1.1
Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress From: Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (1980)
Arawak men and women, naked, tawny, and full of wonder, emerged from their villages onto the island's beaches and swam out to get a closer look at the strange big boat. When Columbus and his sailors came ashore, carrying swords, speaking oddly, the Arawaks ran to greet them, brought them food, water, gifts….
These Arawaks of the Bahama Islands were much like Indians on the mainland, who were remarkable… for their hospitality, their belief in sharing. These traits did not stand out in the Europe of the Renaissance, dominated as it was by the religion of popes, the government of kings, the frenzy for money that marked Western civilization and its first messenger to the Americas, Christopher Columbus…
The information that Columbus wanted most was: Where is the gold? He had persuaded the king and queen of Spain to finance an expedition to the lands, the wealth, he expected would be on the other side of the Atlantic -- the Indies and Asia, gold and spices. For, like other informed people of his time, he knew the world was round and he could sail west in order to get to the Far East….
In return for bringing back gold and spices, they promised Columbus 10 percent of the profits, governorship over new-found lands, and the fame that would go with a new title: Admiral of the Ocean Sea. He was a merchant's clerk from the Italian city of Genoa, part-time weaver (the son of a skilled weaver), and expert sailor. He set out with three sailing ships, the largest of which was the Santa Maria, perhaps 100 feet long, and thirty-nine crew members….
So, approaching land, they were met by the Arawak Indians, who swam out to greet them… They had no iron, but they wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears.
This was to have enormous consequences: it led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold. He then sailed to what is now Cuba, then to Hispaniola (the island which today consists of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). There, bits of visible gold in the rivers, and a gold mask presented to Columbus by a local Indian chief, led to wild visions of gold fields….
Because of Columbus's exaggerated report and promises, his second expedition was given seventeen ships and more than twelve hundred men. The aim was clear: slaves and gold. They went from island to island in the Caribbean, taking Indians as captives….
Now, from his base on Haiti, Columbus sent expedition after expedition into the interior. They found no gold fields, but had to fill the ships returning to Spain with some kind of dividend. In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid… then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships. Of those five hundred, two hundred died en route. The rest arrived in Spain and were put up for sale by the archdeacon of the town….
When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor on huge estates, known later as encomiendas. They were worked at a ferocious pace, and di ed by the thousands. By the year 1515, there were perhaps fifty thousand Indians left. By 1550, there were five hundred. A report of the year 1650 shows none of the original Arawaks or their descendants left on the island.
Questions to Consider:
What is Zinn’s general opinion of Columbus? On what evidence does he base his opinion? What is Zinn’s view of “Western” civilization? How does he compare it with the culture of the natives? In Zinn’s opinion, was Columbus’ “discovery” of America a major achievement? Explain why or why not.
Columbus Day: A Time to Celebrate By Michael S. Berliner, Ph.D.
The Ayn Rand Institute
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Columbus Day approaches, but to the "politically correct" this is no cause for celebration. On the contrary, they view the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 as an occasion to be mourned. They have mourned, they have attacked, and they have intimidated schools across the country into replacing Columbus Day celebrations with "ethnic diversity" days.
The politically correct view is that Columbus did not discover America, because people had lived here for thousands of years. Worse yet, it's claimed, the main legacy of Columbus is death and destruction. Columbus is routinely vilified as a symbol of slavery and genocide, and the celebration of his arrival likened to a celebration of Hitler and the Holocaust. The attacks on Columbus are ominous, because the actual target is Western civilization.
Did Columbus "discover" America? Yes—in every important respect. This does not mean that no human eye had been cast on America before Columbus arrived. It does mean that Columbus brought America to the attention of the civilized world, i.e., to the growing, scientific civilizations of Western Europe. The result, ultimately, was the United States of America. It was Columbus' discovery for Western Europe that led to the influx of ideas and people on which this nation was founded—and on which it still rests…
Prior to 1492, what is now the United States was sparsely inhabited, unused, and undeveloped. The inhabitants were primarily hunter/gatherers, wandering across the land, living from hand to mouth and from day to day. There was virtually no change, no growth for thousands of years. With rare exception, life was nasty, brutish, and short: there was no wheel, no written language, no division of labor, little agriculture and scant permanent settlement; but there were endless, bloody wars. Whatever the problems it brought, the vilified Western culture also brought enormous, undreamed-of benefits, without which most of today's Indians would be infinitely poorer or not even alive.
Columbus should be honored, for in so doing, we honor Western civilization. But the critics do not want to bestow such honor, because their real goal is to denigrate the values of Western civilization and to glorify the primitivism, mysticism, and collectivism embodied in the tribal cultures of American Indians. They decry the glorification of the West as "Eurocentrism." We should, they claim, replace our reverence for Western civilization with multi-culturalism, which regards all cultures as morally equal. In fact, they aren't.
Some cultures are better than others: a free society is better than slavery; reason is better than brute force as a way to deal with other men; productivity is better than stagnation. In fact, Western civilization stands for man at his best. It stands for the values that make human life possible: reason, science, self reliance, individualism, ambition, productive achievement. The values of Western civilization are values for all men; they cut across gender, ethnicity, and geography. We should honor Western civilization not for the ethnocentric reason that some of us happen to have European ancestors but because it is the objectively superior culture….
Questions to Consider:
What is Berliner’s general opinion of Columbus? On what evidence does he base his opinion? What is Berliner’s view of “Western” civilization? How does he compare it with the culture of the natives? In Berliner’s opinion, was Columbus’ “discovery” of America a major achievement? Explain why or why not.
Do you find yourself in agreement more with Zinn’s view of Columbus or with Berliner’s? Explain.
ENGL 361 FALL 2021
Business Correspondence: Claim Letter Assignment
Directions: Choose one of the following ineffective claim letters and rewrite it so that meets the standards of effective claim letter. Scenario A
Hello President,
As a frequent flier of Skyway Airlines, I am extremely frustrated with my most recent
experience with your company. I arrived early for my scheduled flight to Hawaii but when I got
to the airport, I noticed my flight was delayed. Lies! The flight ended up being cancelled due to
the equipment issues. I kept asking the agent, but she kept telling me my flight was only
delayed and would update passengers when a departure time was given. That never happened.
Later I called the airlines from my cell to see if they could gimmie more information and that’s
when I found out my flight had been cancelled due to equipment issues an hour after I got to
the terminal. Absolutely ridiculous! I expect something to be done immediately before I call my
lawyer and sue you.
Scenario B
Dear Karen Kombs-Keeler;
I understand the pandemic has stressed folk out but the service I received from your textbook
company is beyond horrible. I ordered my accounting textbook in July in order for it to arrive
before classes began on August 30, 2021. Not only was the textbook expensive, but the amount
I paid for expedited shipping was also a pretty penny. The book is still not here. Nobody seems
to be able to find the book or tell me when it is going to get here. This is not a good look for
Allbooks.com who claims to be the “best source” for all college textbooks. So now I have had to
take matters into my own hands. But what are you going to do to make this situation right?
Please get back to me as soon as possible.
Scenario C
Mr. Jason Whitfield-
I was excited when I heard my favorite restaurant was opening back up after being closed due
to the pandemic. My family and I made reservations after being assured by the hostess that
covid protocols would be in place at the establishment, but here’s what went down when we
arrived. The five of us were seated at a booth with masks on as directed. Another party came in
and got sat two booths away. They were socially distanced, but they were loud, kept their masks
off, and two members in their party began to even smoke in the smoke-free environment. When
we complained to our young waiter about the noise and the smoking in particular, he did
absolutely nothing. Even when we asked for the manager, the manager could not get them to be
quiet or make them leave. To make matters worse, the food was another big disappointment.
Having no other options at that point, we ate, paid our bill, and left. We won’t be back, trust.
Your employees need better training on how to deal with unruly people and you may also want to
hire a new chef before you lose more loyal customers like me and my family.
Reminders—All letters should:
• be composed to a specific primary reader with a specific business address (create details as needed).
• be one page in length (4 paragraphs).
• have visual appeal
• include all relevant information for the recipient to make an informed decision.
• appeal to the audience’s expectations, attitudes, and technical background.
• be uploaded into Blackboard by due dates. Notes:
1. Review the information presented in Chapter 14 as well as your notes to help you compose your letter. 2. Use the textbook as a guide not as a “template.” The sample memo provided on p.374 fits that particular scenario
and not necessarily this assignment. Letters that directly copy textbook samples (to include language and style) or use templates will receive a zero!
Upload final letter to dropbox by due date and time. Remember that you only have one opportunity to upload your work to
Blackboard, so be careful when uploading your document.

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