Atlantic Lives

A Comparative Approach to Early America

Timothy Shannon

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351266222
• Edición: 2
• Categoría: Historia
• Categoría: Historia del mundo

Atlantic Lives offers insight into the lived experiences of a range of actors in the early modern Atlantic World. Organized thematically, each chapter features primary source selections from a variety of non-traditional sources, including travel narratives from West Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The fully revised and expanded second edition goes into even greater depth in exploring the diverse roles and experiences of women, Native Americans, and Africans, as well as the critical theme of emerging capitalism and New World slavery. New chapters also address captivity experiences, intercultural religious encounters, and interracial sexuality and marriage. With classroom-focused discussion questions and suggested additional readings accompanying each chapter, Atlantic Lives provides students with a wide-ranging introduction to the many voices and identities that comprised the Atlantic World.

1 Into the Atlantic Crucible

Figure 1.1 Columbus Arrives in America.

This allegorical image depicts Christopher Columbus arriving in America, where he encounters a Native American woman on a hammock. A number of exotic animals are also present in the scene, and in the background, three individuals roast a human leg over a fire. How does this image reflect the impressions of America Columbus conveyed in the Santángel letter (Selection 2)?

Source: Theodor Galle, engraver, “America,” Plate 2 from Nova Reperta (c.1600).

Introduction

The year of Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas, 1492, might seem like a logical point at which to date the origin of the Atlantic World. Columbus’s voyage was certainly a momentous event in world history, but the foundations of the Atlantic World are to be found in trends and circumstances that were altering Europe’s relations with the outside world long before the famed navigator set sail.

Columbus had learned his trade plying the ports of the Mediterranean Sea, the highway of exchange between North Africa, the Near East, and southern Europe in the fifteenth century. He was a native of Genoa, which along with the other Italian city-states of Venice and Florence, dominated Europe’s access to the consumer goods of this Mediterranean marketplace: silks, porcelain, and spices from Asia; cloth and sugar from India; and gold, ivory, and slaves from Africa. Italian merchants secured these items through Muslim middlemen, who controlled the caravan routes to sub-Saharan Africa and China.

The impetus for Columbus and other explorers to navigate the Atlantic Ocean (see Map 1.1) came from the gradual unraveling of this Mediterranean system after 1350. The spread of the bubonic plague devastated populations along its major trade routes, and the decline of Mongol power in China closed the access to the Far East that Europeans had enjoyed since the early thirteenth century. In 1453, the conquest of Constantinople by the Turkish Ottoman Empire dealt a severe blow to European interests in the eastern Mediterranean. When Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic almost forty years later, he was expecting to arrive in China, thus opening a new route to Asia that would bypass entirely the Muslim peoples in North Africa and the Near East. He was not alone in this quest. Since the fourteenth century, Portuguese and Spanish ships had been nudging their way into the uncharted waters of the Atlantic, hoping to open direct trade with the kingdoms of sub-Saharan Africa and ultimately to find a sea route to India, the Spice Islands, and China. When Columbus made his fateful voyage, the idea of sailing to the Far East was very old; what was new was his willingness to abandon a southern route along the African coast for a bold foray west across the Atlantic.

Map 1.1 The Atlantic World.

The Atlantic Ocean, bordered by Europe, Africa, North America, and South America.

So, in a sense, the origins of the Atlantic World lay in a century-long effort by Europeans to go east, not west, in pursuit of exotic goods. That pursuit brought them into contact with strangers of varying languages, ethnicities, and religions, which in turn influenced their encounters with the native peoples of Africa and the Americas. In Africa, for example, European traders and explorers expected to discover kingdoms of great wealth, for they knew that the trans-Saharan trade supplied Muslim merchants in North Africa with their gold. The legend of Prester John, a Christian ruler surrounded by Muslim enemies, led European rulers to sponsor expeditions to West Africa in the hope of discovering a profitable new ally and trading partner. Columbus himself was a reader of Marco Polo, whose famous thirteenth-century account of China and India shaped Columbus’s mental picture of the people he expected to meet across the Atlantic. Numerous other medieval travel narratives describing faraway lands and the monstrous peoples who inhabited them influenced European attitudes about the world beyond the Mediterranean.

If such accounts encouraged flights of fantasy, brutal encounters with foreign peoples closer to home taught lessons about conquest and expansion. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Spanish, Portuguese, and English gained such first-hand experience in the Canary Islands, São Tomé, and Ireland, respectively. These eastern Atlantic islands became the laboratories of European overseas colonization, and the fate of indigenous peoples there— forced labor, displacement, and religious conversion—foreshadowed what waited for Native Americans on the other side of the Atlantic.

The readings in this chapter offer differing perspectives on these early encounters between the peoples of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In the first selection, a Portuguese ship captain describes meeting Africans along the coast of West Africa. His purpose is trade, but he is also willing to employ force when he encounters resistance. In the second selection, Christopher Columbus reports on the native peoples he encountered in the Caribbean during his first voyage to America and assesses their potential as subjects and Christian converts. In the last selection, a North American Indian recounts his people’s version of the Europeans’ arrival. As you read these selections, look for similarities and differences in the ways that Africans, Native Americans, and Europeans reacted to each other. What motives brought them together? How did they attempt to overcome language and cultural barriers between them?

Selection 1: An Early Portuguese Encounter with West Africans

The Portuguese and Spanish pioneered Western Europe’s navigation of the Atlantic. Merchants and monarchs in these countries were anxious to secure new trade routes to Asia and Africa that would bypass the Arab merchants who controlled overland access to those regions in North Africa and the Near East. In particular, Dom Henrique (Prince Henry the Navigator) of Portugal sponsored voyages of exploration to sub-Saharan Africa in hope of finding a sea route to Asia and establishing direct contact with the African kingdoms that supplied gold, ebony, ivory, slaves, and other goods to the Mediterranean trade.

One of the adventurers he sponsored was a Venetian named Alvise da Cà da Mosto, who explored coastal West Africa in two voyages in 1455 and 1456. Cà da Mosto met a variety of peoples in his travels, some of whom expressed an interest in trading with him and others who were openly hostile. In the passages below, he describes two such encounters from his first voyage: a successful negotiation with a kingdom south of the Senegal River; and an aborted attempt to sail up the Gambia River.

Credit: The Voyages of Cadamosto and Other Documents in Western Africa in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century, ed. G. R. Grone (London: Hakluyt Society, 1937), 35–36, 48–49, 50–51, 58–61.

I passed beyond this river of Senega in my caravel and sailed to the country of Budomel, fifty miles by the coast from the said river: all this coast is low, without mountains. This name Budomel is the title of the ruler [not the name of the country]. It is called “Terra de Budomel,” that is to say the land of that lord, or count.

At this place I made my caravel fast, in order to have converse with this ruler, for certain Portuguese who had had dealings with him had informed me that he was a notable and an upright ruler, in whom one could trust, and who paid royally for what was brought to him. Since I had with me some Spanish horses, which were in great demand in the country of Blacks, not to mention many articles such as woollen cloth, Moorish silk and other goods, I made up my mind to try my fortune with this lord.

Accordingly, I cast anchor at a place on the coast of this country, called “le Palme de Budomel,” which is a roadstead, not a port. This done, I caused my negro interpreter to announce my arrival, with horses and goods for his service if he had need of them. To be brief, this lord, being informed of this, took horse and rode down to the sea-shore, accompanied by fifteen horsemen and one hundred and fifty footmen. He sent to me to say that it would please him if I would go ashore to see him, and that he would treat me with honour and esteem. Having heard of his high reputation I went thither. He entertained me to a great feast, and after much talk I gave him my horses, and all that he wished from me, trusting to his good faith. He besought me to go inland to his house, about two hundred and fifty [twenty-five] miles from the shore. There he would reward me richly, and I might remain for some days, for he had promised me 100 slaves in return for what he had received. I gave him the horses with their harness and other goods, which together had cost me originally about three hundred ducats [gold coins]. I therefore decided to go with him, but before I left he gave me a handsome young negress, twelve years of age, saying that he gave her to me for the service of my chamber. I accepted her and sent her to the ship. My journey inland was indeed more to see interesting sights and obtain information, than to receive my dues.

Since it fell to me to spend many days on shore, I decided to go to see a market, or fair, at no great distance [from the spot where I was lodged]. This was held in a field, on Mondays and Fridays, and I went two or three times to it. Men and Women came to it from the neighbourhood country within a distance of four or five miles, for those who dwelt farther off attended other markets. In this market I perceived quite clearly that these people are exceedingly poor, judging from the wares they brought for sale—that is, cotton, but not in large quantities, cotton thread and cloth, vegetables, oil and millet, wooden bowls, palm leaf mats, and all the other articles they use in their daily life. Men as well as women came to sell, some of the men offering their weapons, and others a little gold, but not in any quantity. They sold everything, item by item, by barter, and not for money, for they have none. They do not use money of any kind, but barter only, one thing for another, two for one, three for two.

These negroes, men and women, crowded to see me as though I were a marvel. It seemed to be a new experience to them to see Christians, whom they had not previously seen. They marvelled no less at my clothing than at my white skin. My clothes were after the Spanish fashion, a doublet of black damask, with a short cloak of grey wool over it. They examined the woollen cloth, which was new to them, and the doublet with much amazement: some touched my hands and limbs, and rubbed me with their spittle to discover whether my whiteness was dye or flesh. Finding that it was flesh, they were astounded.

To this market I went to see further strange sights, and also to find out whether any came thither with gold for sale, but altogether, as I have said, there was little to be found.

***

The women of this country are very pleasant and light-hearted, ready to sing and to dance, especially the young girls. They dance, however, only at night by the light of the moon. Their dances are very different from ours.

These negroes marvelled greatly at many of our possessions, particularly at our cross-bows, and, above all, our mortars. Some came to the ship, and I had them shown the firing of a mortar, the noise of which frightened them exceedingly. I then told them that a mortar would slay more than a hundred men at one shot, at which they were astonished, saying that it was an invention of the devil’s. The sound of one of our country pipes, which I had played by one of my sailors, also caused wonderment. Seeing that it was decked out with trappings and ribbons at the head, they concluded that it was a living animal that sang thus in different voices, and were much pleased with it. Perceiving that they were misled, I told them that it was an instrument, and placed it, deflated, in their hands. Whereupon, recognising that it was made by hand, they said that it was a divine instrument, made by God with his own hands, for it sounded so sweetly with so many different voices. They said they had never heard anything sweeter.

They were also struck with admiration by the construction of our ship, and by her equipment—mast, sails, rigging, and anchors. They were of opinion that the portholes in the bows of ships were really eyes by which the ships saw whither they were going over the sea. They said we must be great wizards, almost the equal of the devil, for men that journey by land have difficulty in knowing the way from place to place, while we journeyed by sea, and, as they were given to understand, remained out of sight of land for many days, yet knew which direction to take, a thing only possible through the power of the devil. This appeared so to them because they do not understand the art of navigation [the compass, or the chart].

They also marvelled much on seeing a candle burning in a candlestick, for here they do not know how to make any other light than that of a fire. To them the sight of the candle, never seen before, was beautiful and miraculous. As, in this country, honey is found, they suck the honey from the comb, and throw away the wax. Having bought a little honeycomb, I showed them how to extract the honey from wax, and then asked whether they knew what it was that remained. They replied that it was good for nothing. In their presence, therefore, I had some candles made, and lighted. On seeing this, they showed much wonderment, exclaiming that we Christians had knowledge of everything.

In this country they have no musical instruments of any kind, save two: the one is a large Moorish “tanbuchi,” which we style a big drum; the other is after the fashion of a viol; but it has, however, two strings only, and is played with the fingers, so that it is a simple rough affair and of no account.

***

The following morning, at about the third hour, we on the other two ships, made sail with a favourable wind and tide to seek our consort and in God’s name to enter the river, hoping that in the country farther upstream we might find more civilized people than those we had seen in the canoes. Having joined our consort, she made sail in company and we began to enter the river: the small caravel led the way over the shallows, we following one behind the other.

Having sailed about four miles upstream, we suddenly perceived several canoes coming up behind us (I do not know from whence they came) as fast as they were able. Seeing this, we turned upon them, and being dubious of their poisoned arrows of which we had been informed we protected our ships as best we could, and stood to arms at our stations, although we were poorly equipped. In a short time they reached us. I, being in the leading ship, split the canoes into two sections, and thrust into the midst of them: on counting the canoes, we found they numbered seventeen, of the size of considerable boats. Checking their course and lifting up their oars, their crews lay gazing as upon a marvel. We estimated on examination that there might be about one hundred and fifty at most; they appeared very well built, exceedingly black, and all clothed in white cotton shirts: some of them wore small white caps on their heads, very like the German style, except that on each side they had a white wing with a feather in the middle of the cap, as though to distinguish the fighting men. A negro stood in the prow of each canoe, with a round shield, apparently of leather, on his arm. They made no movement towards us, nor we to them; then they perceived the other two vessels coming up behind me, and advanced towards them. On reaching them, without any other salute, they all threw down their oars, and began to shoot off their arrows.

Our ships, seeing the attack, at once discharged four bombards: hearing these, amazed and confounded by the roar, they threw down their bows, and gazing some here, some there, stood in astonishment at the sight of the shots falling into the river about them. After watching thus for a considerable while, and seeing no more they overcame their fear [of the thunder claps after many shots had been fired], and taking up their bows, began afresh to shoot with much ardour, approaching to within a stone’s throw of the ships. The sailors began to discharge their cross-bows at them: the first to do so was a bastard son of the Genoese, who hit a negro in the breast so that he immediately fell dead in the canoe. His companions perceiving this pulled out the arrow and examined it closely, in astonishment at such a weapon: but this did not restrain them from shooting vigorously at the ships, the crews of which replied in like fashion so that in a short space a great number of negroes were wounded. By the grace of God, however, not one of the Christians was hit.

When they saw the wounded and dead, all the canoes with one accord made for the stern of the small caravel, where a stiff fight was waged, for her crew were few and ill-armed. Seeing this I made sail for the small vessel and towed her between our two larger ships amidst a discharge of bombards and cross-bows. At this, the negroes drew off: we, lashing our three ships together by chains, dropped anchor, which, [as the water was calm] held all three.

We then attempted to parley with the Negroes.

***

After much gesticulating and shouting by our interpreters, one of the canoes returned within bowshot. We asked of those in it the reason for their attack upon us, notwithstanding that we were men of peace, and traders in merchandize, saying that we had peaceful and friendly relations with the negroes of the Kingdom of Senega, and that we wished to be on similar terms with them, if they were willing: further, that we had come from a distant land to offer fitting gifts to their king and lord on behalf of our king of Portugal, who desired peace and friendship with...