HI 217 Quiz 1-- "Columbus was a Cannibal"

who does henige think wrote columbus's diario?

bartoleme de las casas working from a copy of columbus's journal

how did columbus claim maravedi?

based on his sighting of a "light" in the hours before land was sighted on 12 october

it was suggested as early as 1520 that the name cannibal derived from what?

canis, the latin word for dog

the diario contains five references to a taino province called what?

caribata

who discovered cannibals?

columbus

what is the difference between columbus's "caniba" and the tainos "caniba"?

columbus believed them to be nothing else of the gran can and the tainos called the caribes, the men of caniba who had come to capture them

the diario makes it clear that columbus had difficulty with what?

communicating with the native peoples

when las casas amended the diario, what did he do?

did so in the margin notes

provide an example of a quotation in the diario that is apparent that las casas did not alter; explain how

"he (columbus) understood also that, far from there, there were one-eyed men, and others, with snouts of dogs, who ate men, and that as soon as one was taken they cut his throat and drank his blood and cut off his genitals"-- Nov 4; las cases's retention of such seemingly far-fetched observations, which subsequent explorations would have challenged, suggests is substantial conformity to the original text

what had las casas named himself?

"protector of the indians"

that the caribe are properly assigned to the realm of taino mythology can be determined in what two ways? why are they each important?

1. by the interplay of actors from different cultures 2. by the spanish record of the physical and behavioral characteristics that the tainos attributed to the caribe; 1. only one of the cultures, the spanish, recorded the events 2. it suggests certain ideational categories of the tainos

current understanding of this "carib culture" of cannibalism is an amalgam of what four distinct concepts?

1. caribes 2. caniba 3. cannibals 4. carib and island carib

testimony that the tainos identified the spanish as caribes comes from what two sources?

1. the diario

queen isabel had a copy made of the diario for columbus, but neither the original nor the copy can be accounted for after what year?

1554

when did columbus introduce the names caniba and canibales in the diario?

22 november

when did columbus introduce the name caribe in the diario?

26 december, when he reached the taino province of caribata on the north coast of hispaniola

the fact that canibales were not found in caribata confirms what?

a linguistic separation of concept and geography. in other words, caribs existed independently of the geographical location that shared their name

what version of the diario survived but remained unpublished until the end of the eighteenth century?

a third-hand holographic manuscript written sometime in the mid-sixteenth century by bartoleme de las casas

all of the passages in the diario in which the people known as caribes, caniba, canima, and canibales are discussed represent what? what does this mean?

abstractions made by las casas; that it's possible that he altered the original text

with the exception of one extensive first-person quotation ("the very words if the admiral") which covers columbus's sojourn through the bahamas (12-24 october) most of the diario consists of what?

abstractions transcribed in the third person

how did columbus interpret taino accounts of raiding by caribes?

as a meaning that subjects of the can were doing the raiding

the diario makes it clear that columbus freely combined what three things?

european mythology, taino mythology, and wishful thinking

according to anthropologist neil whitehead, what has necessitated such a detailed treatment of the topic of cannibalism rather than its overall sociological significance for carib peoples?

european pre-occupation with this subject

true or false: columbus's first voyage touched on the lesser antilles

false

true or false: the concept of caribe is simply a corruption of caniba

false

according to what was columbus a cannibal?

father ramon pane's 1496 rendering of the taino account given

the diario makes it clear that columbus had what very specific objectives in mind?

gold and an audience with the gran can of china

what did las casas gain notoriety for?

his polemics on the spanish treatment of the native west indians

how were cannibals characterized by the spaniards?

idolaters and consumers of human flesh who could not be converted to christianity and were therefore suitable for enslaving

oliver dunn and james e. kelley, jr., in their recent transcription of the english translation of the diario, have greatly simplified efforts to do what? how have they done this?

investigate specific aspects of the first voyage; including a concordance that lists ten passages in which peoples known as caribes, caniba, canima, and canibales are discussed

how is caniba a mythical construct?

it was an asian culture based loosely on the reports of marco polo and others

what is the downfall of the diario?

it's a subjective account prepared to convince the spanish sovereigns of the importance of columbus's "discoveries"

how is the caribe a mythical construct?

it's the mythical antithesis of proper taino conduct

according to columbus, the names caniba/canima and caribe have separate what?

linguistic sources

carib and island carib

modern anthropological constructs that were used as names for indigenous cultural groups in lowland south america and the west indies. europeans have also used these names since the fifteenth century to denote native peoples

cannibals

natives who refused to submit to the spanish

according to las casas's record, what did columbus say was caniba?

nothing else but the people of the gran can

some scholars have used the record of columbus's first voyage as if it were what?

objective science

the account of columbus's claim of maravedi together with an unusual account of the claiming of guanahani are how long in length in the diario?

one page

the original diario was presented to whom in 1493?

queen isabel

recent textual critiques by peter hulme and david henige have shown what? explain

that descriptions in the diario cannot be accepted uncritically; henige has demonstrated that columbus may have inserted a page into his diary at a later date

what does the name of the caribata province indicate?

that the word carib, or something that sounded like it to the spanish, came from the taino language

what did geographer carl sauer observe decades ago about the diario?

that to the spanish humanist ramon iglesia, columbus seemed to be writing the promotional literature of a tourist bureau which he did with italian exuberance

what was the justification for the possibility of columbus having inserted a page into his diary at a later date?

the 10,000 maravedi prize awarded to the first person to sight land

what is the most complete ship's log of its day?

the diario

gran can

the grand khan of cathay (china)

the origins of cannibals can be situated in what?

the initial discourse between columbus and the tainos

caniba

the name that columbus gave to denote the gran can's subjects

information recorded by christopher columbus during his first voyage has influenced in some way all discussions of what?

the peoples of the lesser antilles

cannibalism has remained in the fore of western thought at least since when?

the publication in 1580 of the essays of michel de montaigne

diario

the so-called daily log of columbus's first voyage

where is caribata located?

to the west of cap haitien in present-day haiti

true or false: the diario was remarkably detailed

true

caribes

understood by the spanish to be real people when in fact they were creatures who only existed in taino mythology