*Christopher Columbus*

Christopher Columbus wrote letters back to the people who made all four of his voyages possible. He was really informing them on what experience he had since they helped finance and give approval of him going out to explore. In his first letter, which was to Luis de Santangel, he was letting him know of the first voyage. As many people know, his first voyage ended him up in the Bahamas. However Columbus was not aware of the fact that he was not in the right place. Columbus’s purpose for writing to Luis was to tell him of the wonders in his journey. Columbus, from the very start, establishes pathos. His audience of course at the time was Luis, but the way he wrote the letter was so formal. He was really making the connection with him that he has the up most respect for him. Columbus showed how good of a person he was. Just by him starting off his letter with “Sir”. He didn’t just give the regular “Dear Mr. etc, he actually gave the man a high title which you give to someone that you may consider proud of or just honored by. As Columbus continued to explain the journey, that right there gave way for logos to be established. He was giving reason to the fact of why he took the trip by explaining the trials and triumphs of his journey. In the letter, he explained the islands he reached and told the names he had given as well. He was so thrilled of his journey that he had nothing less than a good reason, to tell the person who had helped to finance and give approval, about the things he encountered. He then goes on to use some great diction and syntax. He was so amazed with the island of Espanola. He mentions and might I add goes into great detail about the beauty in the place. He goes in-depth and mentions the “thousands of shapes from the mountains and trees of all kinds.” He was really re-painting the picture of the place exactly like he remembered. He was so amazed that the place was somewhat opposite of how it was back at his home. He says, “I saw them green and as lovely as they are in Spain in May and of them flowering, some bearing fruit, and some in another stage, and…. in the month of November”. This shows that this is not everyday that he witnesses things of this nature. Moving to the next letter he wrote, this one was written to the king and queen of Spain. Unlike the first letter, this one was of his fourth voyage. In this letter, the tone was set about the very beginning as being rather sad and shameless. Upon the last journey, he was shipwrecked and then taken captive by Spanish rebellions that were against his authority. He mentions at the very beginning, “those who left the Indies, flying from toils and speaking evil of the matter and of me, have returned with official employment. Now this clearly shows him speaking about his enemies and informing that they were not in favor of him. Columbus was writing to the King and Queen almost to say please have mercy on my soul. It was almost as if he was a child calling out to his parents to come and rescue him. Throughout the letter, he kept saying “Your Highnesses” out of respect but this could also be like his cry out for mommy, as a child would do in danger. He wrote to the king and queen explaining how he was captured and badly treated. He was basically a slave for his own people. He was speaking in such hateful words that he begged god to have mercy on his soul because he was in so much pain. He states, “I have wept for others now Heaven have mercy upon me, and may the earth weep for me”. In that alone, he was making inference almost to say like there was know one who had his back so instead of having someone weep for him, he hoped at least the earth would weep for him. This in other words could be implying rain to wash away his blood. In his last sentence, he states, “Done in the Indies in the island of Jamaica, on the seventh of July, in the year one thousand five hundred and three”. Those words alone establish so much pathos. He reached out to his audience almost to say he is giving up. It was as if he was going to just let himself wither away. The intensity of that last phrase is so meaningful and powerful that it shows his true pain through words. He was really trying to get his point across in this letter and with the last sentence he should be credited for a job well done. It was as though he was trying to reach a deep emotional space in the heart of the world in order for them to have sympathy and feel his plea for help.