Christopher Columbus Was Not A Hero

For more than five centuries, Christopher Columbus has been recognized and glorified as the founder of America in the US and Spain. As an adolescent, I learned that Columbus, an explorer with unrealistic beliefs about the earth being indeed round and not flat as it was once deemed to be, discovered America and named its natives “Indians.” However, I have grown to realize that this glorified hero Columbus is portrayed as is as realistic as the Easter bunny or tooth fairy. The actual truth about Columbus is far more complicated and less magical than what we have come to accept as fact. In fact, despite the tactics used to claim land that did not belong to them, I consider Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortez savages whose agenda was not to

     Throughout all of our years that we are taught about world history, we are led to believe that Columbus was one of the greatest explorers of all time. In my mind there is no question about whether Christopher Columbus discovered America; of course he did, its Columbus! However, this is a highly debated issue and through writings by authors Jeffery Hart and James W. Loewen we will investigate the true importance of Columbus.

Throughout recorded human history, authors, leaders, and researchers, have documented the past from many different perspectives, and viewpoints. Not every historian has the same stance on a certain issue, therefore, differences in point of view occur in almost every writing. In the textbook The American Pageant, A People’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart, and Michael Allen, and Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, the reader can see many different perspectives throughout each reading. The infamous explorer known as Christopher Columbus, has been documented in many different ways. Depending on the reading, Columbus has be called everything from a “[...]symbol of the new age of hope”, to an inhuman tyrant who captured Indians and turned them into slaves.

The arrival of Columbus in 1492 has been viewed with mixed feelings with others believing the day should be viewed as an occasion for mourning. Some activists advocate for the day to be replaced with a day for ethnic diversity. The belief that he discovered America is not to say that he was the first to set his eyes on America, it meant that he opened up America to new opportunities. This was by bringing America to the attention of the New World by bringing the civilization of Western Europe to its residents. It was the discoveries of Columbus that led to an interaction of ideas and people and different cultures that made America what it is today.

Christopher Columbus is commonly known as the “discoverer” of the Americas. From a young age students are taught all the wonderful things he did for our land and how well he interacted with the Natives. Although the truth is disregarded and as students grow, they come to learn that Columbus was not a hero in fact. Columbus came close to causing a genocide of the Native Americans, and basically began the “white power” movement that America is forced to deal with today. The truth of what Christopher Columbus did makes him no better than Hitler, yet America still praises him as an important figure in our history. The actions of Columbus has impacted all Americans lives since the 1400’s when he first landed on American soil. Although it did make America into the super power it is today, the structure within the borders will never be equal because of his abuse of power back then. Christopher Columbus is not the hero American students are taught from a young age and does not deserve any of the praise or recognition that we as American citizens continue to give him on a daily basis.

Throughout many recent years, there has been a great deal of speculation about whether we should celebrate Columbus Day; whether Christopher Columbus, the man with a holiday named after him, the man who “discovered” America, was really hero. There are people who claim that Columbus was, in fact, someone to be celebrated. This is false. Christopher Columbus was, most blatantly put, a villain. He deserves this status because he did not discover the land now known as America, he forced his beliefs onto others, and he utterly destroyed the lives of unknowing, innocent people.

Columbus was an explorer who initiated a series of explorations to the Americas and paved the way for new trade routes to Asia; however, a holiday that is dedicated to a man who ‘found’ a territory already inhabited, and glorifies a voyage that commenced a mass genocide and slave trade should not be celebrated.

Now that we have gone into the project , I now know who Christopher Columbus really was . Most people believe that Christopher Columbus was hero , but others disagree . As it is known , Columbus discovered “The New World” or “The Americas” . Not only did he, discover new land but he also met new people who were natives of the land . Not all things about Columbus were good . He declared himself leader of every land he conquered and took Native Americans as slaves . His legacy is celebrated by many of the people who believe he was a hero for his accomplishments . Many of them don't acknowledge the fact that he wasn't a very good person after all . People should see Christopher Columbus as the person he really was. His discoveries don't conceal his actions .

Initially, Christopher Columbus should not be viewed as a hero because he did not discover America, he helped invade it. Christopher Columbus was aware that there were people already

Whether viewed as a monster who destroyed ancient civilizations or a legendary figure who led society to where it is today, Christopher Columbus remains a greatly controversial historical center point as his impact on civilization then, and now, have sparked ongoing debates for centuries. But despite the greatly exaggerated slander against him, Columbus should be revered and celebrated as a hero for his contributions to societal development instead of hated for the blatant lies created by mainstream media in an effort to demonize an iconic historical figure in an attempt to push anti-western sentiment.

Christopher Columbus, as we now know he accomplished a lot during his life. Although many are disputed and questions have been raised as to why we celebrate Columbus Day. One could find the when, how and where of Christopher Columbus an interesting subject for discourse. After all, we are talking about the man who discovered the land we now call America. We will not even consider the people, the Native Americans who lived here first as discovering America. Maybe it should be taught just a tad differently and instead say that Columbus discovered American for Europe. In the year 1451, Genoa, Italy, Christopher was born to Domenico and Susanna (Fontanarossa). Christopher was the oldest of five brothers. Genoa was a seaport city located on the northwest coast of Italy. Completing his education at an early age Christopher began sailing on trading trips. As the years passed, Christopher moved to Spain, where he eventually changed his given name Cristoforo Colombo to Cristóbal Colón since He began a map making company with his brother Bartholomew in 1476. By 1479 Christopher had met and wedded Felipa Perestrello Moniz a daughter of a Portuguese Island Governor. Felipa gave him a son Diego in 1480 shortly before she passed away. In 1488 his second son Fernando was born to Beatriz Enriquez de Arana. Now that we are ready to begin our own voyage of discovery about the man himself Christopher Columbus.

    Many know Christopher Columbus as the man who discovered America, but there’s more to Columbus than that. He lived as a man so idealistic that reality became a blur, a man who explored in the name of God, and a man who wanted more than he could earn. However, he died over five hundred years ago, so who can really say who he was? That didn’t stop writers or historians though.

Since his death in 1506, Columbus's life story has gone through many revisions and although we still might celebrate Columbus Day we still cannot ignore the fact that he was a slave trader who heartlessly took men and women away from their families in order to lessen his failure to find a new trade route. He enslaved and multilated natives, and he was arrested by the Spanish government. Although many still say that Columbus is an American hero despite his wrong doings, I believe him to be a villain who has had been made a legend but not

Christopher Columbus, also known as the founding father of America, altered history when he set off on a voyage in 1492. Encapsulating exportation, encounters, and exchange by voyaging, interacting with natives, and trading, Columbus kick started interests in North America. The newfangled encounter Christopher experienced when exploring the Americas led to the development of trade with in the continent and across the globe. During a rather ominous period of Spanish history occupied with forms of disease Spain looked to Columbus for encouragement. Spain had just completed the “Reconquista”, war expulsing Muslims and Jews from Spain, and turned attentions to the age of discovery.

We have been told that Christopher Columbus, a Spanish traveler, “discovered” America as well as that he is a hero along with us a nation singing songs in his favor. But is Christopher Columbus as good as we make him sound? Are we putting him on a pedestal? Are we being blinded by this half of him to not realize the dark things he has committed? Read if you want to pass this outstanding lie to reach for the truth, no matter how dark it seems.