amount of communication was achieved was one of a friendly child, for as he wrote “they never say no, but do rather invite the person to accept [all manner of things]” so much so that Columbus was forced to forbid his men from trading shards of glass for pieces of gold. In Columbus’ own words these people were “incurably timid” and “artless” as well as “senseless brutes.” He not once thought that they were happy in their ignorance of western ways, but instead wrote that the only reason he forbade his men from swindling them with the shards of glass for gold was only “in order that they may conceive affection,” (Johnson 10) for Columbus’ real goal was that of wealth and he knew that if you cause the very people you are wishing to gain wealth from to feel as though you get the better ‘shake’ they will resent you and cease your relationship. This was and still a great way to do business, as those who you trade with must feel that in return for their goods, they are receiving a greater service. Yet another result of Columbus’ discovery was the influx of missionaries, soldiers, and other Europeans. No matter what you read, Europeans came to the New World for gold, and to fulfill their need to spread the Catholic religion. The spread of the Catholic religion had little effect on the populace, as they already believed that the gods lived in the sky (Johnson 10), so it was not much of a stretch. Once again this shows the arrogance of the Europeans in their dealings with these natives, that in their eyes every thing European was better then the natives. This is further demonstrated by the Aztec mistreatment at the hands of Cortez. Demings II, G.R. pg 3 Not all Europeans were completely arrogant, one shining example would be Bernal Diaz del Castillo. Through out his letters and essays, his accounts of his meetings with the natives are very objecti...
