Iroquois Creation Myths And Christopher Columbus ...

Iroquois Creation Myths and Christopher Columbus Letters The difference in writing styles between the Iroquois Creation Myth and Christopher Columbus’ letters is very significant. The Iroquois Creation Myth is much more mystical and entertaining while Columbus’ letters are more formal and simply recounting events. Though the two pieces of literature have their differences, there are still some similarities. The Iroquois Creation Myths focus on nature and animals. Likewise, when Christopher Columbus is writing his letters, he describes the nature around him in great detail. The Iroquois Creation Myths serve as an example of what Native American beliefs were prior to Spanish colonization. They believed that people were in the sky and†¦show more content†¦People may try to argue that nobody would know about the Native Americans if Columbus did not â€Å"discover† them. If Columbus did not discover the Native Americans, more people would probably know about them because around 8 million of them would not have died. Though Christopher Columbus praised the nature he â€Å"worked so hard to discover†, he failed to mention the people there for obvious reasons. In his second letter to the king and queen of Spain, our preconceptions about what kind of person he was is confirmed. He acted entitled and somewhat rude towards the royals. If that was how he treated his superiors that funded his trip, you can only imagine how he spoke to the natives. Our previous knowledge of Christopher Columbus definitely affects our interpretation of his letters. Maybe if we had no prior knowledge of his heinous acts towards the natives, we would view his letters more objectively. We tend to pity Native Americans due to the harsh treatment they received and it may cause us to have a bias towards their literature. Our understanding of the time period helps us understand both of the documents. For example, the Iroquois Creation Myth was sprea d by oral tradition for many years before being written down. This gap from when the story was originally told could have lent to changes being made to the story. We have to understand that and keep in mind that we are reading an approximate retelling. It isShow MoreRelatedRacism and The Cherokee Essay2630 Words   |  11 PagesChristopher Columbus â€Å"discovered† America in 1492. His discovery happened when Europe and its growing states were ready, both technologically and financially, to explore the world in order to settle trade relationships and colonies. Mercantilism, which is an economic system that measure the wealth of country by the amount of precious metal (ex: gold) which it possessed, drove the policies of expansion of many European countries such as Portugal, Spain, England or France. For instance, England began