Pensive Leaders

Obregón, José María, The Inspiration of Christopher Columbus, 1856.

This picture of Christopher Columbus depicts how being a very pensive person can bring one to amazing discoveries and accomplishments. In this picture, I can image that Christopher Columbus just finished talking with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain about the idea of sailing to the East Indies. The king and queen supported Columbus' voyage because they thought it would give Spain the advantage in the lucrative spice trade with India. In the above picture, I can image that Columbus is in deep thought about how he is going to arrive in the East Indies. He has his compass and drawing instrument trying to picture what drawings his empty map might consist of. As history tells us, Columbus ended up going west and arrived in what we know as the Bahamas. Though Columbus never made it to the East Indies like he had hoped, he will always be remembered for helping Europe become aware of the American continents and for the initiation of the Spanish colonization of the New World.

Just as Christopher Colombus came up with a great idea through pensive thought, so did Martin Luther King Jr. His pensive thoughts brought to pass many marvelous things. Martin Luther King is known for being an inspiring leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He will always be remembered for his advancements in civil rights by using tactics of nonviolent civil disobedience. As a result of Martin Luther King’s moments of deep thought, he was able to change the way a nation thought about African Americans and over time was able to help them receive their equal rights.

Through their times of pensive thought, Christopher Columbus and Martin Luther King were able to think of amazing ideas that greatly affected the world for the better. It is astonishing to see how two men could have such a great influence on the world.