Although Christopher Columbus was never really brought to trial, and never would have been back during the age of Exploration, many people today believe that he is at least in part responsible for the genocide of the Native population of the Americas.

You will be the jury in this trial. You will be expected to write an essay that tells why you found Columbus guilty or not guilty. The essay must include at least three reasons why you came to this conclusion

AIM: Was Christopher Columbus responsible for the Genocide of the native population of the Americas?

Do Now: write down the Aim and the definition below:

GENOCIDE - the purposeful and carefully planned planned killing of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group

Mr. Harley Dog

Prosecution LawyerHe will try to prove that Christopher Columbus was driven by a lust for gold and power to enslave and abuse members of the Taino and Arawak tribes he and his soldiers came in contact with.

These policies, pursued by the Spanish while Columbus was Governor of the island of Hispaniola, led to the deaths of thousands of natives and should be considered an act of genocide.

Mr. B.W. Cat

Defense Lawyer

He will try to prove that Christopher Columbus was just following the orders of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

He will also maintain that Columbus cannot be directly tied to any of the abuses that occurred while he was Governor of the island of Hispaniola and that large majority of these deaths were due to diseases. Therefore these deaths cannot be considered purposeful and carefully planned and thus should not be considered an act of genocide.

1st witnesses: King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

In return for bringing back gold and spices, we 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

Queen Isabella, what was your original agreement with Christopher Columbus?

King Ferdinand, your majesty, did you give any

specific instructions to Columbus on how to deal

with the Native Americans?

No.

Those are all the questions I have your

honor.

Queen Isabella, your Majesty, here we have a document entitled “A Grant for Christopher Columbus, 1492”. Would you please read what your commands were to Admiral Columbus?

“You, Christopher Columbus, are going by our command, … to discover and subdue some Islands and continent in the ocean, and it is hoped that by God's assistance, some of the said Islands and continent in the ocean will be discovered and conquered by your means and conduct.”

King Ferdinand, In the year 1500 you sent this letter to the Taino and Arawak Indians. Would you please read this document and tell the court what your threats were to these tribes

“to use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means,… we shall enslave your persons, wives and sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can…”

The defense has no further questions, your honor.

2nd witnesses: Columbus’s Crew

What was the name of the person in charge of the Expedition and what was his title?

Don Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Royal Viceroy and Governor of Hispaniola

Was there anybody else of a higher authority?

Only the King.

So Columbus was the top authority and therefore the

person who gave all the orders? Yes.

Isn’t it true that many of the crew abused the native Americans is some way?

Yes.

Did Columbus do anything to stop this abuse?

No.

Would you please tell the court about the tribute system, imposed by the Governor on the Taino tribe sometime in 1495.

Every Taino over the age of fourteen had to supply the rulers with a hawk's bell of gold every three months or twenty-five pounds of spun cotton; those who did were given a token to wear around their necks as proof that they had made their payment

And what happened in the native did not supply this tribute?

His hands were cut off.

Those are all the questions I have your

honor.

In you opinion was Columbus a good Captain.

On the ship Columbus worked very hard. He

often spent days without sleep. He was also very

religious. Every day began with prayers and hymns and ended with religious services in the evenings.

Did you ever see Admiral Columbus, himself, abuse any of the Native Americans.

I have never personally seen him do that.

The defense has no further questions, your honor.

3rd witnesses: Arawak Natives

Would you please give an example of how your people were treated while Columbus was Governor of Hispaniola.

In the year 1495, the Spaniards went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by soldiers and dogs

They then picked the five hundred healthiest of these people loaded them onto ships. Of those five hundred, two hundred died en route to Spain.

We tried to put together an army of resistance, but we faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, and horses.

When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death.

In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.

Those are all the questions I have your

honor.

Do you believe that these acts were committed on

Columbus’s personal orders?

He was the governor; so therefore he was the one

in charge. But you never saw him

give these orders? No, I never saw this.

So it is possible that these orders could have come from anybody.

Somebody who worked for Columbus or even the King and

Queen of Spain?

It’s possible, but Columbus was the governor. If one of

his men gave the orders then he should have known about

it.

And if the orders came from Spain, then they could not have taken place without

Columbus helping to make them work.

No further questions, your honor.

4th witness: Father Bartolome de las Cases

How would you describe the Indian slave trade, begun by Columbus during his time as governor?

It was among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind.

Would you please describe what happened?

In 1493 Columbus returned with an invasion force of seventeen ships, appointed at his own request by the Spanish Crown to install himself as viceroy and governor.

He promptly instituted policies of slavery and systematic extermination against the native population.

And what reasons would the governor have for such a policy?

Gold. Columbus believed that the natives knew where there were rich supplies of gold. In reality there was not much.

The Indians had been given an impossible task. The only gold around was bits of dust garnered from the streams. So they fled, were hunted down with dogs, and were killed.

No further questions your honor.

Isn’t it true, Father de las Casas, that you were a slave holder as well?

I owned a plantation on which Indian slaves worked, but I gave this up. I freed my slaves and became a critic of Spanish cruelty.

No further questions, your honor.

5th witness: Christopher Columbus (The Defendant)

Isn’t it true that the King and Queen gave you no exact orders on how to treat the Native Americans, and in fact your treatment of them was your own decision?

I had a royal grant from the King and Queen of Spain that instructed me “to discover and subdue” the Natives of the Americas

According to your journal, what was the first thing you wanted to find out about the natives you met on your first day in the New World?

I strove to learn if they had any gold.

No further questions your honor.

Mr. Columbus, Did you have any control on how the Europeans who came after you treated the Native Americans?

Of course not.

As I saw that they were very friendly to us, and perceived that they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force,

Could you tell us your first impression of the natives you met on October 12th 1492?

I presented them with some red caps, and strings of beads to wear upon the neck, and many other trifles of small value, wherewith they were much delighted, and became wonderfully attached to us.

What was your main goal in dealing with these natives?

I believed that they would very readily become Christians

So your main concern was converting them to Christianity and not just to find gold? That is correct.

The defense rests your honor.

Columbus was given a monetary incentive from the King and Queen of Spain: In

return for bringing back gold and spices, he was

promised 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

The Prosecutions closing summary:The abuses that were

inflicted by Columbus and soldiers under his direct

control on the Native Americans were without any direct orders from the King

and Queen of Spain.

According to the members of the crews that sailed with him, Christopher Columbus

was the admiral and appointed governor, and

was therefore the person in charge. Even if Columbus personally did not harm a

single native, it was his policies that his crew enforced and if they

committed cruel acts, Columbus did nothing to

prevent this.

Let us, also, not forget Columbus’ own statement about how as soon as he

arrived in the Indies, on the first Island, which he found, he brutally kidnapped some

of the natives by force in order to gain information.

In the year 1495, after a slave raid, rounded up

fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, Columbus later wrote "Let us in the name of the Holy

Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold."

Under Columbus’ governorship, all Natives

fourteen years or older were ordered to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought

it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their

necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled

to death.

Eyewitnesses such as Bartolome de las Casas, a

Catholic priest, estimate that in 1496, over 5 million

people had been exterminated within the first three years of the Columbus rule. If this doesn’t qualify as genocide - what does?

Although the later conquistadors such as

Hernan Cortes must take responsibility for their own

actions, we need to ask would such abuses have taken place if the first

governor of Hispaniola, Christopher Columbus, had established a colony where the Native population was treated with kindness and

respect?

Based on this evidence, we ask that the jury find the defendant, Christopher

Columbus, guilty committing genocide against

the Native peoples of the Americas.

Christopher Columbus was only following orders. In a royal

document the King and Queen of Spain gave Columbus specific

orders “to discover and subdue” the Natives of the Americas with

hopes that they would be “conquered by your means and

conduct”

The Defense’s closing summary:

In a letter sent by King Ferdinand to the Taino and

Arawak Indians, the King, in his own name threatens to “use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all

possible means,… we shall enslave your persons, wives and

sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize

your possessions and harm you as much as we can…”

There is no proof that Columbus personally harmed a single

Native. Any policies that led to the abuse of the Native

population simply resulted from letters and decrees issued by the

King and Queen of Spain.

With regards to the abuses that the Native Americans

suffered in the centuries after him, Columbus cannot be held responsible for things

that happened outside of his direct control. Those who did

these deeds, people like Hernan Cortes, are the ones

who alone bare this responsibility.

Regarding the undeniable number of deaths among the

population of Taino and Arawak tribes, it must be understood that the large majority of these deaths were due to diseases. Although it

is certainly possible that these illnesses were brought by the

Europeans, this cannot be considered an act that is

purposeful and carefully planned – which an important part of our

definition of genocide.

With regards to the horrible abuse of the natives who were

forced to gather gold under pain of losing their hands, the

prosecuting attorneys have offered no documents signed by

Columbus, which could be said to be ordering such an atrocity.

Based on this evidence, we ask that the jury find the defendant,

Christopher Columbus, not guilty of committing genocide against

the Native peoples of the Americas.

Using the ballots you have been given, vote whether you think Columbus is GUILTY or NOT GUILTY.

For homework, you will be expected to write an essay that tells why you found Columbus guilty or not guilty. The essay must include at least three reasons why you came to this conclusion