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Rethinking Columbus : Christopher Columbus

How did the Native Americans maintain their dignity in the face of oppression? Was Columbus a hero or villain? Who was responsible for the genocide of the Tainos?

Level A

Columbus' First Voyage (Viajes_de_colon.svg: Phirosiberia derivative work: Phirosiberia via Wikimedia Commons)

Level B

Level C

L. Prang & Co., Boston - Published by the Prang Educational Co., 1893. 40802Y U.S. Copyright Office. 

Royal Museums Greenwich: Christopher Columbus (1451-1506): An interesting museum site with a lot of links to primary sources, etc.

New York Times: The Less Than Heroic Christopher Columbus: This is a book review of Columbus: The Four Voyages by Laurence Bergreen (2011).

University of Virginia: Columbus in History

Columbus in the Americas by William Least Heat-Moon (BNS/BCS Library Unit Cart)

Level D

The Gallery Collection/Corbis.

Smithsonian Magazine: Columbus' Confusion About the New World : An interesting take on the European perception of "civilization."

Toward the Setting Sun: Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America by David Boyle (BNS/BCS Library Unit Cart)

From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean by Eric Williams (BNS/BCS Library Unit Cart)

America as Seen by its First Explorers: The Eyes of Discovery by John Bakeless (BNS/BCS Library Unit Cart)

Primary Sources

Columbus' Coat of Arms in Christopher Columbus, His Book of Privileges, 1502. Facsimile. London, 1893. Harisse Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress

Fordham University Medieval Sourcebook: Columbus' Letter to the King and Queen of Spain (1494)

Fordham University Medieval Sourcebook: Christopher Columbus: Excerpts from Journal

EyewitnessToHistory.com: Christopher Columbus Discovers America, 1492: Excerpts from his journals with comments.