ands or resistance to their enslavement . They were accompanied by horses, dogs, crossbows, these were all alien to the natives . Columbus even notes that they didn’t know what their weapons were and so they reached out to touch the sword and cut themselves, because they didn’t know it was sharp . Another important factor in the process of colonization was ideological or even theological: amassing wealth and dominating other people came to be positively valued as the key means of winning esteem on earth and salvation in the hereafter. The Europeans hungered for gold and silver. The supply of the precious metal, by way of the Middle East and Africa, had always been uncertain. Now, however the wars in Eastern Europe had nearly emptied the Continents reserves. A new supply, a more regular supply and preferably a cheaper supply was needed. Part of Europe’s desire to search for new land, was the rumored wealth of Asia, and Columbus indeed thought he had arrived in the famed land. Upon Columbus’s arrival in the New World his desire for riches was immediately satisfied. The natives were bejeweled with many gold pieces that pleased the eyes of Columbus. “Of course Columbus was looking for gold. He saw little bits of gold in their noses and ears, and he was very anxious to please” . The profit motive operated heavily within Columbus as well as the Spanish crowns psyche. Columbus sought gold from the natives, so he sent them out to look for gold so he could have something to bring back for his sponsors in Spain. Columbus even placed a quota on the amount of gold the natives would have to amass, or face a penalty. When he reached Hispaniola, one of the largest discovered islands in the Greater Antilles, he found the gold he was searching for. Columbus obtained enough gold through barter on Hispaniola to ensure a warm reception when he met Isabella in Barcelona in 1493. The gold craze spread and was the trigge...
