Using Primary and Secondary Sources Answers

Read the passage from a letter by Christopher Columbus.The inhabitants . . . are well made, but because they are timid and full of terror. . . . But when they see that they are safe, and all fear is banished, they are very guileless and honest, and very liberal of all they have.–Letter to Gabriel Sanchez, Christopher Columbus

Read the statement.The Mount Vesuvius eruption was one of the worst disasters in human history.

The image depicts the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which occurred in AD 79. It was painted with oil on canvas by an unknown artist in 1812.Painting of Mount Vesuvius erupting in 1812 as seen from the Ponte dell Maddalena (c 1820, detail).jpg

Read the passage about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.There had been noticed for many days before a trembling of the earth, which did not alarm us much, as this is quite an ordinary occurrence in Campania; but it was so particularly violent that night that it not only shook but actually overturned, as it would seem, everything about us.–Letter to Cornelius Tacitus, Pliny the Younger

Which statement describes a characteristic of a secondary source?

Read the passage about what happened in Pompeii after Mount Vesuvius erupted. There was found a skeleton with a bronze axe, having attempted to break through the wall next to him. It is not unreasonable to suppose that he was . . . unable to flee by means of the courtyard, where the volcanic debris was too abundant, had attempted to make his way through the opposite wall.–François de Paule Latapie

Read the passage.This edition of the Columbus letter, printed in Basel in 1494, is illustrated. The five woodcuts, which supposedly illustrate Columbus’s voyage and the New World, are in fact mostly imaginary, and were probably adapted drawings of Mediterranean places. This widely published report made Columbus famous throughout Europe. It earned him the title of Admiral, secured him continued royal patronage, and enabled him to make three more trips to the Caribbean, which he firmly believed to the end was a part of Asia. Seventeen editions of the letter were published between 1493 and 1497. Only eight copies of all the editions are extant.–"Columbus’s Voyage and the New World,” Library of Congress

Read the two passages about the destruction of Pompei.There was found a skeleton with a bronze axe, having attempted to break through the wall next to him. It is not unreasonable to suppose that he was . . . unable to flee by means of the courtyard, where the volcanic debris was too abundant, had attempted to make his way through the opposite wall.–François de Paule LatapieA cloud . . . was ascending, the appearance of which I cannot give you a more exact description of than by likening it to that of a pine tree, for it shot up to a great height in the form of a very tall trunk, which spread itself out at the top into a sort of branches.–Letter to Cornelius Tacitus, Pliny the Younger

Read the passage from a letter by Christopher Columbus.The inhabitants . . . are well made, but because they are timid and full of terror. . . . But when they see that they are safe, and all fear is banished, they are very guileless and honest, and very liberal of all they have.–Letter to Gabriel Sanchez, Christopher Columbus

How is it possible that an eyewitness account can be unverifiable?