Not Celebrating Christopher Columbus Essay

Some people say Christopher Columbus is the man who discovered America and is a hero. Others might say Columbus is a sadistic villain who destroyed the Native American people. There are valid points to each side of the argument for this and are good points. He went to America in 1492, not discovering it. Columbus became well known in America because of this and was made into a holiday. He has his own holiday because of America’s short history. In almost all cultures, they look up to an historical figure, except for America. Columbus had a huge impact in history according to Time who said that Columbus is #20 on the most significant figures. So why wouldn’t Columbus be looked at a hero? I believe, Christopher Columbus is a villainous figure

School taught us about the infamous Christopher Columbus who was known as the hero who found the Americas in 1492, but is that the truth? Is Columbus really the hero that grade school portrayed him to be? Columbus was not. Columbus was a greedy man who destroyed an entire race of people with genocide just so only he could benefit and become a man of money and power.

     The spirit and values of a nation are reflected in the nation’s heroes. Christopher Columbus has been regarded as an American hero since 1792. Every year Columbus Day is held on the second Monday in October to honor the man and his legacy. However, many people debate whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated in the United States because he opened up the New World to Europe, inspired a spirit of exploration and adventure that still lasts today, and he showed the importance of diversity and understanding of different cultures.

Even though Columbus did everything that was stated above he wasn’t that bad. He overall really helped the development of the nation that we now know. He is one of the most celebrated explorers and for good reason. Stated by Dr Thomas C Tirado in Christopher Columbus and his legacy “The routes he took to and from the newly found lands are the ones we still use; his choice of the Atlantic Canary Current

Christopher Columbus did not do a single good action in any of his four voyages in the late 1400's. Christopher Columbus was not the founder of the Americas we live in today because he did not discover it, even if he did there were already the natives who inhabited the land. It was just luck that he discovered the Americas, because he wasn’t even coming here, he got here because his ships went the wrong way and “Oh Surprise!” “We got something here to bring to Spain”

The famous explorer has been regarded as a hero only for his achievements and accomplishments only for them to be darkened by his crimes of genocide, slavery and rape thus the controversy arises as to how he should be remembered . In his quest to find riches and conquer new lands, Columbus encountered many native people who he treated as

Christopher Columbus is a villain in my eyes. This belief rests upon three main points: excerpts from Columbus’ journal and letters from his first arrival, the reality that he and his man alike were gold-thirsty, and the unlawful crimes he committed to satisfy and please the king in order to receive glory. These actions are often overlooked by many because it eventually led to the development of our country, but that should not excuse his actions. Consequently, his actions set an example for future generations, on how to solve problems with the Indians-extinguish them. Below, I will elaborate more fully on these arguments.

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.

In 1492, Italian cartographer and explorer, Christopher Columbus, set off on a mission from Spain in order to find a quicker, alternative route to Asia. With him, Columbus brought eighty-seven men and three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María, to sail across the large and vast Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately for Columbus, a new route to Asia was never discovered by Spain that year because he had arrived in the Caribbean, which was found in North America. Thinking that he had just entered the Indies, he started to call the people of this land, “Indians”. These Indians were actually Native Americans who had lived on these lands for thousands of years prior. Immediately, letters from Columbus to the King and Queen of Spain were sent by boat back to Europe and soon Columbus was seen as the man who helped create a bridge of prosperous trading and riches between Europe and “Asia”.1 While this discovery proved that Columbus was a hero-like figure to Spain, it’s what he did within the new land that actually makes him one of the biggest villains to ever set foot on Earth. But what classifies this explorer as a villain? Columbus captured thousands of natives, many of which were sent back to Spain to live and work as slaves. Along with that, Columbus also forced the Christian religion onto them, spread diseases that killed thousands of lives, and used violence as a means of persuasion and control.2 Corrupted by his pursuit of riches,

Columbus is seen as a great man who colonized the Americas but in reality he introduced three horrible acts which include slavery, genocide, and racism. Columbus was the first man to introduce slavery with native people from the Caribbeans. He encouraged his men to rape women as young as nine and forced labor which eventually led to malnutrition and disease. Columbus started transatlantic slave trade by imported numbers of Africans from Haiti to work for him which lead to depopulation. In the Americas Columbus was wiping out a whole population of native Americans so that he could claim the land for himself. This first started when Columbus hung natives in rows of thirteen “in honor of the Redeemer and His 12 apostles.” Columbus eventually ruined two generations of native Caribbeans along with his Spanish discoverers. We shouldn’t celebrate Columbus day because we’re practically being racist towards both native Caribbeans and Hatians because we’re teaching the victims that what happened to their people was perfectly fine. Columbus should not be praised with his own holiday because of his cruelty to native Caribbeans, native Hatians, and native

First, I am going to provide evidence from my article about Mr. Columbus being a hero by discovering the places I write about earlier. “Among Columbus’s discoveries were Dominica Island (spied on Sunday), the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.” And “Columbus did discover Jamaica on May 5, 1494.” According to the article Mr. Columbus is “an iconic historical figure widely regarded as the "discoverer" of America throughout the United States and Europe, Columbus has been honored in everything from place names to postal stamps”, and that he is a “Traditional narratives of US history in particular

Christopher Columbus is a very important person in our country's history. He found the "New World," the one we live in today. He started the society that makes us who we are today, the society that allowed our ancestors to come to America and start the life that we live now. This whole world owes their lives to him. Columbus should always be remembered as a very important and very good person in history.

The story of Christopher Columbus begins in the city of Genoa in the year 1451. Columbus was the oldest of five children. He went to grammar school but left school at an early age and began sailing on Genoese ships in the Mediterranean. The sailing experience that Columbus gained

Before we can truly label Columbus as a hero or evil, we must first define what is viewed as a hero. Many dictionary definitions exist having the meaning of a hero as one with courageous or noble qualities but seeing as these definitions are extremely objective, the definition of a hero I will be using for the purpose of defining Columbus will be, quoting Joseph Campbell, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Christopher Columbus clearly demonstrated giving and self sacrifice in his investments of time and risking his life for his voyages with “commercial expeditions resembling warlike cruises” and at some points in his travels being away from home for 29 months. The rewards that Columbus, along with the rest of Europe, reaped from his efforts include the new access to vast expanses of resourceful land, as well as the eventually successful, even flourishing, colonization of America, not to mention, that Columbus, “[the] founding figure of a new world” laid the framework to modern day globalization as well as played a key role in the creation of one of the most significant, powerful, and impactful nations existing today. The fact that Columbus grew up in poor conditions and being completely self taught in the art of navigation and seafaring only adds to the magnitude of his immense accomplishments.

Columbus only saw the Taino as naked, nonreligious, and timid people that they could take control of and govern. He saw them as good servants and thought that they would do whatever that he said. Columbus thought that he could convert them all to Christianity. He failed to notice that they did have a religion. They did have a religion. They worshiped their god. They dressed up wooden dolls, zemis, that they brought food to every day. Their government was organized into provinces, each one had a cacique. Columbus did not see that they did have weapons and that they were united. They were not savage animals that they would be able to gain control over.