“It is true that after they have been reassured and have lost all fear, they are so artless and so free with all they possess, that no one would believe it without having seen it. Of anything they have, if you ask them for it, they never say no, rather they invite the person to share it, and show as much love as if they were giving their hearts; whether the thing be of value or of small price, at once they are content with whatever little thing of whatever kind may be given to them. I forbade that they be given things so worthless…” (page 28, line 11)
I found this quote to be most significant because of Christopher Columbus’s interpretation of the natives of these islands in the Americas, which he called ‘Indians”. Columbus further describes their kindness and generosity as unimaginable, and unbelievable, claiming one would only believe it if the individual were to see it in person. This was quite sad to believe that in a sense, he had lived in a society where individuals always sought out something, it was unimaginable to have people so ‘artless’ and ‘free’ in his presence. Not only did the explorers take advantage of the generosity the natives had, they was so flabbergasted at their behavior. When Christopher and the other explorers had landed the natives had given the explorers god- like characteristics without much reasoning, they were described as ‘people from the sky’. This in turn gave the explorers more power without having to forcibly gain this power. The ease of it all only encouraged the explorers to exploit this, to the extent of which Columbus felt guilty and set restrictions to others, that they could not trade them worthless items for what they had given in return. The natives although unaware of the value of what they were trading, the natives saw these Europeans as symbols of gods and thus any item they provided held some sort of importance to them.
I agree that this quote is crucial to the understanding of how Christopher Columbus depicted the Natives (or Indians). Likewise, I find it disheartening that he was only driven by the desire for glory and wealth. When recounting their liberality and altruism, it appears as though Columbus is admiring the Natives, but in actuality it is only an indication that he thought they would make fine slaves. In addition to the other explorers, Columbus viewed these indigenous people as “obstacles” set in his way of success. He belittled them, calling them ignorant, and saw them as lesser, therefore having the same respect for them as you would a child. Due to this logic of thinking, it led to the exploitation of the Natives. Columbus befriended them, giving them “a thousand good, pleasing things” which he had brought, in hopes that they would grow fond of the explorers, only to take advantage of the Natives. The way Columbus construed the Indians led to his triumph of conquering the rest of the land.