1031
Primary source documents are generally a good outline of events occurring during a time period. These events and thoughts given out by an author may be misconstrued by the others if the author puts forth a one sided point of view or opinions over what may be really occurring and the author may distort what is reality with what they believe to be true. In this case, the author may be viewed as an unreliable narrator, as the unnamed author of the “Letter to the King and Queen of Spain,” appears to be.
At first, the unnamed author to the “Letter to the King and Queen of Spain” seems to be appeasing the ego of the Spanish monarchy, in a way, by including parts in the letter such as “In this your Highness exhibited the noble spirit which has always been manifested by you on every great subject...,” (p. 105) in references to the author’s request to go on a voyage with the King’s permission and financial aid. In this, he is claiming that all of the happenings that are to occur throughout his travels are in the name of Spain and cause of the monarchy. The voyage appears to have been assigned to the author even though he was the one in favor of it as the King of Spain was hesitant to let such a farfetched operation begin.
The author presents the events of his journey in his point of view only and does not think to see what his encountering native’s views would have been. At one point, the author speaks of his travels in the name of the Holy Trinity and claimed that “many souls may be saved,” (p. 107). An instrumental player for the will of God was pointed out by the author to be that of the Monarchy and himself, acting as a servant of sorts for them. In this, the author gives out no specific regions as to where these souls may have been saved nor did he explain how many souls approximately and how it was to have been accomplished. Although the author cannot fully explain himself in the letter, a voyage in the name of God to convert peoples to Christendom would have been accurate for the time period for Spain. The unnamed author also spends much time on contributing many acts of the voyages to the Holy Trinity and the monarchy once again.
One would believe the author to be unreliable for the fact that, he supplies his ideas without the inclusion of another who accompanied him on his journey to further rationalize his testimonies of what they have encountered to some truthfulness. Although, some pieces from the letter are biased and opinion based, the author does provide a great deal of factual information. Recordings of the scenery and natives that the ship came across in varying places like as the ship passed Puntal del Arenal. Here, the author and crew on the ship encountered natives described as
“…well proportioned, and not dark black, but whiter than any other Indians that I had seen,- of very graceful gesture and handsome forms, wearing hair long and straight, and cut in the Spanish style.” (p. 115-116).
The author further explains that when trying to communicate with the Indians, his shipmen began to beat on drums to entice the Indians to come closer. This however, caused and adverse reaction when they Indians raised their weapons to the men on the ship, leaving the author and the crew no choice but to protect themselves, causing the Indians to leave. This would prove to be accurate information provided by the author as people now know that some tribes or groups of people during the time period the letter was written responded to the beats of a drum as a signal for war, causing the Indians to believe that the author’s ship was a threat. The author, however, did not know that this would have been the outcome to his attempts of communication, leaving him slightly baffled as to why the Indians would have done such a thing.
If one were to read the text, they would essentially learn of the author’s travels in the name of Spain, where he ventured past the island of Trinidad and down a narrow river. Here, he met Indians, like the ones he encountered on the ship, but these Indians differed in dress as they were wearing “pieces of gold on their breasts, and some with bracelets of pearls on their arms,” (p. 121) enticing the author to inquire where he would be able to procure such items.
A reader would learn of the author’s great interest for gold and such wares, but also come to realize that the author does not want to push that patience of his hosts as to the whereabouts of the items. The author also decides against going in search of the gold when the Indians reveal where they are to and is warned against his search “for fear of being eaten” (p.124). Some respect for the natives is shown in the author’s decision to leave without searching for the valuables.
Thus far, the author seems to have made small errors in his judgment and included pretentious opinions on certain things. His greatest error, which made him unreliable, was going against a widely accepted view of the earth. As the author began his voyage down the coast of Africa and down towards Trinidad, he experiences a great increase in the temperature and then as he passed the meridian he notices the temperature become moderate as it was before that point of passage. Along with the position of the North Star, the author postulates that this varying temperature must mean that the world is not spherical as Ptolemy and other scientists and thinkers assumed. Essentially, the author has
“…come to another conclusion respecting the earth, namely, that it is not round as they describe, but of the form of a pear, which is very round except for where the stalk grows, at which part it is most prominent…” (P. 130)
At this point, the author is now separating his reality for what is actually known and believed. Many great thinkers put forth much effort into discovering that the world is round and with the author’s travels, he just overthrows popular belief with what he hypothesizes. Furthermore, the author believes that the area that he encountered past the meridian was the beginning of the ascension the heaven seeing as the temperature was becoming more moderate and fresh water could be found at the base of rivers where they met the ocean. To the author, all of his assumptions of the earth corroborate with readings of the time as he has
“never either read or heard of fresh water coming in so large a quantity, in close conjunction with the water of the sea; the idea is also corroborated by the blandness of the temperature; and if the water of which I speak, does not proceed from the earthly paradise, it appears to be still more marvelous, for I do not believe that there is any river in the world so large or deep.” (p. 138).
Information such as this is misleading as the author’s facts are not supplied with further observations or other people who share in the same belief. Now days, people know that the earth is indeed round and the temperature change that the author experienced sailing down the coast was due to his proximity to the equator and once passing that, the moderate temperature was influenced by the growing distance from the equator and closeness to the opposite pole. The author does supply correct information as to the climate changes, the only credible part of that assumption of the earth.
The author speaks of the Portuguese’s exploration and discovery of Guinea, supposedly using large amounts of gold and lost a large sum of their population, so large that one half of the population perished in Guinea. The author then claims that it has been a long time since the discovery of Guinea. Not much information is left to back up the statement that the Portuguese lost half of their population and is only mentioned in passing. As the author continues in speaking of how other countries have been discovering lands before Spain, but now Spain is becoming a growing power among the countries in maritime travels and discovery despite its late start. Possibly a number of individuals would have perished, but a loss of half the population would have decimated Portugal to the point where they would not have been able to continue in their maritime discoveries mentioned in passing by the author.
As a primary source, the unmanned author does succeed in providing descriptions of the lands the ship came across in their maritime travels. As a good primary source, the author should have included more about the people he encountered and more of the land in place of filling the paragraphs with his anxiety and reminders of his ailing self; information that is otherwise unneeded for the King and Queen of Spain as a more pressing interested to the monarchy would have been the items the author has seen and possible opportunities to trade. The author does not speak much of and wares that were to be found on his trip, as he was sent to find routes around to India. For the most of the letter, s great deal of time is spent speaking of the authors ideals of the earth and his anxiety; making the document a poor source for real information.
Unreliability relies in the fact that the document falls short in chronicling anything but the author’s feelings and not what he was sent out to do. As the more personal the letter became in context to the author’s feelings, the less real information was given of the travels around the coasts and the inhabitants or other life. A more efficient primary source would have given more description of the native and the ship crews interactions with them, in place of the author in the letter who wished to move on down the river instead of spending time with the hospitable natives.
Fairly little information in the letter can be concluded as reliable as little of the letter document events. Descriptions of the lands and mountains near Trinidad and the Capes are among those that can be seen as credible. Little is explained as o why the ship passed what seemed to be deserted lands where
“…the ground in the neighborhood was filled with foot-marks of animals, like the impression of the foot of a goat; but although it would have appeared from this circumstance that they were very numerous, only one was seen, and that was dead,” (p. 115).
The author chose to move on and found new inhabitants further up a river. What credible information that can be found in the letter is not substantial enough to produce any profound effect of the author’s travels, just an effect showcasing his feelings of his time at sea.
The author of the “Letter to the King and Queen of Spain” was exceedingly scarce with his details of his trip. His letter was filled with ideals and worries felt by him and no one else. Little can be taken from the document as a primary source and the author can be found to be unreliable from this.
At first, the unnamed author to the “Letter to the King and Queen of Spain” seems to be appeasing the ego of the Spanish monarchy, in a way, by including parts in the letter such as “In this your Highness exhibited the noble spirit which has always been manifested by you on every great subject...,” (p. 105) in references to the author’s request to go on a voyage with the King’s permission and financial aid. In this, he is claiming that all of the happenings that are to occur throughout his travels are in the name of Spain and cause of the monarchy. The voyage appears to have been assigned to the author even though he was the one in favor of it as the King of Spain was hesitant to let such a farfetched operation begin.
The author presents the events of his journey in his point of view only and does not think to see what his encountering native’s views would have been. At one point, the author speaks of his travels in the name of the Holy Trinity and claimed that “many souls may be saved,” (p. 107). An instrumental player for the will of God was pointed out by the author to be that of the Monarchy and himself, acting as a servant of sorts for them. In this, the author gives out no specific regions as to where these souls may have been saved nor did he explain how many souls approximately and how it was to have been accomplished. Although the author cannot fully explain himself in the letter, a voyage in the name of God to convert peoples to Christendom would have been accurate for the time period for Spain. The unnamed author also spends much time on contributing many acts of the voyages to the Holy Trinity and the monarchy once again.
One would believe the author to be unreliable for the fact that, he supplies his ideas without the inclusion of another who accompanied him on his journey to further rationalize his testimonies of what they have encountered to some truthfulness. Although, some pieces from the letter are biased and opinion based, the author does provide a great deal of factual information. Recordings of the scenery and natives that the ship came across in varying places like as the ship passed Puntal del Arenal. Here, the author and crew on the ship encountered natives described as
“…well proportioned, and not dark black, but whiter than any other Indians that I had seen,- of very graceful gesture and handsome forms, wearing hair long and straight, and cut in the Spanish style.” (p. 115-116).
The author further explains that when trying to communicate with the Indians, his shipmen began to beat on drums to entice the Indians to come closer. This however, caused and adverse reaction when they Indians raised their weapons to the men on the ship, leaving the author and the crew no choice but to protect themselves, causing the Indians to leave. This would prove to be accurate information provided by the author as people now know that some tribes or groups of people during the time period the letter was written responded to the beats of a drum as a signal for war, causing the Indians to believe that the author’s ship was a threat. The author, however, did not know that this would have been the outcome to his attempts of communication, leaving him slightly baffled as to why the Indians would have done such a thing.
If one were to read the text, they would essentially learn of the author’s travels in the name of Spain, where he ventured past the island of Trinidad and down a narrow river. Here, he met Indians, like the ones he encountered on the ship, but these Indians differed in dress as they were wearing “pieces of gold on their breasts, and some with bracelets of pearls on their arms,” (p. 121) enticing the author to inquire where he would be able to procure such items.
A reader would learn of the author’s great interest for gold and such wares, but also come to realize that the author does not want to push that patience of his hosts as to the whereabouts of the items. The author also decides against going in search of the gold when the Indians reveal where they are to and is warned against his search “for fear of being eaten” (p.124). Some respect for the natives is shown in the author’s decision to leave without searching for the valuables.
Thus far, the author seems to have made small errors in his judgment and included pretentious opinions on certain things. His greatest error, which made him unreliable, was going against a widely accepted view of the earth. As the author began his voyage down the coast of Africa and down towards Trinidad, he experiences a great increase in the temperature and then as he passed the meridian he notices the temperature become moderate as it was before that point of passage. Along with the position of the North Star, the author postulates that this varying temperature must mean that the world is not spherical as Ptolemy and other scientists and thinkers assumed. Essentially, the author has
“…come to another conclusion respecting the earth, namely, that it is not round as they describe, but of the form of a pear, which is very round except for where the stalk grows, at which part it is most prominent…” (P. 130)
At this point, the author is now separating his reality for what is actually known and believed. Many great thinkers put forth much effort into discovering that the world is round and with the author’s travels, he just overthrows popular belief with what he hypothesizes. Furthermore, the author believes that the area that he encountered past the meridian was the beginning of the ascension the heaven seeing as the temperature was becoming more moderate and fresh water could be found at the base of rivers where they met the ocean. To the author, all of his assumptions of the earth corroborate with readings of the time as he has
“never either read or heard of fresh water coming in so large a quantity, in close conjunction with the water of the sea; the idea is also corroborated by the blandness of the temperature; and if the water of which I speak, does not proceed from the earthly paradise, it appears to be still more marvelous, for I do not believe that there is any river in the world so large or deep.” (p. 138).
Information such as this is misleading as the author’s facts are not supplied with further observations or other people who share in the same belief. Now days, people know that the earth is indeed round and the temperature change that the author experienced sailing down the coast was due to his proximity to the equator and once passing that, the moderate temperature was influenced by the growing distance from the equator and closeness to the opposite pole. The author does supply correct information as to the climate changes, the only credible part of that assumption of the earth.
The author speaks of the Portuguese’s exploration and discovery of Guinea, supposedly using large amounts of gold and lost a large sum of their population, so large that one half of the population perished in Guinea. The author then claims that it has been a long time since the discovery of Guinea. Not much information is left to back up the statement that the Portuguese lost half of their population and is only mentioned in passing. As the author continues in speaking of how other countries have been discovering lands before Spain, but now Spain is becoming a growing power among the countries in maritime travels and discovery despite its late start. Possibly a number of individuals would have perished, but a loss of half the population would have decimated Portugal to the point where they would not have been able to continue in their maritime discoveries mentioned in passing by the author.
As a primary source, the unmanned author does succeed in providing descriptions of the lands the ship came across in their maritime travels. As a good primary source, the author should have included more about the people he encountered and more of the land in place of filling the paragraphs with his anxiety and reminders of his ailing self; information that is otherwise unneeded for the King and Queen of Spain as a more pressing interested to the monarchy would have been the items the author has seen and possible opportunities to trade. The author does not speak much of and wares that were to be found on his trip, as he was sent to find routes around to India. For the most of the letter, s great deal of time is spent speaking of the authors ideals of the earth and his anxiety; making the document a poor source for real information.
Unreliability relies in the fact that the document falls short in chronicling anything but the author’s feelings and not what he was sent out to do. As the more personal the letter became in context to the author’s feelings, the less real information was given of the travels around the coasts and the inhabitants or other life. A more efficient primary source would have given more description of the native and the ship crews interactions with them, in place of the author in the letter who wished to move on down the river instead of spending time with the hospitable natives.
Fairly little information in the letter can be concluded as reliable as little of the letter document events. Descriptions of the lands and mountains near Trinidad and the Capes are among those that can be seen as credible. Little is explained as o why the ship passed what seemed to be deserted lands where
“…the ground in the neighborhood was filled with foot-marks of animals, like the impression of the foot of a goat; but although it would have appeared from this circumstance that they were very numerous, only one was seen, and that was dead,” (p. 115).
The author chose to move on and found new inhabitants further up a river. What credible information that can be found in the letter is not substantial enough to produce any profound effect of the author’s travels, just an effect showcasing his feelings of his time at sea.
The author of the “Letter to the King and Queen of Spain” was exceedingly scarce with his details of his trip. His letter was filled with ideals and worries felt by him and no one else. Little can be taken from the document as a primary source and the author can be found to be unreliable from this.