they have no religion. In characteristic colonialist fashion, Columbus has no regard for Native culture and traditions. He presents them, in keeping with the prejudices of the day, as unlearned savages, desperately in need of the white man's civilization. The idea that they might have a civilization of their own, one from which he can learn, never seems to cross Columbus's mind for a moment.

Then, in the entry for October 13, Columbus shows his greed when he says how attentive he was to the multitudes of Indigenous men that came to the shore as he wanted to learn if they had any gold. Columbus is able to determine that there was a king nearby who possessed vast quantities of gold. As one would expect, he wanted to set sail as soon as possible to get his hands on as much of this precious metal as possible.

Once again, Columbus shows that he doesn't value the Indigenous people for themselves, as human beings; he doesn't regard them as people with whom it is possible to develop relations of mutual equality and respect; he simply sees them as objects of exploitation who exist purely to serve the interests of Western explorers and colonialists.

The document consists of a letter that Columbus wrote to the king and queen of Spain after he returned there and excerpts from the journal he kept on his first voyage west toward the Indies. On this voyage, he and his men arrived at lands previously unknown to Europe. This arrival would later become known as the discovery of the Americas. Arguments based on this document that can be made in favor of his being a hero are related to his claims of having fulfilled the mission to which the monarchs had appointed him. Key elements of this successful mission include safely arriving at these unknown lands, claiming them for the Spanish crown, engaging peacefully with the Indigenous inhabitants, and initiating trade with them. Both parts of the document are written from a Spanish perspective, based on the assumption that the nation’s monarchs had the right to claim this territory. His statement that their goals included conversion (to Catholicism) also lends itself to counter-arguments.

The letter supports the idea of Columbus as a hero in the eyes of Spain’s monarchs and people. He mentions specifically that he carried out the monarchs’ orders to conduct the voyage, to “acquire … islands and continents,” and to become “Viceroy and Governor” in all those lands, though the legality of such acquisition and his rule over them are highly debatable:

[Y]our Highnesses… ordered me to proceed with a sufficient armament to the said regions of India, and for that purpose granted me great favors, and ennobled me that thenceforth I might call myself Don, and be High Admiral of the Sea, and perpetual Viceroy and Governor in all the islands and continents which I might discover and acquire, or which may hereafter he discovered and acquired in the ocean.

After their long voyage westward, when the ships finally reached land on October 11, Columbus (referred to as the Admiral) and several officers went ashore. Successfully guiding the ships to this destination without any serious setbacks can be considered heroic. Columbus planted the monarchs’ flag and makes the appropriate proclamations of possession. His claiming the new land for them is clear evidence of his heroism, in Spanish eyes:

The Admiral bore the royal standard, and the two captains each a banner of the Green Cross, which all the ships had carried; this contained the initials of the names of the King and Queen each side of the cross, and a crown over each letter … The Admiral called upon ... [other officers and crew members] as also to Rodrigo de Escovedo notary of the fleet ... to bear witness that he before all others took possession (as in fact he did) of that island for the King and Queen his sovereigns, making the requisite declarations.

While the landing party was armed, the Spaniards did not need to use violence in their initial engagement with the people who lived there. Columbus was relieved that no force was required, and enthusiastic about their "good will" and the possibilities for future trade predicted by the preliminary exchange. Their initial peaceful and economic interactions can also support Columbus’s heroism:

As I saw that they were very friendly to us, and perceived that they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force, I presented them with some red caps, and strings of beads to wear upon the neck, and many other trifles of small value, wherewith they were much delighted, and became wonderfully attached to us. Afterwards they came swimming to the boats, bringing parrots, balls of cotton thread, javelins, and many other things which they exchanged for articles we gave them, such as glass beads, and hawk's bells; which trade was carried on with the utmost good will.