Rhetoric and Columbus Letters

Eric Hayes
AP English III
Period 2
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus is famous, as we all know, for accidentally “discovering” the New World. After this “discovery” Columbus set out on 4 more voyages, between 1492 and 1502, to the New World. Throughout is voyages, Columbus sent letters too many people. After some these letters one can analyze rhetoric strategies to understand the letters in a deeper meaning. Let’s examine two of Columbus’s letters.

The first letter that was read was written on Columbus’s first voyage and it was to Luis de Sentinel, a former merchant and court official since 1478 who had supported Columbus’s proposal to the Spanish Crown for his first voyage. The letter was written at sea in February 15, 1493. Ethos is established right away because this was a letter that was published across Europe and the words that are written in it are the words of Columbus, the sender. This letter is about the islands and the Indians Columbus encountered in the Caribbean. Diction is also key in understanding the letter. One can infer that the letter is a positive one that has a good vibe. When Columbus uses words like hamlets, and Divine Majesty one can infer that the letter was written a long time ago. The words “marvelous” and “beautiful” were used a couple times which meant that Columbus was dazzled and impressed by something in the Caribbean. He was dazzled by the rich land of the Caribbean islands. One word that somewhat stood out was cultivate. This may seem unimportant but after seeing this word in the letter one could understand that this letter was no written just to tell Luis de Sentinel about the beauty of the islands, it was written to let Luis de Sentinel that these islands would be very profitable and that they need to be colonized. Columbus finishes the letter by saying “Espanola is a marvel.”

The second letter that was read was written to Ferdinand and Isabella regarding Columbus’s 4th voyage. He wrote it in Jamaica on July 7, 1503. Once again Ethos is established because this letter was also published across Europe and the words are those of Columbus. In the first line of the letter the word weeping is present; this meant that the letter was to be somewhat depressing. The letter lets the reader know that in this voyage Columbus was shipwrecked near Panama. During this time Columbus fears he has many enemies that are out to destroy and make him look bad. After his shipwreck Columbus feels that the voyage was dangerous and unprofitable just as some of the others were. Once again the diction lets the reader know the vibe or tone of the letter and this letter has a negative vibe. There were many negative words that stuck out, some of words included: inexplicable, ruined, wept, mercy upon me, cruelty, and expectation of death. A lot of people criticized Columbus which left him feeling down. In this letter Columbus lets the Crown know that he is upset because he and his 2 brothers were taken prisoner , thrown into a ship, covered in feathers, stripped naked and was very ill treated , and all this was done without being tried and or condemned. He wants to know that this was not done under royal command and he wants his honor restored, his losses returned and repaid, and that whoever did this to him be severely punished. The word weep was seen many times throughout the letter. This meant the Columbus was sad and hurt and he wanted the reader to feel sorry for him, this is the Pathos of the letter. The emotion felt was sadness. In the end Columbus finished his letter by asking Ferdinand and Isabella to send a ship to come get him because he wanted to come home and make pilgrimage to Rome.