"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." This common phrase is said by young schoolchildren every October in remembrance of the ship captain Christopher Columbus who did not, as previously taught, discover the Americas, but rather stumbled upon it.
First of all, I believe that this question could be answered in many different ways, depending on who "we as a society" is referring to. As an American, I think that Columbus should be remembered but not necessarily celebrated. We as a people regard him as the one who led to the colonization of the continent we live on today. He has been considered a symbolism of patriotism. We show our respect by naming places after him (Columbus, Ohio and the District of Columbia, for example) and having Columbus Day - which many states have stopped recognizing. Hawaii has even changed October 12th to "Discoverer's Day," honoring all people who have discovered or come across something new and exciting.
However, if we are looking at this from the perspective of the New World all together, Columbus should be vilified. He wasn't wholly responsible for the massacre of tens of millions of people, but he certainly played a part in the fact that he was a die-hard supporter of the slave trade and let his men treat the natives of this "discovered" land cruelly and without care. Millions were either subjected to slavery, war, or general destruction. Civilizations were wiped out and lives were ruined.
Finally, if the "society" is the world as a whole, Christopher Columbus is not that important. He went to the New World while in search for the Indies - it would've happened eventually. He wasn't in the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the wrong time. He was simply there. He did bring two entire continents out of the darkness, but he didn't even mean to in the first place.
In history, there are always two sides to a story. In the case of Christopher Columbus I think this couldn't be truer. I don't think he should be looked at as a villain, but at the same time I don't think he should be made into a hero. What I think is a major problem now a days is that people don't put themselves in the shoes of people in the past. Times have changed and there are different ethical and moral standards that didn't apply when Columbus first reached America. I don't think Christopher Columbus should be considered a villain because the crimes that he is accused of are not entirely accurate. By my standards, I don't think the decline in Native American population can be called a genocide. The definition of a genocide is "the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group" (Webster). Columbus did not travel to the New World with the intent of mass murdering an entire society therefore, the decline in the Native American population can not be categorized as a genocide caused by Columbus. Secondly, I don't think he can be called a villain because at the time it was not socially unacceptable to suppress any non-Catholics. He was acting in his time and as someone not from that time, we can't be quick to judge. At the same time, he had to give up a lot to even make the journey. He had to leave behind his family for months at a time and he had to live on what little they had on board during the journey. There are accounts of the crew eating no more than one egg a day. Lastly, the major reason for the decline in the Native population was because of the spread of disease. Columbus could not have imagined that the spread of their diseases, which they were almost immune to, would have an effect on the local population. In that sense it was unintentional. Columbus may not be a hero to some, but he should not be viewed as a villian. Columbus should not be overly celebrated in my opinion either. He did knowingly infect the Native Americans when he discovered what common disease like small pox would do to Native American populations. He was also a terrible governor who despite being a good ship captain could not run a colony effectively. Also, he was a decent navigator, but he did miscalculate the size of the Atlantic. He discovered the New World by accident and I think that in the next few centuries, the Americas would have been discovered. Also, in his personality he was stubborn and unwilling to admit to his mistakes which in turn lead to his poor decision making. Columbus had his faults and is like every other man who happened to get lucky. Does that mean that if we over celebrate Columbus that we should celebrate every other explorer or person that did something by accident? I don't think that luck should be celebrated to the extent that it has been. Columbus had his positive traits, but also his negative traits. He was discredited at the end of his life, but he is also responsible for introducing new resources to Europe that allowed for it's expansion such as timber, gold, and more. I think Columbus had an effect on European society because he opened the flood gates to more explorations and helped to develop the modern map by giving map makers a land mass in the Atlantic Ocean. I lastly think that the level of celebration of Columbus Day should be based on the individual's background. Columbus had a different effect on different cultures and I think where you come from depends on how that person should and does view Columbus. In conclusion, Columbus should not be viewed as a villian or hero, but as a person who had their faults and contributed to society at the same time.
It is my belief that Columbus should be viewed as a villain. In fact, some might consider Columbus as one of the most sinister individuals in history. Columbus supporters argue that Columbus believed that he was sailing to India and accidentally killed the Native Americans he found in the New World by spreading disease. Although it is true that many Native Americans died from disease, it is also undeniable that Columbus intentionally killed and tortured many Natives as well. Columbus also enslaved the Native Americans. In fact, Columbus determined it would be cheaper to work his slaves to death and replace them than to feed and sustain a permanent slave unit. It is clear that Columbus had no sympathy for these innocent people; he would brutally kill off thousands of them just to help his own financial situation. Overall, it is said that Columbus caused, directly or indirectly, sixty to eighty million Native Americans to die. How could this man ever be considered anything other than a villain? Although Columbus was a cruel person I still believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated, or at least remembered. The purpose of Columbus Day shouldn’t be about celebrating the life of Columbus, I believe the day should be about celebrating the first encounter between the two “worlds”. Therefore, just because Columbus wasn’t the greatest character, doesn’t mean that his accomplishment of linking the two sides of the world should be forgotten.
As a child, when I thought of Christopher Columbus I imagined the brave, daring hero he was depicted to be. However, as I learn more and more about the discovery of the Americas, I am beginning to rethink my position. As the month of October draws near, the debate of whether Columbus Day should be celebrated circulates throughout the United States. In my personal opinion, I think it is very tough to pick a side. For instance, Columbus’ discoveries are very important to the history of the world. Granted the Americas would have been discovered at one point or another, but Columbus was the first to do so. In addition, he was a great ship captain and leader. In terms of scientific and historic advancements, I do believe Columbus should be honored. However, you can’t judge a person solely on their positive contributions. Unfortunately for Columbus, his journey brought forth several negative side effects. While exploring the Americas, Columbus displayed some poor moral qualities. For instance, he enslaved the Indians and caused many to lose their lives. Although a large portion of the deaths can be blamed on foreign diseases, Columbus did intentionally abuse several others. Overall, I believe Columbus was an excellent navigator and explorer, but not necessarily a good citizen. As a result, I don’t think Christopher Columbus should necessarily be vilified, but I also disagree in celebrating his actions. Instead, he should be remembered exclusively for his role in our nation’s history.
How many of the people responding to this had any idea of how many failures littered the history of Christopher Columbus prior to this class? While I know some people did, we are top students in the midst of our education in one of the top school districts in the state. Such a small minority of society, American society in particular, has any knowledge of Columbus’s shortcomings, and an even smaller amount would consider Columbus a villain. It’s easy to look at history from an objective point of view, see the destruction and death that followed Columbus from Europe, and make the decision that his heroic status is undeserved. However, it’s not really the man we celebrate, but what we think he stands for. How should Columbus be viewed? I don’t see any point in having such an influential individual who is so largely responsible in shaping modern civilization being scorned by the society he helped create. The overwhelming majority of Americans undoubtedly think of Columbus not as a bumbling tyrannical failure, but as a heroic explorer who braved the unknown for the sake of prosperity. Why ruin this image? Yes, he wasn’t even the first European to reach “The New World.” Yes, Columbus’s journey ultimately led to countless deaths and great tragedy. Yes, history is against him – but when it comes to how society should view him, nothing can be gained by associating the start of our civilization with failure and genocide. I don’t suggest we change textbooks; history speaks for itself. I only suggest that we try not to look back with disdain or judgment before viewing the larger picture. Think of Columbus the man as you will; but slander not the ideals he and the Age of Exploration are associated with in modern society.
Columbus should be viewed as the representative of an era – not villainous, perhaps tragic or costly, but ultimately – as a stout pillar modern society stands upon today.
As Columbus Day rolls around each year, the question is posed by name: should Columbus be celebrated? As a kid, you were taught that Columbus was a brave man who discovered America and things fell into place from there. How ever, as you become older, you soon learn that this is not necessarily the case. Now, we can look at Columbus’s “discovery” as more of an accident. His goal was not to find that piece of land and when he did, he was mistaken to what piece of land it truly was. If Columbus had not found America, sooner or later, somebody else would have. Columbus was also said to have committed genocide towards the Native Americans, which some even compare it the holocaust. This however, I do not agree with. Since Columbus had no intentions on discovering the land he did, he could not have ever had the intentions to wipe out millions of people. Some historians refer to Columbus as “a fish out of water” he had no governing experience and was not prepared for what was in store for him I believe that when Columbus and other Europeans came to the land, they brought disease with them which was uncontrollable. Thus, this caused many natives who were not immune to the diseases to die. With all this being said, I do not believe we should celebrate Columbus specifically every year, but we should celebrate everyone who founded America or any other piece of land in general.
Christopher Columbus is a very popular figurehead known throughout the world. However, there are many different views on exactly who Columbus was and what occurred after 1492. Some people honor Columbus every October for his discovery of America. Supporters believe that it was mainly this discovery which lead to the colonization and modernization of the New World. However, many people condemn him for this as well. These people place the blame on Columbus for the extinction of many Indian tribes. Both of these arguments are thoroughly researched and supported. With both of these views in mind, how should society as a whole view Columbus? The answer to this question is quite simple. Society should neither celebrate nor vilify Columbus and his actions. Although Columbus is known as the discoverer of America, this was not his intention. Columbus’s primary and only goal when he set sail in 1492 was to find an easier trading route to India. He believed that if he were to leave Spain and sail west, he would eventually arrive at his destination. Columbus’s voyage was not a success and he landed on an unchartered island instead. However, this island was already populated with Native tribes. These tribes had been living off of this land for centuries. Therefore, these tribes should be credited for the discovery of America. Thousands of years ago when the Bering Strait was frozen over, nomadic tribes would follow their prey across the strait to the new land. From that point on, different tribes inhabited different areas of the continent. As these were the first people to step foot on the American soil, they should be credited for discovering America. Columbus is also given too much credit for finding these new lands and colonizing them. As a result of new seafaring technologies and strategies, European explorers of his time were already stepping boundaries and exploring new territories. Therefore, if Columbus did not set sail in 1492, the discovery of the “New World” was inevitable. Any other famous explorers of his time, such as Magellan, could have possibly found these new lands at any point of their voyages. European discovery of the Americas would have happened regardless. On the other hand, Columbus should not be vilified for his discoveries either. When Columbus arrived in the New World in 1493, he did not intend to harm the indigenous people. As Europeans over time grew immune to dangerous European diseases (small pox, etc.), they were unaware that they still carried them. Many people also criticize Columbus for intentionally murdering Native tribes. For example, in David E. Stannard’s article titled “Genocide in The Americas” he compares Columbus to Adolf Hitler. Stannard places the blame on Columbus for the reason why millions of Native Americans died. Personally, I believe that relating Columbus to a monster such as Hitler is much of a stretch. Hitler’s actions were intentional and his primary goal was to exterminate the people whom he considered “minorities”. Even though Columbus may have murdered some Indian tribes, there are no reasons as to why his performance was wrong. A popular saying that is used universally is that one should “never judge someone until you walk in their shoes”. Columbus could have killed these Indian tribes out of protection for him and his crew. Many of these tribes were savage therefore this possibility does exist. Columbus should not be responsible for every life that died as a result of European discovery. Unlike Hitler, it was not his intention to exterminate the Indian race. Therefore, it is impossible to say that Columbus and his crew intentionally tried to harm the natives.
Based on the arguments mentioned above, it is evident that Columbus should neither be celebrated nor vilified. In my opinion, all of the actions that he made were inevitable. If not him, someone was bound to find the America’s within a decade. Also, with the discovery of America, many Native tribes would have been exterminated as a result of both European disease and unkind explorers. Therefore, I believe that Columbus should be just a remembered figure in society.
In my opinion I look at Columbus as just another explorer during The Age of Exploration. So he did happen to stumble on N. America, but a lot of other explorers did similar things, if not better. For example the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean by crossing the Isthmus of Panama. In reality Columbus was not the first to discover America, contrary to the elementary school belief. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies and was too stubborn to accept that he didn't. I'm not going to go as far and say he started the genocide on millions of Americans, but I do believe that he didn't help matters. Columbus was a good navigator, skilled in sailing. he had more of a medieval mindset however and was often stubborn. He was unsuccessful as a governor of a new American colony. I don't believe that Columbus did enough to get all of the glorification he currently has. Columbus may have reached America but he didn't purposely do that. Many other explorers did similar to Columbus and they don't receive the same credit as him. As a society I believe that we shouldn't celebrate him. I do love getting school off but what's the point? To celebrate a man who stumbled on America and thought he was in the Indies? I don't think so. He should not be looked upon as a villain because he didn't directly cause all of those killings, even though he wasn't completely innocent either.
As I a kid I learned about Christopher Columbus as the brave explorer who discovered America and how great his findings were. But as I grew older and new side of the story began to be taught. Yes Christopher Columbus was the first to come upon the Americas but he was not as heroic as I was originally taught. The question that arises today is the one of celebration or vilification of Columbus and I wouldn’t choose either. As an explorer, Columbus made great achievements by discovering lands that the Europeans didn’t know existed. These discoveries led to many more expeditions and later to colonies and the countries of today. These discoveries most likely will have occurred without Columbus but in the end he did it first. Columbus was also a great captain and leader for his fleet of ships. On the other hand the death of thousands maybe even millions of Native Americans occurred because of Columbus. He treated these people as animals, forcing them into labor and taking over their lands. Although disease played a large part in these deaths Columbus made a large contribution. His behavior toward the Natives was both immoral and just plain cruel. These actions by Columbus lead me to believe that he should be never praised nor demeaned. I believe that due to his accomplishment of discovering the Americas Columbus should be recognized. He is not a heroic figure as I was once learned but he is also not the horrific villain some make him out to be. Therefore I believe as far as our country is concerned he should be recognized for his achievements in discovery.
While Columbus is undoubtedly an extremely significant figure in our country's history, should he be celebrated? Perhaps he should be viewed as a villain. This question is not as easy to answer as it may seems.
As elementary school students we were exposed to Columbus through cut outs and coloring activities as our teachers read us books about his heroic voyage to discover the New World. As children, perhaps we were too small to understand the weight and significance of Columbus' voyage. By reaching the shores of the New World, even if he did not realize where he was, Columbus started a part of history that dramatically altered how we live today. He exposed new land to the major powers of the world which began a rivalry and competition between them. European powers now had new places to colonize and explore. They were able to expand and become wealthy through their businesses in the New World. By stumbling onto foreign land he also began an exchange of goods and life style between two totally different worlds. Because of the trade of goods from the New World, Europe was exposed to new food such as corn and potatoes. In addition, the natives of the New World were introduced to horses. Shouldn't we celebrate a man who discovered a totally new world?
There are also plenty of arguments that would influence us to say no. Columbus did not set out for the Caribbean. Why should we celebrate a man who failed to complete his initial goal? Columbus may have discovered a new and exciting world, but he had discovered a world that had been in existence as long as Europe. In his eyes, Columbus had found a land of opportunity, when in actuality, he had found a land that was already inhabited and settled. Although Europeans did not see it this way, Columbus had essentially walked into someone's house and claimed it for his country. In addition, while Columbus started an exchange of goods and life styles that affected both Europe and the New World, this exchange was not always for the better. For example, the Europeans exposed the natives to smallpox. This disease significantly lowered their population and tore apart their society. The Europeans also saw an opportunity to create a workforce out of the natives. Is this the same man that we learned about in elementary school? Is it right to celebrate a man who destroyed a culture and killed millions of people?
In my opinion, the answer is somewhere in between the two. While Columbus certainly caused unmeasurable damage to the natives of the New World, he also sparked the creation of our society today. What would our country be like today if Columbus had not stumbled into our part of the world? In addition, Columbus was also under great amounts of pressure to find new land and wealth. Is it right to put all the blame on a man who in the end was discredited and poor?
This question clearly does not have a simple yes or no answer. While Columbus certainly had his inexcusable faults, he also altered our course of history forever.
Almost every school kid in America is taught that ‘in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue,’ discovered America, made friends with all of the natives, and everyone lived happily ever after. For the most part, those were lies. While Columbus did in fact cross the ocean in 1492, he was not the first European to reach North America or make contact with the natives, he in fact made very few friends, as large numbers of the native population died under his rule, and almost no one lived happily ever after. The exception to the latter is all of those Europeans who branched off of Columbus’ encounter to travel to the “New World,” as it was erroneously known, to start their lives over, and eventually found the United States of America. While everything I mentioned were all effects of Columbus’ voyage, I digress. I was merely stating examples to show how confusing the debate surrounding Columbus’ legacy is. Many have accused him of being a monstrous figure concerned only with the genocide of the natives he came across. Many others have venerated him as one of the greatest explorers of the modern age, a hero who discovered an entirely new continent.
In my view, Columbus was neither extreme; rather, bits and pieces of both describe him well. David Stannard’s article, Genocide in the Americas, while well written, cannot really be said to present the whole story. While it is true that many natives died due to overwork, slavery, or just plain warfare, many more died from diseases the Europeans had no idea they ever carried. A more accurate portrayal of Columbus could be found in Thomas Tirado’s “When Worlds Collide,” or James Axtell’s “The Moral Dimensions of 1492.” Tirado’s article mounts a defense of Columbus by saying that, while a competent seaman, he was next to useless as the governor of Hispaniola, going so far as to say this: “A master at the helm, on land he was like a duck out of water. As an administrator of a land colony he was a disaster, totally incapable of controlling the colonists whose avarice and greed blinded them.” Tirado’s article defends Columbus on the grounds that he simply had no idea how to rule or the faintest clue about what he was doing. I am at least in part inclined to agree with that assessment, as he is best remembered for believing that he had reached the Indies, failing to recognize that he had in fact found land uncharted by Europeans. He severely miscalculated the ocean currents as well as maps and failed to listen to the Portuguese sailors who were on their way to reaching India the smart way: circumnavigating Africa. Axtell’s article was the fairest assessment of Columbus, as well as the most crucial for this day and age. In it he clearly defines genocide, points out that Columbus didn’t commit it, and best of all, addresses the problem of where to go from the present point forward. Axtell’s argument is that we cannot place the blame on current generations nor accurately repay all victims of Columbus’ rule, intentional or not. So is Columbus a hero or a villain? It is a point that will always be debated, but why can’t he be both?
Many people view Columbus as a villain and hold him responsible for the millions of deaths that occurred when during his exploration of “the New World.” Some even go to the extreme and consider Columbus to be liable for what they refer to as “The American Indian Holocaust.” Others celebrate Columbus and his so called discoveries, deeming him a hero in American history.
In my opinion, Columbus should not be held completely responsible for the deaths of the Native Americans. Although he and his crew did in fact spread the disease that ultimately led to the deaths of millions of innocent people, he did not intend on harming the natives, therefore, his actions cannot be viewed as murder.
On the other hand, I do believe that Columbus had little, if any regard for others, and his solitary focus was to achieve both wealth and fame following the discovery of new territories. This is evident, considering the fact that slavery of the Native Americans became institutionalized under his rule.
I do not believe that society should celebrate or belittle Columbus. I simply believe that people should be aware of the enormity of the loss of people and culture that resulted from Columbus’s explorations, and should become educated as to what events took place during this time. We cannot be aware of every detail in the past, therefore, we should not judge Columbus’s character solely based on what certain individuals in society make him out to be.
Christopher Columbus is simply know for the finding of America in our society today. No one really knows or understands the man within. Some people think he was was a villain and some people disagree. He had positives and negatives. The bad part of the North America’s discovery was mistreatment to the Indians. When Europeans came over to colonize North America, they brought diseases with them. Some of these diseases were yellow fever, malaria, measles, small pox, pneumonia, and whooping cough. European explorers and colonists who came to America had a natural immunity to these diseases, but the Indians did not diseases turned to pandemics for them. When Columbus captured some Indians to bring back to Spain, people saw that they could this too, and captured the Indians to sell and use them as slaves. Farmers used the land in North America to plant huge fields of crops. Indian slaves worked the crops for the farmers. Others who captured them sold the to other countries. Columbus’s impact was also good. He spread culture and goods. Europeans and others brought crops to America that provided tradable material such as cotton, sugar, and rubber. They planted lots of these crops and sold or traded the goods they gave off. In addition to bringing things there, they also spread things in North America to other place. Corn, cayenne, cocoa beans, peanuts, potatoes, and tomatoes were only found in North America, and got spread elsewhere through trade. The wealth obtained by trading the goods the plants gave provided the countries who traded them off an edge against others in later times. The countries Portugal, Russia, England, France, and Spain all benefited to the crops and earned lots of money through them. With all the crops to provide new food, the cooking style changed in parts of the world. Cocoa beans made chocolate, tomatoes made spaghetti sauce, and others changed. Overall he should be viewed as an important person in our history and definetly keep being remembered and celebrated.
A lot of people recognize Christopher Columbus as the brave and heroic figure who stumbled upon the “New World” while in search of the East Indies. While others, distinguish Columbus as a villain who killed numerous Native Americans or started a genocide similar to the Holocaust. But have people ever given a moment to think about how Christopher Columbus achievements? For example, how Columbus has affected the European exploration or inspired others to sail across the ocean? We are taught about George Washington, the first President of the United States, Thomas Edison, the scientist that invented the light bulb and ultimately brought light into our lives, Martin Luther King Jr., and Christopher Columbus. So if Columbus were truly a man that should be vilified, we would not have been taught about him nor will the youngest generation continue to learn about him. Moreover, even though Columbus may have killed numerous Native Americans, he shouldn’t be responsible for doing so or even starting a genocide. Because to him, back then rather than mass murder it was a way to gain economically or rid the spreading disease. Therefore, I believe we as a society should view Christopher Columbus just as he is now. Although Columbus may have led the genocide of the Native Americans, I feel, we as a society should view him as simply the great explorer who founded America. We should celebrate slash thank him for have had founded the grounds in which we live on today.
Christopher Columbus is a little bit like the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Clause. You spent your childhood believing that each was some sort of perfect entity, nearly infallible. They were built up in your mind and of course, you didn’t challenge what you had been told about them. Of course, eventually you come to the point in your life when you realized that Santa wasn’t real and the Tooth Fairy was just mom putting money under your pillow. A couple of years ago, I came to this sort of realization of Christopher Columbus. In elementary school, it is much easier to condense the complicated topic of New World discovery and trade into “Columbus got a little lost on his way to India, discovered America, made buddies with the natives, and brought some of them back to Spain, along with some plants and gold, to share with his good friends Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.” Ignore the millions of deaths that followed, ignore the international complications that ensued, ignore that Columbus died in disgrace. Like Santa and the Tooth Fairy, at some point, we all have to grow up and realize that the things we were told were in a simple, watered down, juvenile version that we were told in an attempt to maintain our innocence and ignorance to the not-so-pleasant truth. The fact is, Columbus was simply the first man to be credited with discovering the Americas by educated Europe, and his discovery was first only in a line of other discoveries made by other educated Europeans in the ensuing centuries. Really, Vikings had already been as far as Nova Scotia, Asian natives crossed the Bering strait thousands of years ago. But it’s all open to interpretation as to who ‘discovered’ the western hemisphere; modern day North America had been on the planet for as long as Europe and Asia and Africa, and if Columbus hadn’t sailed far enough west, another explorer would have done the same thing. No wonder it is starting to be called “The Encounter.” Columbus was an incompetent governor of the land he named Hispaniola, and was more than partially responsible for the death of such a staggering percent of the natives there; whether by disease or testing out weapons on practice flesh. The term “genocide” may seem a little extreme, but one can hardly argue, with what we know today, the fact that Columbus was not even remotely interested in humanitarian and cultural learning efforts. Still, he was a pioneer, and pioneers are not characterized by perfection. And in our society, we love to give official credit where we think it might be due, and receive a day off for that reason.
Ever since 1792 there has been celebrations for Columbus’ voyage to the “New World; but should he really be celebrated for discovering a place that was already inhabited by millions of people? In the United States, his exploration to the “New World” is a federal holiday and is observed on the second Monday in October. Though it is a nice day to have off I feel as a society that we should not celebrate Columbus for discovering the “New World” Yes I feel we need to give Columbus the credit for being the explorer who landed here first, but it is inexcusable for all the hardships that he brought upon for millions of Native Americans. Columbus even though not knowingly he brought disease that wiped out hundreds of thousands if not millions of Native Americans. Overall I feel Columbus’ place should be in a textbook and not the face of parades. Yes he did get to the Americas first but I don’t feel he should be recognized any more than other people who have contributed to America’s history like Einstein, or Lewis and Clark.
To celebrate Christopher Columbus is to go to one extreme, but to vilify him is to go to the other. It would be best to find some sort of middle ground. Columbus did have a big impact on history. Whether he intended to or not, and despite what negative effects “The Encounter” may have had, Columbus still altered the course of events in Europe when he stumbled onto the Americas. Europe was changed in so many ways because of Columbus’s encounter with the Americas. The Encounter altered the balance of power in Europe, and the economic situation. Almost all of Europe, whether immediately or in the long run, benefited on some level form the encounter. However that was not the case in the Americas. The Encounter did have an impact in the Americas as well, just not as pleasant. As most people know, as a result of Europeans (especially the Spanish) landing in the Americas, a large portion of the native population died off. Most people blame the decline of the natives solely on the malicious intents of the Europeans. Those that do are some that go to the negative extreme of vilifying Columbus. However, no matter what the Europeans’ intentions were, it is not justifiable to blame it all on Columbus. A large portion of the native population was wiped out by European diseases rather than violence, and this was an unforeseen consequence on the Europeans’ part. As for those who were subject to violence, only a miniscule number suffered at the hands of Columbus. While it is true that Columbus did not treat the natives well, all of the faults of Cortez, Pizarro, and the rest of the conquistadors should not be blamed on one man who personally had nothing to do with these men or their expeditions. Most of what has been inaccurately labeled “genocide” took place after Columbus’s death, and should not be used to blacken his name. Columbus was not a villain, nor was he a saint. He was an average man, who made a mistake that led to a drastic change in the course of history. We should be able to respect his historical significance without making him out to be a hero that he wasn’t, and we should be able to refrain from idolizing him without damning him. We should be able to find some middle ground.
I feel that Columbus should be recognized for his accomplishments in the 14oo's. Although some arugue that Comlumbus had created a genocide with the natives I feel that this assumption is slightly biased. Columbus' time period had equipment for sailing that was not as advanced as the technology we have now. Sailing across te ocean was a difficult, risky, and had no gaurantee that it would be a success. Once the ships were out they were basically on their own with no outter help if a problem were to occur. With this in mind I feel that Columbus' voyage was a great task despite his navigation error.
It would be harsh to criticize Columbus for his original failure in reaching the Indies. People criticize his stubborn attitude on saying the land he stumbled upon had to be the Indies despite the clear signs that there was an error in navigation. In science many scientists face errors in their work, but they are still recognized for being important in their field. For example, an the chemist Dalton made discoveries in the atom and although some of his ideas were later proven wrong, he still is praised for his significant findings. Columbus is similar, we later could prove his initial ideas wrong, yet he still overcame odds and was able to make it across the ocean.
I feel we should no doubt have a day of recognition for Columbus, whether it is seen as a celebration or simply a memorization day is up to an indivudal. In addition Columbus was not the only who participated in harming a different races or to get involved with slaves. I feel that other civilizations would do similar actions when encountering a new and diverse group of people. I believe in the harsh idea that the strongest will survive. During the age of exploration a country needed to be strong, and although I may not agree ethically I do not condemn Columbus with his actions.
Christopher Columbus, who doesn’t know about him and what he did, ask anyone and they’ll stare at you for a second and they’ll most likely say he “discovered” the Americas and made friends with the natives. Sadly, the cookie cutter version of Columbus taught in elementary schools throughout the United States or how most people perceive him to be is clearly not the truth. In fact, I was one of them, I thought just like everyone else that he discovered the America in 1492 and settled Hispaniola, present day Haiti until just recently. After learning about Columbus at a more detailed level, I began to realize that he was just a selfish man hungry for fame and prestige for him and Spain. Initially, he sought to find the shortest sea route to India, in order to get the spices and gold that he had read about in Marco Polo’s letters. Daringly, in 1492 Columbus plunges into the ocean and sets sail for the so called “Indies” but in reality the islands off of the coast of the Americas. When Columbus reached an island that later established as Hispaniola, the poor indigenous people were in for a surprise. Columbus and his troops saw these people and their potential as slaves for gold and silver mining. In fact, they used to chain their necks and marched them to these types of mines. What Columbus sparked was massive genocide of the once happy and robust natives, through warfare, slavery, and disease. Their lives and families were devastated through carnage and bloodbath, which was unquestionably tragic and atrocious at the same time. Columbus might as well have been a merciless and unpleasant leader along with the other European men that traveled to the Americas and beyond, but they were truthfully speaking, cowards encompassed by the wrath of “supreme white dominance” along with a narrow minded view of life, in general. Personally, I view Columbus as being not the most sincere of human beings and that he initiated the death of millions of natives directly and indirectly. Also, if Columbus has not discovered the Americas someone else would have, due to the emphasis on expanding and discovering new sea routes during this time period mainly because of vast trading throughout Europe and Asia. Therefore, the phrase commonly referred to as “the Encounter” in schools and textbooks is appropriate because it doesn’t shed light on Columbus and it is not fair to the innocent natives that lost their lives in the Americas to greed and gold and serves them justice.
There is no reason to celebrate Christopher Columbus. Those seeking to praise him for his discovery of the Americas are misinformed. Columbus stumbled upon the Americas while searching to find the Indies, a region located thousands of miles away, and to the day he died never truly realized his mistake. Nor can Columbus be celebrated for being the first European to reach the Americas, as the Viking Leifr EirÃksson reached what is now Canada centuries before. Of course, this is all ignoring the fact that if anyone truly “discovered” America, it was a group of Stone Age Asians whose descendants came to be known as Native Americans. The main controversy over the honoring of Columbus revolves around the Admiral’s actions in the New World. Columbus’s contemporary enemies accuse him of genocide, while his defenders dispute this. Columbus’s defenders are hoping to maintain Columbus’s honor through a technicality. Columbus is technically not guilty of genocide because genocide has to be fully intentional. Columbus did not intend to wipe out the inhabitants of the Caribbean, but the fact is that because of Columbus’s visit, millions of people died. While most of these deaths were unintentional—those caused by smallpox and other European diseases—Columbus still bore great malice towards the Native Americans. His actions as governor were brutal, enslaving, torturing, and killing many natives. Some have said that Columbus was just trying to run a colony in the same manner as one of his ships. This is to say that Columbus was a total imbecile who did not anticipate the impossibility of maintaining shipboard discipline over an entire colony. Monster or moron? Columbus defenders may take their pick. While Columbus’s inability to recognize the fact that he was not in the Indies points to the latter, there is copious evidence pointing to the former. The slavery of the native population resembled the forced labor employed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. It was far cheaper and easier for Columbus to work the natives to death and replace them than it was to keep them alive and working. And yet despite all of Columbus’s intentional and unintentional crimes, there are those who insist upon celebrating him because he paved the way for further exploration and the founding of numerous New World countries, including the United States. This is ridiculous. If this logic is taken as true then October 13th might as well be named Mengele Day, commemorating the medical knowledge gained by the Angel of Death and other Nazi doctors. It is my opinion that if a rational and moral person were told of Columbus’s life and deeds without learning the nursery rhyme romanticization of the Admiral that was once common then that person would denounce Columbus as an individual more suited to vilification than celebration.
In America every year we have a Monday in October off to “celebrate” Columbus Day. Most schoolchildren probably don’t think twice about Columbus while home from school, except to congratulate him for getting them a day off from school. In the past, Columbus had been widely celebrated by those who found him a hero. Now, however, he is getting fewer and fewer celebrations and more and more protests. Why? Columbus, an almost 600 year old navigator and explorer is coming into conflict with our 21st century values and ideals.
Based on such, Columbus comes across much more as a villain than a hero. It does not seem acceptable to praise his “accomplishments” while the same said “accomplishments” were so disastrous to the Native American populations in the “New World,” especially since many decedents of these cultures still live today and rightly protest Columbus Day yearly.
At the same time, it must be taken into account that Columbus did not come to the Americas with the evil intent of killing off the majority of the native population. (It would have been hard to plan this, especially since he didn’t plan on coming to the Americas in the first place). He came to what he convinced himself was the East with the purpose of discovering a more direct route to the valuable spices there. Landing instead in the Americas, calling the Native Americans “Indians” and not finding valuable spices, he turned to other ideas. He became the governor of a colony in the New World, a job he was ill adept at, and put the Native population to work. He and his men, both of the first and subsequent voyages, also were carriers of diseases lethal to the Native Americans. While Columbus certainly did not personally kill or have killed million of Native Americans he undoubtedly killed off a fair few in his undoubtedly cruel treatment of them.
It also has to be considered that if Columbus hadn’t “discovered” the New World, then somebody else would have. One must also take into account the many other explorers and conquistadors who also left their bloody mark on native populations.
When everything is considered, it seems to me that there is no justification in Americans celebrating Columbus Day. He didn’t really leave any positive mark on our society which can be compared to other events and leaders we have days off for such as Washington, Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. At the same time, we don’t need to blame 100% of the deaths of the Native American population upon him. He was only one such person responsible for these fatalities.
Columbus Day. A holiday in which much of the society celebrates and remembers the “founding” of the Amerca’s by Christopher Columbus. His success in voyaging to the new continent is questionable and can be argumented both ways. Yes, he did find his way over here and should be commemorated on his success but on the other hand, he came to America on accident. It can also be argued that he wasn’t the first to find America. Another explorer at the time was Amerigo Vespucci and some say that he was the first to reach the new continent. Trying to reach Asia for trade, and for an easier route, Columbus and his crew set out sailing with funding from the King and Queen of Spain. However instead of making it to Asia, he stumbled upon a new land. His “discovery” would later cause for the mass colonization by European powers in the new world. However the “success” of his voyage is disputed. The truth in the matter is that if he hadn’t discovered the Americas, somebody else would have sooner or later. This is definitely true because historians still argue on the first and true discoverer of the new world. Furthermore, this discovery was not necessary for the better. The colonization in the Americas not only disrupted the Native American race, but it killed the majority of them. This was due to causes of disease brought over from Europe, the cruel treatment from the colonists, and many other reasons. Some historians find that this was in fact a genocide of the Native American race. Whether this is true or not, massive amounts of Native Americans were killed on behalf of the Europeans. Although Columbus himself wasn’t totally responsible for the destruction of the Native Americans, he himself also treated the Native American poorly and he wrongly felt that the Europeans had superiority. However, Columbus should be commemorated in his exploration and success in the actual voyage. He did make it to the new world and he was one of the earliest to do it. The end result was that he made a big impact in the history of the World. He was to be remembered for years and years to come. Although he wasn’t a hero by any means, his voyage and findings were huge and changed the course of history. Whether this change was for the better or for the worst, it was bound to happen. Thus, we as a society can justly remember and not necessarily celebrate Columbus for his explorations, his findings, and the positive impacts he had on history.
Columbus as an individual is not exactly the cruel man higher level text books may portray him as. He had many redeeming qualities that made him a perfect candidate to start the search for a passage westward toward the East Indies: his ability with navigating, good sea senses, and the perfect attitude for a ship captain. His intent when sailing toward the New World he never knew existed was not to wipe out millions of natives or any other crimes he may be linked with concerning colonization. True, it was wrong to believe that the natives were a good laboring force and thus sparking the age-old problem of slavery in the Americas, but if he had not been the first to bump into the New World (not meaning that he was THE first, but that he was the one who opened the doors to the New World) there surely would have been others who eventually would and had a good possibility of thinking the same thoughts. What one should understand is Columbus had the drive and tenaciousness that encouraged him to explore. Not many in the olden days were brave enough to wander out into uncharted territory for months and be able to make their way back home, especially if the journey was on the water. Also, deaths of natives can largely be attributed to the rapid spread of diseases brought from Europe that the natives had no immunity to, thus causing wide spread death (many native who died of European sicknesses probably had never even heard of or seen a white person in their lifetime). As an individual, I do not believe Columbus should be idolized because there are other individuals of his time who probably made equally significant marks on the course of human history, but that does not mean that he should not be recognized for his achievement. As a society, I think we should acknowledge Columbus’s accomplishment and not hate him for the consequences of his encounter. Unfortunately, Columbus Day to me seems to be too extreme a way to recognize Columbus, but no notice at all would insufficient. Instead, a middle ground should be created that can appeal to those who greatly appreciate Columbus and those who believe that he is the cause of the “genocide” in the Americas (depending on how one defines genocide).
Christopher Columbus is undoubtedly one of the most influential characters in all of history. The question remains, however, if his actions cast him as a hero or a villain. Should he be celebrated, or maligned? One the one hand, he was the "discoverer" of the New World, and brought new opportunities to Spain and the rest of Europe. Yet on the other, he is directly responsible for the deaths of countless Native Americans. Some would even go as far as to call it a genocide. This makes Columbus a fascinating character to study. His actions create two separate images of the man. I believe that Columbus's role in the mass destruction of Native American lives simply cannot be ignored. Such an act cannot be overshadowed by another courageous deed. Such actions cannot be forgiven. The textbook hero Christopher Columbus is a far cry from the man of the same name that once walked among us. It is for this reason that I believe that while it is understandable to celebrate Columbus, it is necessary to keep his actions in perspective, and to do honor to those lives that ended at his hand.
In my younger years while learning history I always viewed Christopher Columbus as a hero. We were taught that he was the brilliant man who discovered the new world. We celebrated him for laying down the foundation of what would evolve into our great nation. Now I believe that Christopher Columbus should not be labeled as a hero. Back then teachers would not emphasize the effect that the Europeans had on the Native Americans. They brought diseases and severely disrupted the lives of many Native Americans by wiping out a good portion of their population. A hero can be defined as one who is admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. Even though Columbus did not always portray these qualities because of his poor treatment to the Indians, I do not believe he should be labeled as a villain either. Some historians view Columbus as the leader of mass murder or genocide in America. Editor of Indigenous Thought, Jan Elliot wrote that “Celebrating Columbus’s discovery of America is analogous to celebrating Hitler’s holocaust.” I believe that this extreme still does not do any justice in the way that we should view Columbus. We should not label Columbus as a hero or a villain. Columbus day should be a time to celebrate and recognize the things that he succeed and did well in, but also be aware of the mistakes he made and who it affected.
Columbus is portrayed in many varied aspects, some positive - as that of a successful navigator and captain who "discovered" the New World - and some negative - as that of the inefficient administrator and European slaughterer of Native Americans. As a society, we should not attempt to so quickly classify Columbus as a hero or a villain, but instead to consider the difficult position he was in as an explorer who had failed to reach his goal of the East Indies.
The successes and failures of Columbus were very much a reflection of the period in which he lived. Although knowledge existed of the Earth's being round, estimates of its circumference varied, and accurate projections of its landmasses including North America, did not exist. Thus, Columbus cannot be considered a hero for having the courage to sail westward when others believed he would sail off the face of the Earth (as the myth goes that is told to young schoolchildren). Neither can he be considered a totally foolish man - it would have taken great courage to embark on such an ambitious journey to the Orient via a new sea path, given the limitations of his rotting ships and the desperate pressure he must have felt to succeed in bringing back the promised riches of the East.
On the other hand, the Black Legend that Columbus and other explorers were cruel men also must be taken into consideration. While it is true that Columbus considered the Taino-Arawaks he encountered to be "fit for work", this could also have been an effect of the time in which he lived - many of his contemporaries considered these natives "savages" who were beyond even Christian conversion. Columbus was not unique in his worldview of these men and women, although this does not excuse his behaviors in using them merely as tools for labor.
Correspondingly, perhaps Columbus should not be singled out for judgment. Although his reputation as the heroic "discoverer" of the Americas overshadows that of perhaps any other explorer, he was by no means the only perpetrator of the crimes committed against the Native Americans. His journal entries reflect a "surprising" lack of malicious intent to wipe out a native population of millions across the continents, whether through warfare or disease. Columbus perhaps should be viewed as simply a product of his time; a lucky (or perhaps unlucky) man who stumbled upon the mistake of his life in finding the West Indies.
Many people believe that because columbus day is celebrated, it attomatically makes him a wonderful person who achieved great. although the latter may be true, i do not believe columbus to be good, but a villain. However it is hard for me to be sure of my decison because most articles about columbus are written by authors with biased opinions which makes it difficult to choose a side. Also back then times were different and the actions he made were viewed and thought differently from how we see it today. But Columbus was responsible for the death of several natives and didn't think twice about treating them poorly. He was so worked up in proving to everyone that they were wrong about him, and wanted to show the world that he was right. because of this thought i believe he got kind of worked up and it kind of got to his head a bit. He was more interested in his own being than the others he was transporting and killing during the slave trade. and as a result, several died on his behalf. I think people should think twice before considering Columbus a hero, because although he was a hero to some, he was also a villain to others. there is always two sides of the story and i think you need to hear both before columbus is judged as good.
AnnMarie Augusto AP European History Mr. Kirby 16 October 2009
Columbus Day familiarizes us with the successes of a grand Renaissance explorer who discovered the first imperishable settlement of the Europeans in the New World. On October 12, 1492 Columbus ‘sailed the ocean blue.’ Columbus Day celebrates the exchange of culture, art, music, science, religion, and many more between America and Europe, but should Christopher Columbus really be celebrated? Was he the real hero; or the villain who was lucky enough to discover the New World? Although most young people think Columbus was a champion, he was very much a tyrant. According to Axtell, Columbus committed genocide during his era. Columbus used religion to validate his acts of violence towards the Native Americans in the New World. Within four years of Columbus arriving to the Americas, 100,000 indigenous people were dead. Columbus enslaved the Native Americans and started war with others. Disease was spread by the Europeans from the ‘Old World,’ predominately smallpox, measles, and influenza. Columbus supported the rape of indigenous women and punishing the Native Americans for small offenses. He would show his aggression by cutting off their ears, noses, arms, or legs. In Spain, Columbus was put on trial and accused for genocide and enslavement of the natives. It is a fair statement to say that Columbus was guilty of his crimes because he indeed lost the trial and was convicted. The National Council of Churches has spoken out against celebrating Columbus Day stating “what represented newness of freedom, hope and opportunity for some was the occasion for oppression, degradation and genocide for others.” Columbus kept a diary during his era that signified the deep religious motives he displayed and the fact that he genuinely cared about the sequential and holy existence of the West Indians, but he expressed a strong feeling of hostility toward them. I don’t believe Columbus understood the extreme change he was creating for the New World. I believe there should be a day in October that is celebrated for the discovery of America, but I do not think that Columbus himself should be recognized to the extent he is today. There are parades and parties to honor him, but most people don’t realize all the horror and death he created upon arriving in the New World. People should think about Columbus from all angles before celebrating his existence.
Here in America, for most of history, Columbus has been seen as this great hero the person, the man who discovered America. And although today there are people who contradict this theory the fact that we still celebrate Columbus Day is an attribute to the fact that most people despite all the bad he may have done or caused view him as a hero. While I don’t think that Columbus is the mass murder described in Stannard’s “Genocide in America” article he isn’t the conqueror we all learn about in elementary school. Did his voyage change history? Yes. Did he take a huge risk in making this voyage? Yes. But does that mean he deserves to be remembered in the way that he is. No. Some argue against Columbus saying that someone else would have discovered the America’s soon after if Columbus hadn’t and many will respond that he was the one who actually did. But did Columbus really discover America. This is correct maybe from a more European standpoint, but in actuality the Vikings had reached Greenland and Iceland prior to Columbus. But even not considering the Viking isn’t it really the Native Americans that “discovered” the America. They are the ones who settled and had been living on the land for thousands of years before the Europeans showed up. Columbus more of linked these two lands unaware of the other together. While an amazing feet, does he deserve to be celebrated like he is? There is no day commemorating the Native Americans who really discovered America and then were slaughtered and decimated by the arrival of the Europeans. Shouldn’t they be honored too? Another argument that could be made against Columbus is that he wasn’t intending to find a new land. This really would have been impossible to do as they had never imagined another landmass beyond the Atlantic Ocean. It was more by accident that he found the America’s. He also was quite convinced that he had indeed reached India until later exploration was done. As for the wrongs done to the native populations I don’t think that can all be blamed on Columbus. When he found land though he proved to be an unimpressive leader. While he was great on a ship on land he couldn’t lead. He set up systems of slavery and may have began the slaughter of them, but it was not all his fault. He can’t be blamed for other conquistadors did when they reached land. Could he have played a role in how he set up Hispaniola, maybe. But he based the principles of oppressing the native on common prejudices and conclusions that all the other Europeans in America made about the native populations, that they were not as smart or valuable as themselves. As horrible as their actions were was it really genocide, though. They were not intending to kill off an entire race of people they just didn’t think it would really matter if they killed them. In their minds they had no real care for the Native Americans. Maybe some others like Cortez did when he conquered the Aztecs, but it was not genocide as in Hitler’s persecution of the Jewish population. Columbus could be considered a murderer maybe, but responsible for genocide not so much. In conclusion Columbus should be viewed not as hero or a villain. But more of a mix between the two as presented in Tirado’s speech “When World’s Collide.” He was courageous and took a great risk in his journey, but there have been many courage people throughout history. And while his journey did change our world completely I don’t think that the praise can be put on just Columbus just as he does not accept all the responsibility of the horrors caused by it. Thus, I don’t think that he should be celebrated as we do today and neither should the encounter. It may have changed our world, but it brought about great deals of death and violence. This celebration could be very offensive to those people who are descendants of the Native Americans and it is not fair to celebrate a one sided victory. The encounter should still be remembered and commemorated though it did take the world of the past and shape it into the world of today.
Christopher Columbus landed in the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti) in the autumn of 1492. Columbus thought that he had reached the Spice Land, where a large amount of precious cargoes could be brought back to the Spanish Crowns. However, Columbus found only a small quantity of gold, which he had obtained from the aborigines whom he called the “Indians.” He made three other excursions to the New World—where he was determined to find large quantities of gold and luxuries that the Europeans desired; his wish yet never came true. Later some explorers claimed that Columbus definitely did not land in Asia, but Columbus only disparaged the claims. Being so convinced that he found the sea route to the affluent East Indies, Columbus even put his own money in these expensive voyages. His money soon ran out. As the years worn on, Columbus’ name was blackened by disgrace and loaded with heavy debts. On May 20th, 1506, Columbus’ tormented soul fled the Earth. Columbus himself was remembered by the Europeans as a luckless explorer who had failed the most powerful royals, and proved to be an incompetent and brutal viceroy of the Spanish colony in the Americas.
From the time of his death to the modern world, Christopher Columbus never held the same veneration that other fifteenth- and sixteenth- century explorers had. Some of the contemporary scholars felt strongly against Columbus. One extremist claimed that next to Columbus, Adolf Hitler only looked like a “juvenile delinquent,” since Columbus had initiated a much larger-scaled genocide. There are also scholars who portray Columbus as a fallen hero who deserves far more respect than that we, as individuals ought to give.
I personally do not agree with either schools of scholars. Although Columbus, by many accounts, was a cruel governor to his subjects—but other Spanish Conquistadors earned similar infamous titles, so why should we be more critical on him? Did he intentionally mistreated the native population? In his defence, Columbus did not intend to come to the Americas; he “discovered” the New World by accident. If one must be blamed for the death of millions of natives, I shall say that fate is more responsible. The destiny of the Americas was altered by the same fate that led Columbus into “discovering” this extraordinary landmass. Neither should Columbus be accounted for the destruction of the civilizations of the natives. For his entire life, Christopher Columbus was equipped with the "medieval mindset;" he thought that the Christian Europeans were more superior than the polytheistic Indians. Influenced by the intrinsic prejudice, Columbus thought that the way to ensure the well-beings of other Spaniards who inhabited the colony and to bring the light of God was by using violence on the natives. Also Columbus did not have the shrewd mind of a governor; he governed the colony as if it were a large ship. His failure as a governor was caused the by the unwise choice of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon. On the other hand, I do not feel that Columbus should be celebrated. After the time that Columbus first landed in the Americas, the fate of the native population was doomed. In the next few centuries, millions of the natives died from diseases, hard labour, warfare that the Europeans had initiated. In a way, by celebrating the arrival of Columbus is equivalent to uscommemorating the numerous hardships that the natives endured. Therefore, I do not advocate for the public celebration of Columbus Day.
There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Christopher Columbus (known in Italian as Cristoforo Columbo) is an extremely influential figure in terms of world history. By stumbling upon the West Indies, Columbus single-handedly changed not only the balance of power and opulence in fifteenth-century Europe, but changed world history irrevocably and instantly. It is difficult though, to classify Columbus as a hero or a villain, since he demonstrated actions and made decisions that reflect upon both sides of his legacy.
One hand, Columbus definitely served as the catalyst for a major depletion of Native American population. Unintentionally, the European conquerors unleashed a tragic and ruthless cocktail of diseases to the Natives that simply could not be fought off. Intentionally, the Europeans took advantage of the indigenous peoples to use them for cheap slave labor on sugarcane plantations. Columbus is known to have played a significant role in these activities himself. As governor of Hispaniola, he created/endorsed/approved of many brutal slavery practices that aided in the deletion of a full nine tenths of the population of the American “Indians.” There is, in fact, a plethora of evidence to indicate that Columbus had such intentions in mind the instant he encountered these peoples. Howard Zinn, a revisionist historian, asserts that upon his first meetings, Columbus instantly classified the Americans as perfectly suitable for slave labor. Furthermore, legend tells that Columbus (who was undoubtedly a brilliant navigator, helmsman, and captain) exploited his knowledge of astronomy to intimidate a tribe into submission. He allegedly predicted a solar eclipse, and when the sun was blotted out, the tribe submitted to his every command. Clearly, Columbus may have been a man who is not the noble discoverer of America he is frequently portrayed as.
On the other hand, however, there is plenty of evidence that Columbus never intended to cause so much controversy or misery. Never once does he enumerate any intentions to deliberately rid the earth of the Native Americans (genocide). His original goals were certainly innocent enough, he just happened to encounter America before he reached India. His stint as governor of Hispaniola was an instance of simple ineptitude and ignorance, not malice.
I don’t know whether or not we should celebrate Columbus’s great blunder, but I certainly don’t think he should be vilified either. He simply was in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place at the wrong time), and happened to change the history of mankind, for better or worse.
In the words of free verse poet Soul Asylum, "how can you discover a land with beautiful people already on it" ? Christopher Columbus did not discover America. He simply ran into it in a serendipitous event of chance. As a society we should absolutely not celebrate Columbus. Aside from not truly discovering America, Columbus failed to add anything new to the knowledge of European's at the time. Contrary to what we may have been taught at a younger age, Columbus was one of many who did not believe the world was flat. ( For more on this a great reading would be "Lies my teacher told me " by James Loewen.) Martin Luther King Jr. is well deserving of his national holiday. We gave him this holiday, and we celebrate his life because he was a man that changed the course of history for the better. Christopher Columbus may have arguably changed the course of history, but certainly for the worst. Columbus terribly exploited the Natives of the land on which he stumbled upon. His hatred towards them can be seen in his violence, his use of slavery to combat his laziness. Columbus has been reported to have cut off the ears and noses of Natives for actions that he considered "offenses". He encouraged men to take control over the women that surrounded them, even advocating for rape. This is down right disgraceful. In a society that has progressed as far as to elect a Black president, we still celebrate this man?
People often view Christopher Columbus as a great hero, who discovered America, and thus changed the course of human history forever. Kids often grow up, learning that the actions of Columbus were all benevolent and that nothing bad happened as a consequence of his discovery. But as the children become teenagers, they start learning of the millions of people that died soon after the discovery. Soon, they learn of the thousands of people that were killed under his rule in Hispaniola, and of all the horrible things that were direct consequences of his discovery. After this, many people’s opinion of Columbus might change; many might wonder if he really was the hero that many thought that he was. So how should society view Columbus? Should we think of him as a hero or a villain? I think that people who view Columbus as a villain are definitely justified in their feelings but in the end it was because of Columbus that we are living in America. If Columbus didn’t discover the America’s then someone one else surely would have. Many think that when Columbus landed on America he had doomed the indigenous people to their death, due to the various germs that he brought along with him from Europe. Again the same theory that, if Columbus hadn’t brought the germs then someone else from Europe would have, can be applied here. When Columbus discovered the America’s it was a time of great competiveness among the European countries. Maybe if the Spanish Queen didn’t grant Columbus the permission to conduct his exploration to find a new route to India, then someone else, maybe a couple of months or years later would have gotten the grant. In the end, I think that the death of millions of indigenous people of America due to the spread of germs was inevitable. It was only going to be a matter of time before people from the two hemispheres made contact with each other, thus spreading the germs from the different areas. Columbus couldn’t have known that discovering the America’s could have led to the deaths of millions. He was just out to get rich and bring honor to Spain. Columbus cannot be blamed for the things that he clearly had no control over. He couldn’t have stopped the germs from spreading to the indigenous people even if he wanted to. People are obliged to their own feelings, but I think that Columbus shouldn’t be blamed for the death of millions. Surely he wasn’t a hero , but he wasn’t a murderer of millions either.
As children, we are educated about Columbus in a way that deems us to think of him as a heroic and patriotic figure in history. In addition, we also conceive him as the first person to discover the “New World”, which we know by now is completely untrue. Although I certainly do consider him a significant person in history, I do not necessarily think that he should be celebrated. This being said, my personal belief is that Columbus was neither a hero nor villain but was a combination of both. When Columbus sailed across the ocean in 1492, he dramatically shaped the future of the entire world. His discovery was greatly beneficial to the Europeans and others in the New World, but unfortunately the astounding damage it brought to natives already inhabiting the land is often overlooked. Upon his discovery, even though they could clearly see natives already living on the land, Columbus considered the land he stumbled upon rightfully his. Not only did he force Natives out of their homes, he did much worse; his actions led to the massacre of Native Americans that possibly reached 80 million deaths, although the exact number is still debated. Thus, Columbus was successful in almost wiping out a whole population. This case is one of the most extreme mass-killings, higher than even the holocaust. In this respect, I believe Columbus can be portrayed as a villain with his brutality. Although many were killed by Europeans, it is very important to add that disease was responsible for most of the Native American deaths, something that was in most cases unintentional. Thus, this in a way lessens Columbus’s appearance as a villain. On the other hand, a man who so greatly impacted the lives of the world whose discovery led to major political, economic, and even ecological changes must be regarded as a figure of high importance in history. He brought great wealth to the Europeans; new land was now available which allowed for expansion and colonization and raw materials could be found creating new industries and trade. Undoubtedly, Columbus could be considered a hero by Europeans with all the opportunities he gave rise to with his discovery. And, in addition, even though he did not land initially where he desired to (West Indies), I believe his ability to withstand the long and grueling journey along with managing to control his men and maintaining his command was a great task that he did exceptionally well, demonstrating his amazing navigation skills and courage. In these aspects it can be easily seen why Columbus can be viewed as a hero. In conclusion there really is no definitive answer to whether Columbus should be considered a hero or villain. Instead, it mainly depends on whose perspective is being viewed.
A lot has changed since society simply knew Columbus as the man who in 1492 sailed the ocean blue. Historians are uncovering and making public the fact that along with Columbus’s first voyage and eventual colonization of the new world came the death of tens of millions of the native people. However, can Columbus alone be at fault for the death of so many? I don’t believe so; I think that society should view Columbus simply as the man who found access to the new world. He didn’t come over to America with the intent of wiping out the population and what is to say that only men on his ships carried the disease that killed natives, when other explorers with their crews followed soon after carrying the same diseases. Columbus should still be celebrated as the man who set a precedent as the first European to begin the settlement of the America’s. He was the first to have the guts to cross the Atlantic in search of new passages and lands.
Salman Rahman AP European History Mr. Kirby In my view Christopher Columbus was a brave and confident explorer who in 1492 embarked journeys from Spain funded by Isabella I of Castile in order to find a new route to India travelling westward. This assumption of finding India travelling westward was based upon his believe and knowledge of the world to be round. He was in fact the first European to lay his foot on the Americas and the one who discovered the Americas by accident. Therefore, even though he should be credited for discovering Americas but he should not be viewed as a great explorer. He never reached the target he had aimed for because he presumed the world to be smaller than it actually is in reality. However, he was able to prove the idea that the world was round through his journey to the west. He initiated the Spanish colonization of the Americas which lead to European colonization of the American continents. Columbus should not be blamed for the deaths and murders of the native people who has been living in the American continents for centuries simply because he had no intention of a doing such an act. He embarked on his journey to find India and accidentally discovered the “New World” for the Europeans. The deaths, murders, and exploitation of people should not be just blamed on Columbus but on all Europeans equally who played a role in these horrible acts.
Taken all together, I believe Christopher Columbus should be viewed as a discoverer of the “New World” for Europeans and simultaneously a predecessor who initiated the invasion of the Americas by the Europeans. He was given the charge of controlling these lands when he discovered and therefore deserve the blame of being also the ruler who initiated the massacre of Native American people. Hence, in my opinion he should not be praised as a hero but a villain and should be vilified for his actions.
As a society, I believe we should view Columbus as a figure worth celebrating, but WITH RESERVATION. By that, I mean that although we should acknowledge his Encounter with the New World as one of the most important turning points in human history, we should also realize the incalcuable amount of damage he caused, directly or indirectly, on millions upon millions of people in the Americas. Like it or not, looking at Columbus' encounter with the indigenous people of the new world from the perspective of an American (American Society), we probably wouldn't be in the same position as a nation today if someone else from another nation had just as significant of an encounter a few decades later. If, for example, a Portuguese explorer had landed where Columbus landed, it is likely that the Portuguese empire would have fallen in the same way that the Spanish did, for the same reasons: a massive influx of gold and silver spent in the wrong areas. Further, one could easily argue (like Axtell does) that Columbus had no real grasp on the full consequences of his interactions with the indigenous peoples, especially during the first few voyages. I don't think it is fair to criticize him for the initial deaths caused by disease when he probably had no idea that he was transmitting deadly viruses. Despite all of this, Columbus should not be let off the hook completely. Although it is worth celebrating Columbus Day, our society, especially the younger generations, must become better educated on the subject of Columbus. I hope that our educational system has enough faith in our youth to tell them the truth about what Columbus actually did and the consequences of those actions; that his voyages did result in the deaths of millions, but they also showed Europe that there were two more, entirely uncharted continents to be discovered. However, even educating them on the most general facts on Columbus' voyages is not enough. To me, in order to properly celebrate Columbus Day, the most important facts one must learn is the historical, social, and political context in which Columbus made his voyages. Uneducated observers may just isolate Columbus' actions and analyze them individually. This is not the way to go about it. One must see WHY Columbus' did the things the way he did in order to fully appreciate him; his pressure to find wealth from the Spanish crown, his stubbornness, his incorrect calculations, and other factors. In conclusion, although Columbus' actions did result in the deaths of millions of people, he should still be celebrated because it would be impossible for him to forsee the full extent of his actions. He still did popularize trips to the Americas and opened Europe's eyes to a whole new world. Columbus Day should still be celebrated as long as our society is correctly educated on what Columbus actually did and why he did them. The benefits of his voyage far outweigh the consequences that he could have never seen coming.
Although Christopher Columbus was far from the glorified hero many see him as, I think that it is wrong for anyone to claim that he was evil and malicious. Columbus wasn’t the discoverer of America, but he also wasn’t the direct cause for the death of millions of natives in the Americas. Columbus had many faults and weaknesses: he was stubborn, a poor leader, and a known institutor of slavery. However, he was also a great navigator of the seas, was extremely determined, and he was daring enough to venture where few else would. This mixture of positive and negative traits can be viewed very differently by anyone looking at them from their own perspective.
Men like Standard who have placed Columbus alongside Hitler and Stalin for their acts of genocide aren’t fairly evaluating him. It is true that millions of natives died, that is irrefutable. However, Columbus alone cannot be blamed. Columbus cannot be held responsible for any deaths caused by the diseases carried by the Europeans, or any actions taken by other explorers and conquistadors over whom he had no control. Also, many historians agree that if Columbus had never reached America for whatever reason, someone else would have been close behind to open the Americas to Europe.
Conversely, as much as it would please me to raise Columbus up as an international hero, I can’t. Upon Columbus’s arrival in the New World he was quoted advising that the natives looked like good workers to be slaves. America is the land of the free, not a place that a hero would be starting slavery. Also, Columbus can very easy be viewed as incompetent. He made four trips to America, and in all the time that he spent here he refused to admit that he hadn’t reached the Indies as he had claimed. He was so stubborn that he chose to die poor, ashamed, and discredited than to admit that the land he found differed vastly from the writings of Marco Polo he had avidly read. In short, Columbus was a good explorer, but his work doesn’t quite constitute the status of ‘Hero” or a widely celebrated national holiday.
The issue of how we as modern historians should view Columbus is more complex than seeing him as the mythic hero taught in schools or as the evil villain portrayed by many left-wing authors. He is an actual man, with flaws and redeeming traits, not a caricature. He is most definitely not a hero. His actions directly caused the indigenous genocide committed by white Europeans. He permitted and encouraged slavery in the new world. He and the people who were a part of his governorship killed many of the natives of Hispaniola. However he cannot be called a villain. He did not intend to kill the amount of natives that he did. He was not going to the new world to start a genocide. He did not bring diseases over to kill the natives on purpose. He was neither of these archetypes. Columbus should be viewed as a talented, adventurous explorer who came along at the right time. He also should be viewed as a cruel man, not a villain, but someone who treated people poorly. He did kill natives, and he kept slaves. Columbus had no consideration for the native people. He also wasn't the discoverer of the new world. At the very least, the Vikings had discovered it 500 years before him, and there are countless other unproven stories of people “discovering” the new world. He still sailed west instead of east, and incredibly brave feat during the time period were he lived. A master of commanding his ship, he was able to stave off mutinies and keep the ship on course. He led the Europeans to the new world, for better or for worse.
As a society we should view Columbus not as a villain or as a hero, but rather as a just another European explorer. He just happened to stumble upon North America thinking it was India. Many other explores have made significant discoveries by accident as well. Columbus and the discovery of the new world should be celebrated because it opened up a whole new world to be settled. Although we should remember that if Columbus didn’t do it some one else would have. As for the massacre of the natives that was a horrible consequences to pay for finding this new land. Many natives were killed by diseases brought over by the Europeans, but many of them were also enslaved and murdered. Although Columbus opened the door for the massacre of the natives, he can’t be held responsible for the actions of all of Europe. Columbus was just and explorer who got lucky he shouldn’t be a hero or a villain, but he should be remembered for filling in the blank parts of the map.
Columbus should be viewed exactly as his first landing in the New World as; just an encounter. His landing did put fuel on an already burning spark, one that had been kindled, fostered, and lit many years ago (when the years were still three digits), and he is nothing more than gas to the fire. He should not be as widely celebrated as he is, not even by the Italians. They celebrate him now, yet would not provide him funding for his maiden voyage. He had to go to another nation state in order for that to happen. Columbus’ encounter is also unnecessarily celebrated because of the fact that the land he landed at was not where he was even aiming. He was more than a quarter of the globe away from where he wanted to land, which was in already charted and knowingly populated lands. Calling Columbus a hero who deserves wide recognition and admiration is completely unfair for all those who landed in the Americas before him. Calling him a villain, however, is unjust, for nothing he did was ever his intent. He was trying to create a new trade route, not start biological warfare. Even though he had many shortcomings as a leader, that is not the reason Columbus Day is celebrated. It is for his landing at the Americas, however unnecessary that day is.
There is always biased in all of history, especially as the times regress. In modern day, many view Columbus as an iconic figure that made a discovery that forever changed the face of the globe. The old quote of "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," proves such a perspective. Why would any American, of both North and South, want to perceive their founder of their continents as a heartless tyrant, or worse, a murderer. Despite what we learned in nursery school, some things are too good to be true. The idea that Columbus was some sort of angelic hero that founded a new world is ridiculous. Columbus had his flaws, just like everyone else.
However, I am not stating that Columbus was a heartless murderer either. I do not personally feel that Columbus sought out to imprison, torture, and massacre vast amounts of Americans from the get go. I feel that Columbus did, in fact view himself as superior to the natives, but not to the extent as to treat them with such heartless demeanor. There is evidence that Columbus did mistreat the native Americans of Hispaniola, but also he proves that it was not his initial motive. View yourself through the perspective of Columbus; setting out aimlessly to find an unknown "new world" and ends up on a island unbenounced to him, comprised for a race that was unlike anything he, or any other European for that matter, had ever laid eyes upon.
Polar viewpoints of Columbus, in my personal opinion, are both wrong. I feel that Columbus was somewhat of an in between of the two. Whether he was a vicious tyrant and a selfless explorer is unknown, and neither of his alleged persona's cannot be fully proven. One thing is known, that the REAL Columbus, will never be known.
44 comments:
"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." This common phrase is said by young schoolchildren every October in remembrance of the ship captain Christopher Columbus who did not, as previously taught, discover the Americas, but rather stumbled upon it.
First of all, I believe that this question could be answered in many different ways, depending on who "we as a society" is referring to. As an American, I think that Columbus should be remembered but not necessarily celebrated. We as a people regard him as the one who led to the colonization of the continent we live on today. He has been considered a symbolism of patriotism. We show our respect by naming places after him (Columbus, Ohio and the District of Columbia, for example) and having Columbus Day - which many states have stopped recognizing. Hawaii has even changed October 12th to "Discoverer's Day," honoring all people who have discovered or come across something new and exciting.
However, if we are looking at this from the perspective of the New World all together, Columbus should be vilified. He wasn't wholly responsible for the massacre of tens of millions of people, but he certainly played a part in the fact that he was a die-hard supporter of the slave trade and let his men treat the natives of this "discovered" land cruelly and without care. Millions were either subjected to slavery, war, or general destruction. Civilizations were wiped out and lives were ruined.
Finally, if the "society" is the world as a whole, Christopher Columbus is not that important. He went to the New World while in search for the Indies - it would've happened eventually. He wasn't in the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the wrong time. He was simply there. He did bring two entire continents out of the darkness, but he didn't even mean to in the first place.
In history, there are always two sides to a story. In the case of Christopher Columbus I think this couldn't be truer. I don't think he should be looked at as a villain, but at the same time I don't think he should be made into a hero. What I think is a major problem now a days is that people don't put themselves in the shoes of people in the past. Times have changed and there are different ethical and moral standards that didn't apply when Columbus first reached America.
I don't think Christopher Columbus should be considered a villain because the crimes that he is accused of are not entirely accurate. By my standards, I don't think the decline in Native American population can be called a genocide. The definition of a genocide is "the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group" (Webster). Columbus did not travel to the New World with the intent of mass murdering an entire society therefore, the decline in the Native American population can not be categorized as a genocide caused by Columbus. Secondly, I don't think he can be called a villain because at the time it was not socially unacceptable to suppress any non-Catholics. He was acting in his time and as someone not from that time, we can't be quick to judge. At the same time, he had to give up a lot to even make the journey. He had to leave behind his family for months at a time and he had to live on what little they had on board during the journey. There are accounts of the crew eating no more than one egg a day. Lastly, the major reason for the decline in the Native population was because of the spread of disease. Columbus could not have imagined that the spread of their diseases, which they were almost immune to, would have an effect on the local population. In that sense it was unintentional. Columbus may not be a hero to some, but he should not be viewed as a villian.
Columbus should not be overly celebrated in my opinion either. He did knowingly infect the Native Americans when he discovered what common disease like small pox would do to Native American populations. He was also a terrible governor who despite being a good ship captain could not run a colony effectively. Also, he was a decent navigator, but he did miscalculate the size of the Atlantic. He discovered the New World by accident and I think that in the next few centuries, the Americas would have been discovered. Also, in his personality he was stubborn and unwilling to admit to his mistakes which in turn lead to his poor decision making. Columbus had his faults and is like every other man who happened to get lucky. Does that mean that if we over celebrate Columbus that we should celebrate every other explorer or person that did something by accident? I don't think that luck should be celebrated to the extent that it has been.
Columbus had his positive traits, but also his negative traits. He was discredited at the end of his life, but he is also responsible for introducing new resources to Europe that allowed for it's expansion such as timber, gold, and more. I think Columbus had an effect on European society because he opened the flood gates to more explorations and helped to develop the modern map by giving map makers a land mass in the Atlantic Ocean. I lastly think that the level of celebration of Columbus Day should be based on the individual's background. Columbus had a different effect on different cultures and I think where you come from depends on how that person should and does view Columbus. In conclusion, Columbus should not be viewed as a villian or hero, but as a person who had their faults and contributed to society at the same time.
It is my belief that Columbus should be viewed as a villain. In fact, some might consider Columbus as one of the most sinister individuals in history. Columbus supporters argue that Columbus believed that he was sailing to India and accidentally killed the Native Americans he found in the New World by spreading disease. Although it is true that many Native Americans died from disease, it is also undeniable that Columbus intentionally killed and tortured many Natives as well. Columbus also enslaved the Native Americans. In fact, Columbus determined it would be cheaper to work his slaves to death and replace them than to feed and sustain a permanent slave unit. It is clear that Columbus had no sympathy for these innocent people; he would brutally kill off thousands of them just to help his own financial situation. Overall, it is said that Columbus caused, directly or indirectly, sixty to eighty million Native Americans to die. How could this man ever be considered anything other than a villain?
Although Columbus was a cruel person I still believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated, or at least remembered. The purpose of Columbus Day shouldn’t be about celebrating the life of Columbus, I believe the day should be about celebrating the first encounter between the two “worlds”. Therefore, just because Columbus wasn’t the greatest character, doesn’t mean that his accomplishment of linking the two sides of the world should be forgotten.
As a child, when I thought of Christopher Columbus I imagined the brave, daring hero he was depicted to be. However, as I learn more and more about the discovery of the Americas, I am beginning to rethink my position. As the month of October draws near, the debate of whether Columbus Day should be celebrated circulates throughout the United States. In my personal opinion, I think it is very tough to pick a side. For instance, Columbus’ discoveries are very important to the history of the world. Granted the Americas would have been discovered at one point or another, but Columbus was the first to do so. In addition, he was a great ship captain and leader. In terms of scientific and historic advancements, I do believe Columbus should be honored. However, you can’t judge a person solely on their positive contributions. Unfortunately for Columbus, his journey brought forth several negative side effects. While exploring the Americas, Columbus displayed some poor moral qualities. For instance, he enslaved the Indians and caused many to lose their lives. Although a large portion of the deaths can be blamed on foreign diseases, Columbus did intentionally abuse several others. Overall, I believe Columbus was an excellent navigator and explorer, but not necessarily a good citizen. As a result, I don’t think Christopher Columbus should necessarily be vilified, but I also disagree in celebrating his actions. Instead, he should be remembered exclusively for his role in our nation’s history.
How many of the people responding to this had any idea of how many failures littered the history of Christopher Columbus prior to this class? While I know some people did, we are top students in the midst of our education in one of the top school districts in the state. Such a small minority of society, American society in particular, has any knowledge of Columbus’s shortcomings, and an even smaller amount would consider Columbus a villain. It’s easy to look at history from an objective point of view, see the destruction and death that followed Columbus from Europe, and make the decision that his heroic status is undeserved. However, it’s not really the man we celebrate, but what we think he stands for. How should Columbus be viewed? I don’t see any point in having such an influential individual who is so largely responsible in shaping modern civilization being scorned by the society he helped create. The overwhelming majority of Americans undoubtedly think of Columbus not as a bumbling tyrannical failure, but as a heroic explorer who braved the unknown for the sake of prosperity. Why ruin this image? Yes, he wasn’t even the first European to reach “The New World.” Yes, Columbus’s journey ultimately led to countless deaths and great tragedy. Yes, history is against him – but when it comes to how society should view him, nothing can be gained by associating the start of our civilization with failure and genocide. I don’t suggest we change textbooks; history speaks for itself. I only suggest that we try not to look back with disdain or judgment before viewing the larger picture. Think of Columbus the man as you will; but slander not the ideals he and the Age of Exploration are associated with in modern society.
Columbus should be viewed as the representative of an era – not villainous, perhaps tragic or costly, but ultimately – as a stout pillar modern society stands upon today.
As Columbus Day rolls around each year, the question is posed by name: should Columbus be celebrated? As a kid, you were taught that Columbus was a brave man who discovered America and things fell into place from there. How ever, as you become older, you soon learn that this is not necessarily the case. Now, we can look at Columbus’s “discovery” as more of an accident. His goal was not to find that piece of land and when he did, he was mistaken to what piece of land it truly was. If Columbus had not found America, sooner or later, somebody else would have. Columbus was also said to have committed genocide towards the Native Americans, which some even compare it the holocaust. This however, I do not agree with. Since Columbus had no intentions on discovering the land he did, he could not have ever had the intentions to wipe out millions of people. Some historians refer to Columbus as “a fish out of water” he had no governing experience and was not prepared for what was in store for him I believe that when Columbus and other Europeans came to the land, they brought disease with them which was uncontrollable. Thus, this caused many natives who were not immune to the diseases to die. With all this being said, I do not believe we should celebrate Columbus specifically every year, but we should celebrate everyone who founded America or any other piece of land in general.
Christopher Columbus is a very popular figurehead known throughout the world. However, there are many different views on exactly who Columbus was and what occurred after 1492. Some people honor Columbus every October for his discovery of America. Supporters believe that it was mainly this discovery which lead to the colonization and modernization of the New World. However, many people condemn him for this as well. These people place the blame on Columbus for the extinction of many Indian tribes. Both of these arguments are thoroughly researched and supported. With both of these views in mind, how should society as a whole view Columbus? The answer to this question is quite simple. Society should neither celebrate nor vilify Columbus and his actions.
Although Columbus is known as the discoverer of America, this was not his intention. Columbus’s primary and only goal when he set sail in 1492 was to find an easier trading route to India. He believed that if he were to leave Spain and sail west, he would eventually arrive at his destination. Columbus’s voyage was not a success and he landed on an unchartered island instead. However, this island was already populated with Native tribes. These tribes had been living off of this land for centuries. Therefore, these tribes should be credited for the discovery of America. Thousands of years ago when the Bering Strait was frozen over, nomadic tribes would follow their prey across the strait to the new land. From that point on, different tribes inhabited different areas of the continent. As these were the first people to step foot on the American soil, they should be credited for discovering America.
Columbus is also given too much credit for finding these new lands and colonizing them. As a result of new seafaring technologies and strategies, European explorers of his time were already stepping boundaries and exploring new territories. Therefore, if Columbus did not set sail in 1492, the discovery of the “New World” was inevitable. Any other famous explorers of his time, such as Magellan, could have possibly found these new lands at any point of their voyages. European discovery of the Americas would have happened regardless.
On the other hand, Columbus should not be vilified for his discoveries either. When Columbus arrived in the New World in 1493, he did not intend to harm the indigenous people. As Europeans over time grew immune to dangerous European diseases (small pox, etc.), they were unaware that they still carried them.
Many people also criticize Columbus for intentionally murdering Native tribes. For example, in David E. Stannard’s article titled “Genocide in The Americas” he compares Columbus to Adolf Hitler. Stannard places the blame on Columbus for the reason why millions of Native Americans died. Personally, I believe that relating Columbus to a monster such as Hitler is much of a stretch. Hitler’s actions were intentional and his primary goal was to exterminate the people whom he considered “minorities”. Even though Columbus may have murdered some Indian tribes, there are no reasons as to why his performance was wrong. A popular saying that is used universally is that one should “never judge someone until you walk in their shoes”. Columbus could have killed these Indian tribes out of protection for him and his crew. Many of these tribes were savage therefore this possibility does exist. Columbus should not be responsible for every life that died as a result of European discovery. Unlike Hitler, it was not his intention to exterminate the Indian race. Therefore, it is impossible to say that Columbus and his crew intentionally tried to harm the natives.
Based on the arguments mentioned above, it is evident that Columbus should neither be celebrated nor vilified. In my opinion, all of the actions that he made were inevitable. If not him, someone was bound to find the America’s within a decade. Also, with the discovery of America, many Native tribes would have been exterminated as a result of both European disease and unkind explorers. Therefore, I believe that Columbus should be just a remembered figure in society.
In my opinion I look at Columbus as just another explorer during The Age of Exploration. So he did happen to stumble on N. America, but a lot of other explorers did similar things, if not better. For example the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean by crossing the Isthmus of Panama. In reality Columbus was not the first to discover America, contrary to the elementary school belief. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies and was too stubborn to accept that he didn't. I'm not going to go as far and say he started the genocide on millions of Americans, but I do believe that he didn't help matters.
Columbus was a good navigator, skilled in sailing. he had more of a medieval mindset however and was often stubborn. He was unsuccessful as a governor of a new American colony.
I don't believe that Columbus did enough to get all of the glorification he currently has. Columbus may have reached America but he didn't purposely do that. Many other explorers did similar to Columbus and they don't receive the same credit as him.
As a society I believe that we shouldn't celebrate him. I do love getting school off but what's the point? To celebrate a man who stumbled on America and thought he was in the Indies? I don't think so. He should not be looked upon as a villain because he didn't directly cause all of those killings, even though he wasn't completely innocent either.
As I a kid I learned about Christopher Columbus as the brave explorer who discovered America and how great his findings were. But as I grew older and new side of the story began to be taught. Yes Christopher Columbus was the first to come upon the Americas but he was not as heroic as I was originally taught. The question that arises today is the one of celebration or vilification of Columbus and I wouldn’t choose either. As an explorer, Columbus made great achievements by discovering lands that the Europeans didn’t know existed. These discoveries led to many more expeditions and later to colonies and the countries of today. These discoveries most likely will have occurred without Columbus but in the end he did it first. Columbus was also a great captain and leader for his fleet of ships. On the other hand the death of thousands maybe even millions of Native Americans occurred because of Columbus. He treated these people as animals, forcing them into labor and taking over their lands. Although disease played a large part in these deaths Columbus made a large contribution. His behavior toward the Natives was both immoral and just plain cruel. These actions by Columbus lead me to believe that he should be never praised nor demeaned. I believe that due to his accomplishment of discovering the Americas Columbus should be recognized. He is not a heroic figure as I was once learned but he is also not the horrific villain some make him out to be. Therefore I believe as far as our country is concerned he should be recognized for his achievements in discovery.
While Columbus is undoubtedly an extremely significant figure in our country's history, should he be celebrated? Perhaps he should be viewed as a villain. This question is not as easy to answer as it may seems.
As elementary school students we were exposed to Columbus through cut outs and coloring activities as our teachers read us books about his heroic voyage to discover the New World. As children, perhaps we were too small to understand the weight and significance of Columbus' voyage. By reaching the shores of the New World, even if he did not realize where he was, Columbus started a part of history that dramatically altered how we live today. He exposed new land to the major powers of the world which began a rivalry and competition between them. European powers now had new places to colonize and explore. They were able to expand and become wealthy through their businesses in the New World. By stumbling onto foreign land he also began an exchange of goods and life style between two totally different worlds. Because of the trade of goods from the New World, Europe was exposed to new food such as corn and potatoes. In addition, the natives of the New World were introduced to horses. Shouldn't we celebrate a man who discovered a totally new world?
There are also plenty of arguments that would influence us to say no. Columbus did not set out for the Caribbean. Why should we celebrate a man who failed to complete his initial goal? Columbus may have discovered a new and exciting world, but he had discovered a world that had been in existence as long as Europe. In his eyes, Columbus had found a land of opportunity, when in actuality, he had found a land that was already inhabited and settled. Although Europeans did not see it this way, Columbus had essentially walked into someone's house and claimed it for his country. In addition, while Columbus started an exchange of goods and life styles that affected both Europe and the New World, this exchange was not always for the better. For example, the Europeans exposed the natives to smallpox. This disease significantly lowered their population and tore apart their society. The Europeans also saw an opportunity to create a workforce out of the natives. Is this the same man that we learned about in elementary school? Is it right to celebrate a man who destroyed a culture and killed millions of people?
In my opinion, the answer is somewhere in between the two. While Columbus certainly caused unmeasurable damage to the natives of the New World, he also sparked the creation of our society today. What would our country be like today if Columbus had not stumbled into our part of the world? In addition, Columbus was also under great amounts of pressure to find new land and wealth. Is it right to put all the blame on a man who in the end was discredited and poor?
This question clearly does not have a simple yes or no answer. While Columbus certainly had his inexcusable faults, he also altered our course of history forever.
Almost every school kid in America is taught that ‘in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue,’ discovered America, made friends with all of the natives, and everyone lived happily ever after. For the most part, those were lies. While Columbus did in fact cross the ocean in 1492, he was not the first European to reach North America or make contact with the natives, he in fact made very few friends, as large numbers of the native population died under his rule, and almost no one lived happily ever after. The exception to the latter is all of those Europeans who branched off of Columbus’ encounter to travel to the “New World,” as it was erroneously known, to start their lives over, and eventually found the United States of America. While everything I mentioned were all effects of Columbus’ voyage, I digress. I was merely stating examples to show how confusing the debate surrounding Columbus’ legacy is. Many have accused him of being a monstrous figure concerned only with the genocide of the natives he came across. Many others have venerated him as one of the greatest explorers of the modern age, a hero who discovered an entirely new continent.
In my view, Columbus was neither extreme; rather, bits and pieces of both describe him well. David Stannard’s article, Genocide in the Americas, while well written, cannot really be said to present the whole story. While it is true that many natives died due to overwork, slavery, or just plain warfare, many more died from diseases the Europeans had no idea they ever carried. A more accurate portrayal of Columbus could be found in Thomas Tirado’s “When Worlds Collide,” or James Axtell’s “The Moral Dimensions of 1492.” Tirado’s article mounts a defense of Columbus by saying that, while a competent seaman, he was next to useless as the governor of Hispaniola, going so far as to say this: “A master at the helm, on land he was like a duck out of water. As an administrator of a land colony he was a disaster, totally incapable of controlling the colonists whose avarice and greed blinded them.” Tirado’s article defends Columbus on the grounds that he simply had no idea how to rule or the faintest clue about what he was doing. I am at least in part inclined to agree with that assessment, as he is best remembered for believing that he had reached the Indies, failing to recognize that he had in fact found land uncharted by Europeans. He severely miscalculated the ocean currents as well as maps and failed to listen to the Portuguese sailors who were on their way to reaching India the smart way: circumnavigating Africa. Axtell’s article was the fairest assessment of Columbus, as well as the most crucial for this day and age. In it he clearly defines genocide, points out that Columbus didn’t commit it, and best of all, addresses the problem of where to go from the present point forward. Axtell’s argument is that we cannot place the blame on current generations nor accurately repay all victims of Columbus’ rule, intentional or not. So is Columbus a hero or a villain? It is a point that will always be debated, but why can’t he be both?
Many people view Columbus as a villain and hold him responsible for the millions of deaths that occurred when during his exploration of “the New World.” Some even go to the extreme and consider Columbus to be liable for what they refer to as “The American Indian Holocaust.” Others celebrate Columbus and his so called discoveries, deeming him a hero in American history.
In my opinion, Columbus should not be held completely responsible for the deaths of the Native Americans. Although he and his crew did in fact spread the disease that ultimately led to the deaths of millions of innocent people, he did not intend on harming the natives, therefore, his actions cannot be viewed as murder.
On the other hand, I do believe that Columbus had little, if any regard for others, and his solitary focus was to achieve both wealth and fame following the discovery of new territories. This is evident, considering the fact that slavery of the Native Americans became institutionalized under his rule.
I do not believe that society should celebrate or belittle Columbus. I simply believe that people should be aware of the enormity of the loss of people and culture that resulted from Columbus’s explorations, and should become educated as to what events took place during this time. We cannot be aware of every detail in the past, therefore, we should not judge Columbus’s character solely based on what certain individuals in society make him out to be.
Christopher Columbus is simply know for the finding of America in our society today. No one really knows or understands the man within. Some people think he was was a villain and some people disagree. He had positives and negatives. The bad part of the North America’s discovery was mistreatment to the Indians. When Europeans came over to colonize North America, they brought diseases with them. Some of these diseases were yellow fever, malaria, measles, small pox, pneumonia, and whooping cough. European explorers and colonists who came to America had a natural immunity to these diseases, but the Indians did not diseases turned to pandemics for them. When Columbus captured some Indians to bring back to Spain, people saw that they could this too, and captured the Indians to sell and use them as slaves. Farmers used the land in North America to plant huge fields of crops. Indian slaves worked the crops for the farmers. Others who captured them sold the to other countries. Columbus’s impact was also good. He spread culture and goods. Europeans and others brought crops to America that provided tradable material such as cotton, sugar, and rubber. They planted lots of these crops and sold or traded the goods they gave off. In addition to bringing things there, they also spread things in North America to other place. Corn, cayenne, cocoa beans, peanuts, potatoes, and tomatoes were only found in North America, and got spread elsewhere through trade. The wealth obtained by trading the goods the plants gave provided the countries who traded them off an edge against others in later times. The countries Portugal, Russia, England, France, and Spain all benefited to the crops and earned lots of money through them. With all the crops to provide new food, the cooking style changed in parts of the world. Cocoa beans made chocolate, tomatoes made spaghetti sauce, and others changed. Overall he should be viewed as an important person in our history and definetly keep being remembered and celebrated.
A lot of people recognize Christopher Columbus as the brave and heroic figure who stumbled upon the “New World” while in search of the East Indies. While others, distinguish Columbus as a villain who killed numerous Native Americans or started a genocide similar to the Holocaust. But have people ever given a moment to think about how Christopher Columbus achievements? For example, how Columbus has affected the European exploration or inspired others to sail across the ocean? We are taught about George Washington, the first President of the United States, Thomas Edison, the scientist that invented the light bulb and ultimately brought light into our lives, Martin Luther King Jr., and Christopher Columbus. So if Columbus were truly a man that should be vilified, we would not have been taught about him nor will the youngest generation continue to learn about him. Moreover, even though Columbus may have killed numerous Native Americans, he shouldn’t be responsible for doing so or even starting a genocide. Because to him, back then rather than mass murder it was a way to gain economically or rid the spreading disease. Therefore, I believe we as a society should view Christopher Columbus just as he is now. Although Columbus may have led the genocide of the Native Americans, I feel, we as a society should view him as simply the great explorer who founded America. We should celebrate slash thank him for have had founded the grounds in which we live on today.
Christopher Columbus is a little bit like the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Clause. You spent your childhood believing that each was some sort of perfect entity, nearly infallible. They were built up in your mind and of course, you didn’t challenge what you had been told about them. Of course, eventually you come to the point in your life when you realized that Santa wasn’t real and the Tooth Fairy was just mom putting money under your pillow. A couple of years ago, I came to this sort of realization of Christopher Columbus. In elementary school, it is much easier to condense the complicated topic of New World discovery and trade into “Columbus got a little lost on his way to India, discovered America, made buddies with the natives, and brought some of them back to Spain, along with some plants and gold, to share with his good friends Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.” Ignore the millions of deaths that followed, ignore the international complications that ensued, ignore that Columbus died in disgrace. Like Santa and the Tooth Fairy, at some point, we all have to grow up and realize that the things we were told were in a simple, watered down, juvenile version that we were told in an attempt to maintain our innocence and ignorance to the not-so-pleasant truth.
The fact is, Columbus was simply the first man to be credited with discovering the Americas by educated Europe, and his discovery was first only in a line of other discoveries made by other educated Europeans in the ensuing centuries. Really, Vikings had already been as far as Nova Scotia, Asian natives crossed the Bering strait thousands of years ago. But it’s all open to interpretation as to who ‘discovered’ the western hemisphere; modern day North America had been on the planet for as long as Europe and Asia and Africa, and if Columbus hadn’t sailed far enough west, another explorer would have done the same thing. No wonder it is starting to be called “The Encounter.”
Columbus was an incompetent governor of the land he named Hispaniola, and was more than partially responsible for the death of such a staggering percent of the natives there; whether by disease or testing out weapons on practice flesh. The term “genocide” may seem a little extreme, but one can hardly argue, with what we know today, the fact that Columbus was not even remotely interested in humanitarian and cultural learning efforts. Still, he was a pioneer, and pioneers are not characterized by perfection. And in our society, we love to give official credit where we think it might be due, and receive a day off for that reason.
Ever since 1792 there has been celebrations for Columbus’ voyage to the “New World; but should he really be celebrated for discovering a place that was already inhabited by millions of people? In the United States, his exploration to the “New World” is a federal holiday and is observed on the second Monday in October. Though it is a nice day to have off I feel as a society that we should not celebrate Columbus for discovering the “New World”
Yes I feel we need to give Columbus the credit for being the explorer who landed here first, but it is inexcusable for all the hardships that he brought upon for millions of Native Americans. Columbus even though not knowingly he brought disease that wiped out hundreds of thousands if not millions of Native Americans.
Overall I feel Columbus’ place should be in a textbook and not the face of parades. Yes he did get to the Americas first but I don’t feel he should be recognized any more than other people who have contributed to America’s history like Einstein, or Lewis and Clark.
To celebrate Christopher Columbus is to go to one extreme, but to vilify him is to go to the other. It would be best to find some sort of middle ground. Columbus did have a big impact on history. Whether he intended to or not, and despite what negative effects “The Encounter” may have had, Columbus still altered the course of events in Europe when he stumbled onto the Americas. Europe was changed in so many ways because of Columbus’s encounter with the Americas. The Encounter altered the balance of power in Europe, and the economic situation. Almost all of Europe, whether immediately or in the long run, benefited on some level form the encounter. However that was not the case in the Americas.
The Encounter did have an impact in the Americas as well, just not as pleasant. As most people know, as a result of Europeans (especially the Spanish) landing in the Americas, a large portion of the native population died off. Most people blame the decline of the natives solely on the malicious intents of the Europeans. Those that do are some that go to the negative extreme of vilifying Columbus. However, no matter what the Europeans’ intentions were, it is not justifiable to blame it all on Columbus. A large portion of the native population was wiped out by European diseases rather than violence, and this was an unforeseen consequence on the Europeans’ part. As for those who were subject to violence, only a miniscule number suffered at the hands of Columbus. While it is true that Columbus did not treat the natives well, all of the faults of Cortez, Pizarro, and the rest of the conquistadors should not be blamed on one man who personally had nothing to do with these men or their expeditions. Most of what has been inaccurately labeled “genocide” took place after Columbus’s death, and should not be used to blacken his name. Columbus was not a villain, nor was he a saint. He was an average man, who made a mistake that led to a drastic change in the course of history. We should be able to respect his historical significance without making him out to be a hero that he wasn’t, and we should be able to refrain from idolizing him without damning him. We should be able to find some middle ground.
I feel that Columbus should be recognized for his accomplishments in the 14oo's. Although some arugue that Comlumbus had created a genocide with the natives I feel that this assumption is slightly biased. Columbus' time period had equipment for sailing that was not as advanced as the technology we have now. Sailing across te ocean was a difficult, risky, and had no gaurantee that it would be a success. Once the ships were out they were basically on their own with no outter help if a problem were to occur. With this in mind I feel that Columbus' voyage was a great task despite his navigation error.
It would be harsh to criticize Columbus for his original failure in reaching the Indies. People criticize his stubborn attitude on saying the land he stumbled upon had to be the Indies despite the clear signs that there was an error in navigation. In science many scientists face errors in their work, but they are still recognized for being important in their field. For example, an the chemist Dalton made discoveries in the atom and although some of his ideas were later proven wrong, he still is praised for his significant findings. Columbus is similar, we later could prove his initial ideas wrong, yet he still overcame odds and was able to make it across the ocean.
I feel we should no doubt have a day of recognition for Columbus, whether it is seen as a celebration or simply a memorization day is up to an indivudal. In addition Columbus was not the only who participated in harming a different races or to get involved with slaves. I feel that other civilizations would do similar actions when encountering a new and diverse group of people. I believe in the harsh idea that the strongest will survive. During the age of exploration a country needed to be strong, and although I may not agree ethically I do not condemn Columbus with his actions.
Christopher Columbus, who doesn’t know about him and what he did, ask anyone and they’ll stare at you for a second and they’ll most likely say he “discovered” the Americas and made friends with the natives. Sadly, the cookie cutter version of Columbus taught in elementary schools throughout the United States or how most people perceive him to be is clearly not the truth. In fact, I was one of them, I thought just like everyone else that he discovered the America in 1492 and settled Hispaniola, present day Haiti until just recently.
After learning about Columbus at a more detailed level, I began to realize that he was just a selfish man hungry for fame and prestige for him and Spain. Initially, he sought to find the shortest sea route to India, in order to get the spices and gold that he had read about in Marco Polo’s letters. Daringly, in 1492 Columbus plunges into the ocean and sets sail for the so called “Indies” but in reality the islands off of the coast of the Americas. When Columbus reached an island that later established as Hispaniola, the poor indigenous people were in for a surprise. Columbus and his troops saw these people and their potential as slaves for gold and silver mining. In fact, they used to chain their necks and marched them to these types of mines. What Columbus sparked was massive genocide of the once happy and robust natives, through warfare, slavery, and disease. Their lives and families were devastated through carnage and bloodbath, which was unquestionably tragic and atrocious at the same time. Columbus might as well have been a merciless and unpleasant leader along with the other European men that traveled to the Americas and beyond, but they were truthfully speaking, cowards encompassed by the wrath of “supreme white dominance” along with a narrow minded view of life, in general.
Personally, I view Columbus as being not the most sincere of human beings and that he initiated the death of millions of natives directly and indirectly. Also, if Columbus has not discovered the Americas someone else would have, due to the emphasis on expanding and discovering new sea routes during this time period mainly because of vast trading throughout Europe and Asia. Therefore, the phrase commonly referred to as “the Encounter” in schools and textbooks is appropriate because it doesn’t shed light on Columbus and it is not fair to the innocent natives that lost their lives in the Americas to greed and gold and serves them justice.
There is no reason to celebrate Christopher Columbus. Those seeking to praise him for his discovery of the Americas are misinformed. Columbus stumbled upon the Americas while searching to find the Indies, a region located thousands of miles away, and to the day he died never truly realized his mistake. Nor can Columbus be celebrated for being the first European to reach the Americas, as the Viking Leifr EirÃksson reached what is now Canada centuries before. Of course, this is all ignoring the fact that if anyone truly “discovered” America, it was a group of Stone Age Asians whose descendants came to be known as Native Americans.
The main controversy over the honoring of Columbus revolves around the Admiral’s actions in the New World. Columbus’s contemporary enemies accuse him of genocide, while his defenders dispute this. Columbus’s defenders are hoping to maintain Columbus’s honor through a technicality. Columbus is technically not guilty of genocide because genocide has to be fully intentional. Columbus did not intend to wipe out the inhabitants of the Caribbean, but the fact is that because of Columbus’s visit, millions of people died. While most of these deaths were unintentional—those caused by smallpox and other European diseases—Columbus still bore great malice towards the Native Americans. His actions as governor were brutal, enslaving, torturing, and killing many natives. Some have said that Columbus was just trying to run a colony in the same manner as one of his ships. This is to say that Columbus was a total imbecile who did not anticipate the impossibility of maintaining shipboard discipline over an entire colony. Monster or moron? Columbus defenders may take their pick.
While Columbus’s inability to recognize the fact that he was not in the Indies points to the latter, there is copious evidence pointing to the former. The slavery of the native population resembled the forced labor employed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. It was far cheaper and easier for Columbus to work the natives to death and replace them than it was to keep them alive and working.
And yet despite all of Columbus’s intentional and unintentional crimes, there are those who insist upon celebrating him because he paved the way for further exploration and the founding of numerous New World countries, including the United States. This is ridiculous. If this logic is taken as true then October 13th might as well be named Mengele Day, commemorating the medical knowledge gained by the Angel of Death and other Nazi doctors.
It is my opinion that if a rational and moral person were told of Columbus’s life and deeds without learning the nursery rhyme romanticization of the Admiral that was once common then that person would denounce Columbus as an individual more suited to vilification than celebration.
In America every year we have a Monday in October off to “celebrate” Columbus Day. Most schoolchildren probably don’t think twice about Columbus while home from school, except to congratulate him for getting them a day off from school. In the past, Columbus had been widely celebrated by those who found him a hero. Now, however, he is getting fewer and fewer celebrations and more and more protests. Why? Columbus, an almost 600 year old navigator and explorer is coming into conflict with our 21st century values and ideals.
Based on such, Columbus comes across much more as a villain than a hero. It does not seem acceptable to praise his “accomplishments” while the same said “accomplishments” were so disastrous to the Native American populations in the “New World,” especially since many decedents of these cultures still live today and rightly protest Columbus Day yearly.
At the same time, it must be taken into account that Columbus did not come to the Americas with the evil intent of killing off the majority of the native population. (It would have been hard to plan this, especially since he didn’t plan on coming to the Americas in the first place). He came to what he convinced himself was the East with the purpose of discovering a more direct route to the valuable spices there. Landing instead in the Americas, calling the Native Americans “Indians” and not finding valuable spices, he turned to other ideas. He became the governor of a colony in the New World, a job he was ill adept at, and put the Native population to work. He and his men, both of the first and subsequent voyages, also were carriers of diseases lethal to the Native Americans. While Columbus certainly did not personally kill or have killed million of Native Americans he undoubtedly killed off a fair few in his undoubtedly cruel treatment of them.
It also has to be considered that if Columbus hadn’t “discovered” the New World, then somebody else would have. One must also take into account the many other explorers and conquistadors who also left their bloody mark on native populations.
When everything is considered, it seems to me that there is no justification in Americans celebrating Columbus Day. He didn’t really leave any positive mark on our society which can be compared to other events and leaders we have days off for such as Washington, Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. At the same time, we don’t need to blame 100% of the deaths of the Native American population upon him. He was only one such person responsible for these fatalities.
Columbus Day. A holiday in which much of the society celebrates and remembers the “founding” of the Amerca’s by Christopher Columbus. His success in voyaging to the new continent is questionable and can be argumented both ways. Yes, he did find his way over here and should be commemorated on his success but on the other hand, he came to America on accident. It can also be argued that he wasn’t the first to find America. Another explorer at the time was Amerigo Vespucci and some say that he was the first to reach the new continent.
Trying to reach Asia for trade, and for an easier route, Columbus and his crew set out sailing with funding from the King and Queen of Spain. However instead of making it to Asia, he stumbled upon a new land. His “discovery” would later cause for the mass colonization by European powers in the new world. However the “success” of his voyage is disputed. The truth in the matter is that if he hadn’t discovered the Americas, somebody else would have sooner or later. This is definitely true because historians still argue on the first and true discoverer of the new world. Furthermore, this discovery was not necessary for the better. The colonization in the Americas not only disrupted the Native American race, but it killed the majority of them. This was due to causes of disease brought over from Europe, the cruel treatment from the colonists, and many other reasons. Some historians find that this was in fact a genocide of the Native American race. Whether this is true or not, massive amounts of Native Americans were killed on behalf of the Europeans. Although Columbus himself wasn’t totally responsible for the destruction of the Native Americans, he himself also treated the Native American poorly and he wrongly felt that the Europeans had superiority.
However, Columbus should be commemorated in his exploration and success in the actual voyage. He did make it to the new world and he was one of the earliest to do it. The end result was that he made a big impact in the history of the World. He was to be remembered for years and years to come. Although he wasn’t a hero by any means, his voyage and findings were huge and changed the course of history. Whether this change was for the better or for the worst, it was bound to happen. Thus, we as a society can justly remember and not necessarily celebrate Columbus for his explorations, his findings, and the positive impacts he had on history.
Columbus as an individual is not exactly the cruel man higher level text books may portray him as. He had many redeeming qualities that made him a perfect candidate to start the search for a passage westward toward the East Indies: his ability with navigating, good sea senses, and the perfect attitude for a ship captain. His intent when sailing toward the New World he never knew existed was not to wipe out millions of natives or any other crimes he may be linked with concerning colonization. True, it was wrong to believe that the natives were a good laboring force and thus sparking the age-old problem of slavery in the Americas, but if he had not been the first to bump into the New World (not meaning that he was THE first, but that he was the one who opened the doors to the New World) there surely would have been others who eventually would and had a good possibility of thinking the same thoughts. What one should understand is Columbus had the drive and tenaciousness that encouraged him to explore. Not many in the olden days were brave enough to wander out into uncharted territory for months and be able to make their way back home, especially if the journey was on the water. Also, deaths of natives can largely be attributed to the rapid spread of diseases brought from Europe that the natives had no immunity to, thus causing wide spread death (many native who died of European sicknesses probably had never even heard of or seen a white person in their lifetime).
As an individual, I do not believe Columbus should be idolized because there are other individuals of his time who probably made equally significant marks on the course of human history, but that does not mean that he should not be recognized for his achievement. As a society, I think we should acknowledge Columbus’s accomplishment and not hate him for the consequences of his encounter. Unfortunately, Columbus Day to me seems to be too extreme a way to recognize Columbus, but no notice at all would insufficient. Instead, a middle ground should be created that can appeal to those who greatly appreciate Columbus and those who believe that he is the cause of the “genocide” in the Americas (depending on how one defines genocide).
Christopher Columbus is undoubtedly one of the most influential characters in all of history. The question remains, however, if his actions cast him as a hero or a villain. Should he be celebrated, or maligned? One the one hand, he was the "discoverer" of the New World, and brought new opportunities to Spain and the rest of Europe. Yet on the other, he is directly responsible for the deaths of countless Native Americans. Some would even go as far as to call it a genocide. This makes Columbus a fascinating character to study. His actions create two separate images of the man. I believe that Columbus's role in the mass destruction of Native American lives simply cannot be ignored. Such an act cannot be overshadowed by another courageous deed. Such actions cannot be forgiven. The textbook hero Christopher Columbus is a far cry from the man of the same name that once walked among us. It is for this reason that I believe that while it is understandable to celebrate Columbus, it is necessary to keep his actions in perspective, and to do honor to those lives that ended at his hand.
In my younger years while learning history I always viewed Christopher Columbus as a hero. We were taught that he was the brilliant man who discovered the new world. We celebrated him for laying down the foundation of what would evolve into our great nation. Now I believe that Christopher Columbus should not be labeled as a hero. Back then teachers would not emphasize the effect that the Europeans had on the Native Americans. They brought diseases and severely disrupted the lives of many Native Americans by wiping out a good portion of their population. A hero can be defined as one who is admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. Even though Columbus did not always portray these qualities because of his poor treatment to the Indians, I do not believe he should be labeled as a villain either. Some historians view Columbus as the leader of mass murder or genocide in America. Editor of Indigenous Thought, Jan Elliot wrote that “Celebrating Columbus’s discovery of America is analogous to celebrating Hitler’s holocaust.” I believe that this extreme still does not do any justice in the way that we should view Columbus. We should not label Columbus as a hero or a villain. Columbus day should be a time to celebrate and recognize the things that he succeed and did well in, but also be aware of the mistakes he made and who it affected.
Columbus is portrayed in many varied aspects, some positive - as that of a successful navigator and captain who "discovered" the New World - and some negative - as that of the inefficient administrator and European slaughterer of Native Americans. As a society, we should not attempt to so quickly classify Columbus as a hero or a villain, but instead to consider the difficult position he was in as an explorer who had failed to reach his goal of the East Indies.
The successes and failures of Columbus were very much a reflection of the period in which he lived. Although knowledge existed of the Earth's being round, estimates of its circumference varied, and accurate projections of its landmasses including North America, did not exist. Thus, Columbus cannot be considered a hero for having the courage to sail westward when others believed he would sail off the face of the Earth (as the myth goes that is told to young schoolchildren). Neither can he be considered a totally foolish man - it would have taken great courage to embark on such an ambitious journey to the Orient via a new sea path, given the limitations of his rotting ships and the desperate pressure he must have felt to succeed in bringing back the promised riches of the East.
On the other hand, the Black Legend that Columbus and other explorers were cruel men also must be taken into consideration. While it is true that Columbus considered the Taino-Arawaks he encountered to be "fit for work", this could also have been an effect of the time in which he lived - many of his contemporaries considered these natives "savages" who were beyond even Christian conversion. Columbus was not unique in his worldview of these men and women, although this does not excuse his behaviors in using them merely as tools for labor.
Correspondingly, perhaps Columbus should not be singled out for judgment. Although his reputation as the heroic "discoverer" of the Americas overshadows that of perhaps any other explorer, he was by no means the only perpetrator of the crimes committed against the Native Americans. His journal entries reflect a "surprising" lack of malicious intent to wipe out a native population of millions across the continents, whether through warfare or disease. Columbus perhaps should be viewed as simply a product of his time; a lucky (or perhaps unlucky) man who stumbled upon the mistake of his life in finding the West Indies.
Many people believe that because columbus day is celebrated, it attomatically makes him a wonderful person who achieved great. although the latter may be true, i do not believe columbus to be good, but a villain.
However it is hard for me to be sure of my decison because most articles about columbus are written by authors with biased opinions which makes it difficult to choose a side. Also back then times were different and the actions he made were viewed and thought differently from how we see it today.
But Columbus was responsible for the death of several natives and didn't think twice about treating them poorly. He was so worked up in proving to everyone that they were wrong about him, and wanted to show the world that he was right. because of this thought i believe he got kind of worked up and it kind of got to his head a bit. He was more interested in his own being than the others he was transporting and killing during the slave trade. and as a result, several died on his behalf.
I think people should think twice before considering Columbus a hero, because although he was a hero to some, he was also a villain to others. there is always two sides of the story and i think you need to hear both before columbus is judged as good.
AnnMarie Augusto
AP European History
Mr. Kirby
16 October 2009
Columbus Day familiarizes us with the successes of a grand Renaissance explorer who discovered the first imperishable settlement of the Europeans in the New World. On October 12, 1492 Columbus ‘sailed the ocean blue.’ Columbus Day celebrates the exchange of culture, art, music, science, religion, and many more between America and Europe, but should Christopher Columbus really be celebrated? Was he the real hero; or the villain who was lucky enough to discover the New World?
Although most young people think Columbus was a champion, he was very much a tyrant. According to Axtell, Columbus committed genocide during his era. Columbus used religion to validate his acts of violence towards the Native Americans in the New World.
Within four years of Columbus arriving to the Americas, 100,000 indigenous people were dead. Columbus enslaved the Native Americans and started war with others. Disease was spread by the Europeans from the ‘Old World,’ predominately smallpox, measles, and influenza.
Columbus supported the rape of indigenous women and punishing the Native Americans for small offenses. He would show his aggression by cutting off their ears, noses, arms, or legs.
In Spain, Columbus was put on trial and accused for genocide and enslavement of the natives. It is a fair statement to say that Columbus was guilty of his crimes because he indeed lost the trial and was convicted.
The National Council of Churches has spoken out against celebrating Columbus Day stating “what represented newness of freedom, hope and opportunity for some was the occasion for oppression, degradation and genocide for others.”
Columbus kept a diary during his era that signified the deep religious motives he displayed and the fact that he genuinely cared about the sequential and holy existence of the West Indians, but he expressed a strong feeling of hostility toward them. I don’t believe Columbus understood the extreme change he was creating for the New World.
I believe there should be a day in October that is celebrated for the discovery of America, but I do not think that Columbus himself should be recognized to the extent he is today. There are parades and parties to honor him, but most people don’t realize all the horror and death he created upon arriving in the New World. People should think about Columbus from all angles before celebrating his existence.
Here in America, for most of history, Columbus has been seen as this great hero the person, the man who discovered America. And although today there are people who contradict this theory the fact that we still celebrate Columbus Day is an attribute to the fact that most people despite all the bad he may have done or caused view him as a hero. While I don’t think that Columbus is the mass murder described in Stannard’s “Genocide in America” article he isn’t the conqueror we all learn about in elementary school. Did his voyage change history? Yes. Did he take a huge risk in making this voyage? Yes. But does that mean he deserves to be remembered in the way that he is. No.
Some argue against Columbus saying that someone else would have discovered the America’s soon after if Columbus hadn’t and many will respond that he was the one who actually did. But did Columbus really discover America. This is correct maybe from a more European standpoint, but in actuality the Vikings had reached Greenland and Iceland prior to Columbus. But even not considering the Viking isn’t it really the Native Americans that “discovered” the America. They are the ones who settled and had been living on the land for thousands of years before the Europeans showed up. Columbus more of linked these two lands unaware of the other together. While an amazing feet, does he deserve to be celebrated like he is? There is no day commemorating the Native Americans who really discovered America and then were slaughtered and decimated by the arrival of the Europeans. Shouldn’t they be honored too? Another argument that could be made against Columbus is that he wasn’t intending to find a new land. This really would have been impossible to do as they had never imagined another landmass beyond the Atlantic Ocean. It was more by accident that he found the America’s. He also was quite convinced that he had indeed reached India until later exploration was done.
As for the wrongs done to the native populations I don’t think that can all be blamed on Columbus. When he found land though he proved to be an unimpressive leader. While he was great on a ship on land he couldn’t lead. He set up systems of slavery and may have began the slaughter of them, but it was not all his fault. He can’t be blamed for other conquistadors did when they reached land. Could he have played a role in how he set up Hispaniola, maybe. But he based the principles of oppressing the native on common prejudices and conclusions that all the other Europeans in America made about the native populations, that they were not as smart or valuable as themselves. As horrible as their actions were was it really genocide, though. They were not intending to kill off an entire race of people they just didn’t think it would really matter if they killed them. In their minds they had no real care for the Native Americans. Maybe some others like Cortez did when he conquered the Aztecs, but it was not genocide as in Hitler’s persecution of the Jewish population. Columbus could be considered a murderer maybe, but responsible for genocide not so much.
In conclusion Columbus should be viewed not as hero or a villain. But more of a mix between the two as presented in Tirado’s speech “When World’s Collide.” He was courageous and took a great risk in his journey, but there have been many courage people throughout history. And while his journey did change our world completely I don’t think that the praise can be put on just Columbus just as he does not accept all the responsibility of the horrors caused by it. Thus, I don’t think that he should be celebrated as we do today and neither should the encounter. It may have changed our world, but it brought about great deals of death and violence. This celebration could be very offensive to those people who are descendants of the Native Americans and it is not fair to celebrate a one sided victory. The encounter should still be remembered and commemorated though it did take the world of the past and shape it into the world of today.
Christopher Columbus landed in the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti) in the autumn of 1492. Columbus thought that he had reached the Spice Land, where a large amount of precious cargoes could be brought back to the Spanish Crowns. However, Columbus found only a small quantity of gold, which he had obtained from the aborigines whom he called the “Indians.” He made three other excursions to the New World—where he was determined to find large quantities of gold and luxuries that the Europeans desired; his wish yet never came true. Later some explorers claimed that Columbus definitely did not land in Asia, but Columbus only disparaged the claims. Being so convinced that he found the sea route to the affluent East Indies, Columbus even put his own money in these expensive voyages. His money soon ran out. As the years worn on, Columbus’ name was blackened by disgrace and loaded with heavy debts. On May 20th, 1506, Columbus’ tormented soul fled the Earth. Columbus himself was remembered by the Europeans as a luckless explorer who had failed the most powerful royals, and proved to be an incompetent and brutal viceroy of the Spanish colony in the Americas.
From the time of his death to the modern world, Christopher Columbus never held the same veneration that other fifteenth- and sixteenth- century explorers had. Some of the contemporary scholars felt strongly against Columbus. One extremist claimed that next to Columbus, Adolf Hitler only looked like a “juvenile delinquent,” since Columbus had initiated a much larger-scaled genocide. There are also scholars who portray Columbus as a fallen hero who deserves far more respect than that we, as individuals ought to give.
I personally do not agree with either schools of scholars. Although Columbus, by many accounts, was a cruel governor to his subjects—but other Spanish Conquistadors earned similar infamous titles, so why should we be more critical on him? Did he intentionally mistreated the native population? In his defence, Columbus did not intend to come to the Americas; he “discovered” the New World by accident. If one must be blamed for the death of millions of natives, I shall say that fate is more responsible. The destiny of the Americas was altered by the same fate that led Columbus into “discovering” this extraordinary landmass. Neither should Columbus be accounted for the destruction of the civilizations of the natives. For his entire life, Christopher Columbus was equipped with the "medieval mindset;" he thought that the Christian Europeans were more superior than the polytheistic Indians. Influenced by the intrinsic prejudice, Columbus thought that the way to ensure the well-beings of other Spaniards who inhabited the colony and to bring the light of God was by using violence on the natives. Also Columbus did not have the shrewd mind of a governor; he governed the colony as if it were a large ship. His failure as a governor was caused the by the unwise choice of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon. On the other hand, I do not feel that Columbus should be celebrated. After the time that Columbus first landed in the Americas, the fate of the native population was doomed. In the next few centuries, millions of the natives died from diseases, hard labour, warfare that the Europeans had initiated. In a way, by celebrating the arrival of Columbus is equivalent to uscommemorating the numerous hardships that the natives endured. Therefore, I do not advocate for the public celebration of Columbus Day.
There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Christopher Columbus (known in Italian as Cristoforo Columbo) is an extremely influential figure in terms of world history. By stumbling upon the West Indies, Columbus single-handedly changed not only the balance of power and opulence in fifteenth-century Europe, but changed world history irrevocably and instantly. It is difficult though, to classify Columbus as a hero or a villain, since he demonstrated actions and made decisions that reflect upon both sides of his legacy.
One hand, Columbus definitely served as the catalyst for a major depletion of Native American population. Unintentionally, the European conquerors unleashed a tragic and ruthless cocktail of diseases to the Natives that simply could not be fought off. Intentionally, the Europeans took advantage of the indigenous peoples to use them for cheap slave labor on sugarcane plantations. Columbus is known to have played a significant role in these activities himself. As governor of Hispaniola, he created/endorsed/approved of many brutal slavery practices that aided in the deletion of a full nine tenths of the population of the American “Indians.” There is, in fact, a plethora of evidence to indicate that Columbus had such intentions in mind the instant he encountered these peoples. Howard Zinn, a revisionist historian, asserts that upon his first meetings, Columbus instantly classified the Americans as perfectly suitable for slave labor. Furthermore, legend tells that Columbus (who was undoubtedly a brilliant navigator, helmsman, and captain) exploited his knowledge of astronomy to intimidate a tribe into submission. He allegedly predicted a solar eclipse, and when the sun was blotted out, the tribe submitted to his every command. Clearly, Columbus may have been a man who is not the noble discoverer of America he is frequently portrayed as.
On the other hand, however, there is plenty of evidence that Columbus never intended to cause so much controversy or misery. Never once does he enumerate any intentions to deliberately rid the earth of the Native Americans (genocide). His original goals were certainly innocent enough, he just happened to encounter America before he reached India. His stint as governor of Hispaniola was an instance of simple ineptitude and ignorance, not malice.
I don’t know whether or not we should celebrate Columbus’s great blunder, but I certainly don’t think he should be vilified either. He simply was in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place at the wrong time), and happened to change the history of mankind, for better or worse.
In the words of free verse poet Soul Asylum, "how can you discover a land with beautiful people already on it" ? Christopher Columbus did not discover America. He simply ran into it in a serendipitous event of chance. As a society we should absolutely not celebrate Columbus. Aside from not truly discovering America, Columbus failed to add anything new to the knowledge of European's at the time. Contrary to what we may have been taught at a younger age, Columbus was one of many who did not believe the world was flat. ( For more on this a great reading would be "Lies my teacher told me " by James Loewen.)
Martin Luther King Jr. is well deserving of his national holiday. We gave him this holiday, and we celebrate his life because he was a man that changed the course of history for the better. Christopher Columbus may have arguably changed the course of history, but certainly for the worst. Columbus terribly exploited the Natives of the land on which he stumbled upon. His hatred towards them can be seen in his violence, his use of slavery to combat his laziness. Columbus has been reported to have cut off the ears and noses of Natives for actions that he considered "offenses". He encouraged men to take control over the women that surrounded them, even advocating for rape. This is down right disgraceful. In a society that has progressed as far as to elect a Black president, we still celebrate this man?
People often view Christopher Columbus as a great hero, who discovered America, and thus changed the course of human history forever. Kids often grow up, learning that the actions of Columbus were all benevolent and that nothing bad happened as a consequence of his discovery. But as the children become teenagers, they start learning of the millions of people that died soon after the discovery. Soon, they learn of the thousands of people that were killed under his rule in Hispaniola, and of all the horrible things that were direct consequences of his discovery. After this, many people’s opinion of Columbus might change; many might wonder if he really was the hero that many thought that he was. So how should society view Columbus? Should we think of him as a hero or a villain?
I think that people who view Columbus as a villain are definitely justified in their feelings but in the end it was because of Columbus that we are living in America. If Columbus didn’t discover the America’s then someone one else surely would have. Many think that when Columbus landed on America he had doomed the indigenous people to their death, due to the various germs that he brought along with him from Europe. Again the same theory that, if Columbus hadn’t brought the germs then someone else from Europe would have, can be applied here. When Columbus discovered the America’s it was a time of great competiveness among the European countries. Maybe if the Spanish Queen didn’t grant Columbus the permission to conduct his exploration to find a new route to India, then someone else, maybe a couple of months or years later would have gotten the grant. In the end, I think that the death of millions of indigenous people of America due to the spread of germs was inevitable. It was only going to be a matter of time before people from the two hemispheres made contact with each other, thus spreading the germs from the different areas. Columbus couldn’t have known that discovering the America’s could have led to the deaths of millions. He was just out to get rich and bring honor to Spain. Columbus cannot be blamed for the things that he clearly had no control over. He couldn’t have stopped the germs from spreading to the indigenous people even if he wanted to. People are obliged to their own feelings, but I think that Columbus shouldn’t be blamed for the death of millions. Surely he wasn’t a hero , but he wasn’t a murderer of millions either.
As children, we are educated about Columbus in a way that deems us to think of him as a heroic and patriotic figure in history. In addition, we also conceive him as the first person to discover the “New World”, which we know by now is completely untrue. Although I certainly do consider him a significant person in history, I do not necessarily think that he should be celebrated. This being said, my personal belief is that Columbus was neither a hero nor villain but was a combination of both.
When Columbus sailed across the ocean in 1492, he dramatically shaped the future of the entire world. His discovery was greatly beneficial to the Europeans and others in the New World, but unfortunately the astounding damage it brought to natives already inhabiting the land is often overlooked. Upon his discovery, even though they could clearly see natives already living on the land, Columbus considered the land he stumbled upon rightfully his. Not only did he force Natives out of their homes, he did much worse; his actions led to the massacre of Native Americans that possibly reached 80 million deaths, although the exact number is still debated. Thus, Columbus was successful in almost wiping out a whole population. This case is one of the most extreme mass-killings, higher than even the holocaust. In this respect, I believe Columbus can be portrayed as a villain with his brutality. Although many were killed by Europeans, it is very important to add that disease was responsible for most of the Native American deaths, something that was in most cases unintentional. Thus, this in a way lessens Columbus’s appearance as a villain.
On the other hand, a man who so greatly impacted the lives of the world whose discovery led to major political, economic, and even ecological changes must be regarded as a figure of high importance in history. He brought great wealth to the Europeans; new land was now available which allowed for expansion and colonization and raw materials could be found creating new industries and trade. Undoubtedly, Columbus could be considered a hero by Europeans with all the opportunities he gave rise to with his discovery. And, in addition, even though he did not land initially where he desired to (West Indies), I believe his ability to withstand the long and grueling journey along with managing to control his men and maintaining his command was a great task that he did exceptionally well, demonstrating his amazing navigation skills and courage. In these aspects it can be easily seen why Columbus can be viewed as a hero.
In conclusion there really is no definitive answer to whether Columbus should be considered a hero or villain. Instead, it mainly depends on whose perspective is being viewed.
A lot has changed since society simply knew Columbus as the man who in 1492 sailed the ocean blue. Historians are uncovering and making public the fact that along with Columbus’s first voyage and eventual colonization of the new world came the death of tens of millions of the native people. However, can Columbus alone be at fault for the death of so many? I don’t believe so; I think that society should view Columbus simply as the man who found access to the new world. He didn’t come over to America with the intent of wiping out the population and what is to say that only men on his ships carried the disease that killed natives, when other explorers with their crews followed soon after carrying the same diseases. Columbus should still be celebrated as the man who set a precedent as the first European to begin the settlement of the America’s. He was the first to have the guts to cross the Atlantic in search of new passages and lands.
Salman Rahman
AP European History
Mr. Kirby
In my view Christopher Columbus was a brave and confident explorer who in 1492 embarked journeys from Spain funded by Isabella I of Castile in order to find a new route to India travelling westward. This assumption of finding India travelling westward was based upon his believe and knowledge of the world to be round. He was in fact the first European to lay his foot on the Americas and the one who discovered the Americas by accident. Therefore, even though he should be credited for discovering Americas but he should not be viewed as a great explorer. He never reached the target he had aimed for because he presumed the world to be smaller than it actually is in reality. However, he was able to prove the idea that the world was round through his journey to the west. He initiated the Spanish colonization of the Americas which lead to European colonization of the American continents. Columbus should not be blamed for the deaths and murders of the native people who has been living in the American continents for centuries simply because he had no intention of a doing such an act. He embarked on his journey to find India and accidentally discovered the “New World” for the Europeans. The deaths, murders, and exploitation of people should not be just blamed on Columbus but on all Europeans equally who played a role in these horrible acts.
Taken all together, I believe Christopher Columbus should be viewed as a discoverer of the “New World” for Europeans and simultaneously a predecessor who initiated the invasion of the Americas by the Europeans. He was given the charge of controlling these lands when he discovered and therefore deserve the blame of being also the ruler who initiated the massacre of Native American people. Hence, in my opinion he should not be praised as a hero but a villain and should be vilified for his actions.
As a society, I believe we should view Columbus as a figure worth celebrating, but WITH RESERVATION. By that, I mean that although we should acknowledge his Encounter with the New World as one of the most important turning points in human history, we should also realize the incalcuable amount of damage he caused, directly or indirectly, on millions upon millions of people in the Americas.
Like it or not, looking at Columbus' encounter with the indigenous people of the new world from the perspective of an American (American Society), we probably wouldn't be in the same position as a nation today if someone else from another nation had just as significant of an encounter a few decades later. If, for example, a Portuguese explorer had landed where Columbus landed, it is likely that the Portuguese empire would have fallen in the same way that the Spanish did, for the same reasons: a massive influx of gold and silver spent in the wrong areas.
Further, one could easily argue (like Axtell does) that Columbus had no real grasp on the full consequences of his interactions with the indigenous peoples, especially during the first few voyages. I don't think it is fair to criticize him for the initial deaths caused by disease when he probably had no idea that he was transmitting deadly viruses.
Despite all of this, Columbus should not be let off the hook completely. Although it is worth celebrating Columbus Day, our society, especially the younger generations, must become better educated on the subject of Columbus. I hope that our educational system has enough faith in our youth to tell them the truth about what Columbus actually did and the consequences of those actions; that his voyages did result in the deaths of millions, but they also showed Europe that there were two more, entirely uncharted continents to be discovered.
However, even educating them on the most general facts on Columbus' voyages is not enough. To me, in order to properly celebrate Columbus Day, the most important facts one must learn is the historical, social, and political context in which Columbus made his voyages. Uneducated observers may just isolate Columbus' actions and analyze them individually. This is not the way to go about it. One must see WHY Columbus' did the things the way he did in order to fully appreciate him; his pressure to find wealth from the Spanish crown, his stubbornness, his incorrect calculations, and other factors.
In conclusion, although Columbus' actions did result in the deaths of millions of people, he should still be celebrated because it would be impossible for him to forsee the full extent of his actions. He still did popularize trips to the Americas and opened Europe's eyes to a whole new world.
Columbus Day should still be celebrated as long as our society is correctly educated on what Columbus actually did and why he did them. The benefits of his voyage far outweigh the consequences that he could have never seen coming.
Although Christopher Columbus was far from the glorified hero many see him as, I think that it is wrong for anyone to claim that he was evil and malicious. Columbus wasn’t the discoverer of America, but he also wasn’t the direct cause for the death of millions of natives in the Americas. Columbus had many faults and weaknesses: he was stubborn, a poor leader, and a known institutor of slavery. However, he was also a great navigator of the seas, was extremely determined, and he was daring enough to venture where few else would. This mixture of positive and negative traits can be viewed very differently by anyone looking at them from their own perspective.
Men like Standard who have placed Columbus alongside Hitler and Stalin for their acts of genocide aren’t fairly evaluating him. It is true that millions of natives died, that is irrefutable. However, Columbus alone cannot be blamed. Columbus cannot be held responsible for any deaths caused by the diseases carried by the Europeans, or any actions taken by other explorers and conquistadors over whom he had no control. Also, many historians agree that if Columbus had never reached America for whatever reason, someone else would have been close behind to open the Americas to Europe.
Conversely, as much as it would please me to raise Columbus up as an international hero, I can’t. Upon Columbus’s arrival in the New World he was quoted advising that the natives looked like good workers to be slaves. America is the land of the free, not a place that a hero would be starting slavery. Also, Columbus can very easy be viewed as incompetent. He made four trips to America, and in all the time that he spent here he refused to admit that he hadn’t reached the Indies as he had claimed. He was so stubborn that he chose to die poor, ashamed, and discredited than to admit that the land he found differed vastly from the writings of Marco Polo he had avidly read. In short, Columbus was a good explorer, but his work doesn’t quite constitute the status of ‘Hero” or a widely celebrated national holiday.
The issue of how we as modern historians should view Columbus is more complex than seeing him as the mythic hero taught in schools or as the evil villain portrayed by many left-wing authors. He is an actual man, with flaws and redeeming traits, not a caricature.
He is most definitely not a hero. His actions directly caused the indigenous genocide committed by white Europeans. He permitted and encouraged slavery in the new world. He and the people who were a part of his governorship killed many of the natives of Hispaniola. However he cannot be called a villain. He did not intend to kill the amount of natives that he did. He was not going to the new world to start a genocide. He did not bring diseases over to kill the natives on purpose. He was neither of these archetypes.
Columbus should be viewed as a talented, adventurous explorer who came along at the right time. He also should be viewed as a cruel man, not a villain, but someone who treated people poorly. He did kill natives, and he kept slaves. Columbus had no consideration for the native people. He also wasn't the discoverer of the new world. At the very least, the Vikings had discovered it 500 years before him, and there are countless other unproven stories of people “discovering” the new world. He still sailed west instead of east, and incredibly brave feat during the time period were he lived. A master of commanding his ship, he was able to stave off mutinies and keep the ship on course. He led the Europeans to the new world, for better or for worse.
As a society we should view Columbus not as a villain or as a hero, but rather as a just another European explorer. He just happened to stumble upon North America thinking it was India. Many other explores have made significant discoveries by accident as well. Columbus and the discovery of the new world should be celebrated because it opened up a whole new world to be settled. Although we should remember that if Columbus didn’t do it some one else would have. As for the massacre of the natives that was a horrible consequences to pay for finding this new land. Many natives were killed by diseases brought over by the Europeans, but many of them were also enslaved and murdered. Although Columbus opened the door for the massacre of the natives, he can’t be held responsible for the actions of all of Europe. Columbus was just and explorer who got lucky he shouldn’t be a hero or a villain, but he should be remembered for filling in the blank parts of the map.
Columbus should be viewed exactly as his first landing in the New World as; just an encounter. His landing did put fuel on an already burning spark, one that had been kindled, fostered, and lit many years ago (when the years were still three digits), and he is nothing more than gas to the fire. He should not be as widely celebrated as he is, not even by the Italians. They celebrate him now, yet would not provide him funding for his maiden voyage. He had to go to another nation state in order for that to happen.
Columbus’ encounter is also unnecessarily celebrated because of the fact that the land he landed at was not where he was even aiming. He was more than a quarter of the globe away from where he wanted to land, which was in already charted and knowingly populated lands.
Calling Columbus a hero who deserves wide recognition and admiration is completely unfair for all those who landed in the Americas before him. Calling him a villain, however, is unjust, for nothing he did was ever his intent. He was trying to create a new trade route, not start biological warfare. Even though he had many shortcomings as a leader, that is not the reason Columbus Day is celebrated. It is for his landing at the Americas, however unnecessary that day is.
There is always biased in all of history, especially as the times regress. In modern day, many view Columbus as an iconic figure that made a discovery that forever changed the face of the globe. The old quote of "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," proves such a perspective. Why would any American, of both North and South, want to perceive their founder of their continents as a heartless tyrant, or worse, a murderer. Despite what we learned in nursery school, some things are too good to be true. The idea that Columbus was some sort of angelic hero that founded a new world is ridiculous. Columbus had his flaws, just like everyone else.
However, I am not stating that Columbus was a heartless murderer either. I do not personally feel that Columbus sought out to imprison, torture, and massacre vast amounts of Americans from the get go. I feel that Columbus did, in fact view himself as superior to the natives, but not to the extent as to treat them with such heartless demeanor. There is evidence that Columbus did mistreat the native Americans of Hispaniola, but also he proves that it was not his initial motive. View yourself through the perspective of Columbus; setting out aimlessly to find an unknown "new world" and ends up on a island unbenounced to him, comprised for a race that was unlike anything he, or any other European for that matter, had ever laid eyes upon.
Polar viewpoints of Columbus, in my personal opinion, are both wrong. I feel that Columbus was somewhat of an in between of the two. Whether he was a vicious tyrant and a selfless explorer is unknown, and neither of his alleged persona's cannot be fully proven. One thing is known, that the REAL Columbus, will never be known.
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