Daniel Feldman

10/19/14

Professor Perelis

INTC
1492: Conquest of Paradise

The film 1492: Conquest of Paradise was a film produced in honor of the 500th
anniversary of Christopher Columbuss arrival in the New World. The movie was intended to be
a recreation of Columbuss discovery of the Americas and its effect on her people. However,
many of the scenes in the movie are either very factually incorrect or, in some instances,
complete fabrications of the directors imagination. Of course, the director has every right to bend
facts or even create realities, as this film does not claim to be a historically sound documentary,
and it seems logical that the directors understanding of Columbus is on par with the average
person in the 20th century, to whom the film is being tailored to. With that being said, after
spending a few weeks studying the authentic facts of Columbuss journey to the New World, I
found some scenes particularly interesting due to their stark contrast with the true details of
Columbuss journey.
At the outset of the film, the director immediately begins his portrayal of Columbus as a
heroic and iconic figure. The movie begins with a quote from Columbus saying Nothing that
results from human progress is achieved with unanimous consent. And those who are
enlightened before the others are condemned to pursue that light in spite of others. While this
certainly paints a nice picture of Columbus, a man who was driven towards his goal even in the
face of opposition, the truth of the matter is that there is no record that Columbus ever mentioned
these words. The director invented this quote as a device with which to depict Columbus in a
positive light. This entire scene with his son Fernando is especially interesting in the sense that it

is entirely fabricated solely for the purpose of representing Columbus as a good father, a teaching
father, and more generally, a heroic figure to all. Again, this is not to criticize the directors in any
way, as they are only creating what people would want to watch, however it is interesting to note
that the way Columbus is viewed by the world at large differs in comparison with the historical
facts.
In another scene, when Columbus returns from his first voyage, the film depicts the king
and queen, together with droves of people, prepared to greet Columbus upon arrival. Columbus
is viewed as a tremendous hero and is given much praise with his wife and son in attendance.
Additionally, the proponents to Columbuss journey are in attendance and express their
dissatisfaction, as it seems as if Columbus has achieved tremendous success. In reality however,
historians point out that no such party was thrown for Columbus upon arrival. While Columbus
did bring back some goods, slaves, and hope back to the king and queen, the journey was largely
viewed by Spain only as a relatively positive journey, but Columbus was in no way a worldrenowned hero. The king and queen ultimately saw enough potential in the journey to authorize a
second, and then later a third and fourth journey, but their immediate reaction to Columbuss
return was not one of immense bliss.
Lastly, throughout the Spaniards presence in the New World, the film depicts Columbus
as a very gentle and caring personality, and Moxica as a very harsh and uncaring personality,
presenting him as the classic villain. Columbus speaks to the natives, sees the beauty in their way
of life, and genuinely cares for them, while Moxica objectifies them and views them as useful for
nothing other than human labor and sinful pleasures. By creating this clear distinction between
the two, the directors have thereby cemented the image of Columbus as a sort of heroic figure,
and thrust any negative views onto the character of Moxica. However, this too is historically

incorrect, as Columbus shared some of Moxicas beliefs and was not as noble as the film played
him out to be. In reality, Columbus viewed the natives as a very innocent people, but people of a
much lower class than the Spaniards, and didnt feel an immense responsibility to help them.
Ultimately, the film was produced to entertain in order to make as much money as
possible. The producers were therefore very liberal when they felt it would make the film more
enjoyable. Still, the ideas represented through the film are consistent with the average persons
understanding of the discovery of America. Watching historically based films with the lens of
historic accuracy can help one notice some very interesting manipulations which a director will
make to appeal to the present viewer.