In describing their first impressions of the new lands and the people that inhabited them, both Columbus and Chanca tried to create images for the King and Queen that would serve to help their own agendas. Neither description was completely factual, but instead told in a way to serve for their personal needs.
Christopher Columbus wrote to the King and Queen with the intent of them sending him more assistance for his explorations: “Their highnesses can see that I will give them as much gold as they may need, if their Highnesses will render me very slight assistance” (Page 4). Columbus is telling the King and Queen that there is much gold on these islands and it will be brought back if his explorations are supported.
In order to gain the trust of his highnesses Columbus possibly embellishes some of the things that he finds on the islands: (La Spanola is a marvel. The Sierras and the mountains and the plains and the champaigns and the lands are so lovely and so rich for planting and sowing, for breeding cattle of every kind, for building towns and villages” (Page 3). This is obviously exactly the type of things that the King and Queen want to hear. The goal was to possibly colonize these areas and when Columbus telling them that the land is lovely and good building towns and villages, the King and Queen must be enthused about the situation on these Islands.
Dr. Chanca, appointed by the royal family, was the surgeon on Columbus’ voyage. He told a very different side of the story in regards to the new lands than that of Columbus. Dr.Chanca didn’t have anything to gain by fabricating the accounts of what was happening there. Chanca talked about Carib’s, evil people who would hold captives and eat the flesh of men. They also capture women and treat them incredibly cruelly, as well as eventually eating the sons of these women. “The men whom they are able to take, those who are alive they bring to their houses and butcher for meat, and those who are dead are eaten...