PRIMARY SOURCE from the letter of Christopher Columbus to Luis de Sant ngel, 1493. They never refuse anything that is asked for. They even offer it themselves, and show so much love that they would give their very hearts. Whether it be anything of great or small value, with any trifle of whatever kind, they are satisfied. They have no iron or steel, nor weapons, nor are they suited for them, because although they are well-made men of commanding stature, they appear extraordinarily timid. They have no religion, nor idolatry, except that they all believe power and goodness to be in heaven. They firmly believed that I, with my ships and men, came from heaven, and with this idea I have been received everywhere, since they lost fear of me. As for monsters, I have found no trace of them except at the point in the second isle as one enters the Indies, which is inhabited by a people considered in all the isles as most ferocious, who eat human flesh. They possess many canoes, with which they overrun all the isles of India, stealing and seizing all they can. They are not worse looking than the others, except that they wear their hair long like women, and use bows and arrows of the same cane, with a sharp stick at the end for want of iron, of which they have none. They are ferocious compared to these other races, who are extremely cowardly; but I only hear this from the others. ACTIVITY 4.A Match the following words to their Italian translations. 1. provide 6. flesh a. invadono f. canna 2. trifle 7. overrun b. idolatria g. imponente 3. suited 8. seizing c. impadronendosi h. carne 4. commanding 9. cane d. fornire i. adatti 5. idolatry 10. cowardly e. codardi j. paccottiglia ACTIVITY 4.B Read the text The First Image of the New World and the Primary Source and answer the following questions. 1. Why did Columbus write a letter to Luis de Sant ngel? 2. What were the natives he met like? 3. What did the natives believe came from heaven? 4. Why did the people of the Isles have a reputation for being ferocious? ACTIVITY 4.C Read the Primary Source and use three different colours to underline the information relative to the physical, cultural and behavioural characteristics of the natives, as they were described by Christopher Columbus. 581 77636R_0000E01_INTE_BAS@0581.pgs 15.09.2021 15:02