The Discovery Of The Americas By Christopher Columbus

Previously, Columbus was the “person who found the Americas,” but that is historically incorrect. We celebrate Columbus day as if he was a hero who saved mankind but he did the exact opposite. Zinn explains how much the Native Americans suffered and their perspective during Columbus's “discovery” of the Bahamas. We learn that because of his discovery, everyone was able to benefit from it but we never learn specifically how his actions affected the Arawaks.

According to Document 6, Joel Barlow a renowned historian, Columbus was a remarkable young man who was proficient in geography, astronomy, and drawing, all of them necessary for his pursuit of navigation. His courage and perseverance had been put to test many times making him a universally known and respected man. But, even though he was well respected, he was not a good man. He was barbaric to the Native Americans even when they treated him with respect and fervor. He enslaved them for the good of “Christianity” and manipulated them because they were “idiots”.

     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.

Thomas King’s chapter “Forget Columbus” surrounds the idea that the preconceived notions that Americans have about their own history, and the Native Americans who have resided here for centuries, are wrong. Columbus never discovered America. The

Christopher Columbus is an internationally celebrated explorer, due to his voyages to Central America during the Age of Discovery, a period between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when explorers were sponsored by eastern countries to claim land. Columbus was an Italian explorer, on a conquest for gold and riches, who was sponsored by the monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, to travel to Southern Asia. Columbus proposed the idea of traveling from East to West, rather than traveling along the borders of countries and continents, such as Africa and Asia, to eastern countries for gold, spices, and other riches for the monarchs. When Columbus succeeded in landing in the New World, he believed he landed in Southern Asia, but rather he landed in Hispaniola, modern day Haiti and Dominican Republic. The “New World” was a term used for the area Columbus landed in, on October 12, 1492. When Columbus landed in the New World, it was inhabited by native people, who were used by the Spaniards to help navigate and understand the landscape of the islands and as workers to find gold. Columbus has a mixed legacy because he had positive and negative attributes; he made the Columbian Exchange, which increased biodiversity in the New World, and is an important explorer in American history, but also began the African slave trade and caused population devastation due to slavery and diseases in the native populations. The legacy of Christopher Columbus should be remembered as a villain because he was greedy for wealth and power, he introduced diseases to the New World, and enslaved and used violence against the natives.

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.

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.

In the movie the director continued to show Columbus as a greedy perpetrator who destroyed the lives of innocent humans and took a land that wasn’t his. Columbus was not seen as a hero who discovered America, the way he was presented in the movie is totally agreeable. It was clear that Columbus thought highly of himself. In his letter addressed to the king, he explains how the Indians believe he was chosen by God. Throughout the movie and in his own written letter, it is clear that his purpose was to get recognition from the King and Queen of Spain. While also trying to get as much gold as possible for his own selfish needs. In The letter of Columbus, he describes himself as being the only one who discovered everything. Furthermore, in the movie scenes of Columbus’s arrival and conquest of the indigenous people, he forces them to convert to Catholicism. They are exploited for seditious outrage. The Indians didn’t mind giving the Spanish gold or being slaves. But when the Spanish started to kill them they had to rebel.

Even though Columbus did find his way to the Americas, it was not North America he discovered. In fact, he never stepped foot in the United States during his four expeditions. Columbus actually made landfall in various islands located in what is now known as the Bahamas, which had hundreds of thousands Native American inhabitants that had already made

Children are often only taught that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and discovered America. Though, only part of this is true, they aren’t taught about the awful man that Columbus was and the fact that he did not discover America. History should judge Columbus’ actions as they were. He was a cruel treasure seeker who focused only on enriching himself and would do anything to enrich and please the King and Queen.

Although Columbus did find his way to the Americas, it was not North America he discovered. In fact, he never stepped foot in the United States during his four expeditions. Columbus actually made landfall on various islands located in what is now known as the Bahamas, which had hundreds of thousands of Native American inhabitants that already made the land their own for hundreds of years prior to his ‘discovery’. His various expeditions were supposed to be about spreading Christianity and finding a direct trade route to Asia; however, in the end, the results strayed far from that reality. When he first arrived in these Bahamian islands, he took note of the natives in his journal stating, “All of them alike are of good-sized stature and carry themselves well… ... They should be good and intelligent servants, for I see that they say very

For most of American history, Christopher Columbus was regarded as a hero by all American people. However, in recently light, people have started to question the actions of their idoled founder, and scrutinize his treatment of the native people. His “discovery” of the Americas certainly is nothing to downplay as it expanded the borders of enlightened thinking, but the subhuman ways he treated the Native Americans is also impossible to ignore. While his exploration resulted in the development of the modern Americas, were all his means necessary and worth it? Christopher Columbus was an expert navigator who sparked the collide of the known world to a whole new land of opportunity; however, the merger resulted in mass genocide from inexcusable

October 12, 1492 is the day Christopher Columbus discovered America with his boats Niña, Pinta, and Sanata María from Spain through the blue ocean. For long days and nights, he sailed across the sea and when he spotted land; it was America! The End. What a beautiful ending, isn’t it? However, this is not the end, there is another side of the story; a darker, terrifying view that is scarcely taught or told. The story that doesn’t paint Christopher Columbus to be a hero so wonderful and praised, a hero who is brave and selfless, a hero who discovered America. The other perspective is filled with horror and disease, loss and labor, death and enslavement; this is the truth about Columbus’s exploration.

Columbus is a controversial figure. Instead of being seen as a hero for discovering the Americas, he is seen as a villain who invaded brought disease to the peaceful natives. The natives were hurt and nearly wiped out by the invasion and spread of a disease that the Europeans brought. Other people disagreed, saying that it was nonsense that Columbus discovered America. The land was already inhabited by Indians, who come from Asian descent. In the end, many historians see the “age of exploration” as more of a catastrophic invasion.