Christopher Columbus's Impact On American Culture

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Christopher Columbus would not have landed in America? America is home to millions of people today. But some of the things we use and do in our daily day to day lives can be traced back to the early colonization of the explorers. But who and why did they come to America, what effects did their arrivals cause, and most importantly how have their decisions affected our society to this day?

All across the United States, students learn that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and “discovered” North America. This common misconception creates a false narrative for Americans learning about Christopher Columbus’ legacy - and indeed about the country’s early post-European history. When Christopher Columbus came ashore, North America was already inhabited by hundreds of thousands of native peoples so the concept of Christopher Columbus somehow “discovering” what is now the United States of America is inaccurate. He did, however, set off a process of conquering the land and its people for the Western World. He did so through brutal tactics including forced labor, enslavement, violence, and widespread killing.

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.

Zinn argues that the perspective of indigenous people should not be omitted and argues that their perspectives are as significant as any other. He provides insight and perspectives of the Indians to describe how the heinous acts of the Europeans were unjustified. He also discusses that the Europeans had a continual motive of exploring during that time which was to increase the power/authority of the Spanish Crown by whatever means necessary, usually leading to violent wars.

Do you believe someone can accomplish something extraordinary without doing anything horrible? Christopher Columbus was known for discovering new land. He discovered a lot but he also did horrible things along with it. In the long run the land that he discovered the spanish had took over and they have someplace to live. The conflict started by columbus who oversaw the whole entire genocide. He painfully murdered all of the arawaks, and made them extinct. This took place around the 1500’s , he caused all this heartache to impress the king and queen of spain. There were immediate social, political, and cultural effects. An example of a long term effect is that the arawaks are now extinct.

Christopher Columbus changed the culture of the Indians as he forced, captured, and enslaved most of them. Natives that were forced into labor had to gather gold and if they didn’t wear a copper coin had their hands chopped off and bled to death. Captured natives were forced on to ships and were transported to Europe for slavery but more than half of them died on the way. Natives that were enslaved had to do long hardworking labor and would also have been raped by the soldiers of columbus. The Natives resulted in revolt against these crimes against them. Indians would go against Columbus’s men by either running away or fighting back to reclaim their land. Most runaways were chased down by dogs and killed. The Natives that fought back were

The legacy of Christopher Columbus has been a divisive topic for many years. Indeed, according to Laurence Bergreen, the Columbian legacy has been divisive since the time of his voyages. In an excerpt from his book Columbus: The Four Voyages, Laurence Bergreen juxtaposes his extensive historical knowledge with a deep understanding of modern American culture to demonstrate that, for all his successes and failures, Columbus is significant as a reminder that we are all deeply complex and contradictory beings.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who received credit for the discovery of the Americas in 1492. His goal was to discover another route to India instead, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Hispaniola which is present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Although, historians argue he did not technically discover the Americas, he opened trade routes between the Old World and the New World. He influenced later explorers and impacted the development of the Columbian Exchange. The historians present their attitudes towards the consequences and outcomes of Christopher Columbus and his discovery. They also state their argument on his controversial legacy about whether Christopher Columbus should be perceived as a hero or a villain.

Throughout history, Christopher Columbus was seen in quite contrary ways. Some would view him as a valiant hero who discovered the New World and vanquished the primitive ways of the savage and barbaric native people. Others would see Columbus in a much different light, describing him as an interloper who spread disease to and enslaved an entire native people. These two statements above describe two vastly different visions of Christopher Columbus. In fact, the hard evidence would support that a bit of both of the above visions are indeed factual. Christopher Columbus was a man with several wonderful achievements, however some of these achievements had several negative repercussions. Columbus's discovery of the New World led to a more diverse society, a new social system, and the exploitation and eventual extermination of the Native peoples.

12 October 1492- Columbus arrives in the Americas- Christopher Columbus had the support of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. Columbus set sail in April of 1492. It took him nearly six months for him to touch land. Although Columbus was not the first to actually discover the Americas, he has been given that credit despite there being evidence that Vikings actually discovered the Americas around 1000 AD. “Icelandic legends called sagas recounted Eriksson’s exploits in the New World around A.D. 1000. These Norse stories were spread by word of mouth before becoming recorded in the 12th and 13th centuries.” (History.com/Vikings) The significance of Columbus coming to America over the Vikings is that following the voyage of Columbus, is when settlers really began to start traveling to the Americas and “a new phase of civilization began.” (Reference.com)

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the new world; the Native Americans lives were altered through the introduction of the Columbian Exchange, Cultural changes and loss of their homeland. Columbus's discovery of the new world sparked colonization of the Americas. There was an ample amount of vast, arable land thus creating economic opportunity for the wealthy and the common-man. The people longing for this opportunity intruded on the Native American's land and completely changed their way of life.

“When Christopher Columbus sailed he sailed with three ships and found the Indians. “According to Document A Christopher” Columbus was brave, and he was bright “. “This shows that he was a very intelligent and tough man. “Additionally, according to Document B “ In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean”. “This shows that He had three ships and left from Spain”. “Therefore, the authors point of view was that Christopher Columbus was a very joyful and apparently a nice man to the people as the document tells us. During the time this source was created Christopher Columbus has set sail and met the Indians. According to Document C “ The spaniards forced their indian slaves to work without rest and gave them little food. The men died

Columbus Day is being contested by Native American groups, stating that the indigenous tribes were inhabiting the land long before Columbus. Activist are opposed to the celebration, honoring a man who has cause oppression, disease, slavery and death among the Natives. In article hero of villain page 7, historian Alfred Cosby wrote of the havoc produced by diseases the Europeans brought to Native American. James Loewen book The Truth about Columbus later adding in Lies My Teacher Told Me wrote how Columbus was linked with the despoiling of ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬natural environment.

Beyond the fact that Columbus was not the first person to discover the Americas, he was the man that brought about European civilization to America and their fascination with conquering a new world. His wrong doings, which include, letting his crew rape, pillage and plunder the Bahamas, should not outweigh the good that coming to America brought for us as Americans who, without European influence may not have progressed quite as far or in the circumstances we did. As with the Colombian exchange that was brought about by Columbus’ venture to the Americas it is a box of good and evil. With the disease and captured indigenous people, the Columbian Exchange brought a trade of new plants and animals and ideas to further

Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 on a mission to find an all water route to the western Indies, instead Columbus reached North America where he continued his search for gold and trade.