The controversy over whether Columbus Day should be celebrated has been going on for many years. To decide on this matter we must measure the positive and negative effects that Christopher Columbus has created for the present. Christopher Columbus began in search for a new route to Asia through the Atlantic. Though he never succeeded in doing so he arrived in the Americas. Despite the fact that the Vikings had already visited the Americas, this opened up new land and opportunities for the Kingdom of Spain, whom Columbus served. With Columbus’s “new” discovery it created a race between all of the countries in Europe to colonize this new land and expand their territories; but mostly in search of gold. If Columbus had not had the idea to travel to Asia through the Atlantic then the United States might not have ever been founded. This might be because had Columbus not explored the other side of the Atlantic then the Native Americans would solely inhabit the Americas and Europe would have stayed in Europe. Without the colonization in the Americas then there wouldn’t have been the American Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. Though are many negative effects for Columbus going to the Americas. There ended up being wars between Columbus and the Native Americans. Columbus also sold some of the war prisoners of the wars as slaves back in Spain. Also because Europe had already experienced disease and famine such as the plague, Columbus brought the viruses to this secluded land where the natives had no proper immune systems to fight the viruses. Because of Columbus going to the Americas many natives died through war and disease and eventually the civilization was wiped out along with its traditions and culture. From these facts we can say that Columbus was the catalyst for the European invasion to the Americas, which led eventually to colonization and later to the United States. Though this happened without intent of Columbus and was just fortuitous. But what did happen through Columbus’s greed and his service to a higher power was the destruction of many lives and the decimation of culture and traditions. We can celebrate Columbus for possibly being the reason for the United States being founded, but we cannot forgive him for the all of the destruction he has done to the Native Americans.
I believe that Christopher Columbus should be celebrated. Society should view Columbus as a guy who had made a smart mistake. Christopher Columbus was trying to find a trade route to India. Instead his boat landed in the Bahamas. Christopher Columbus didn’t plan on finding the Americas. He wanted to find a quicker trade route to India. On August 3rd,1492 his ships set sail in a southwest from Spain. On October 12th his ships hit land which he named San Salvador. He brought spices, gold and other valuable goods back to Spain. He made four total trips to the Americas. On the third trip he realized that he didn’t find a faster trade route to India; he had founded another world that wasn’t known to Europeans. Though he may not have been the first one to find the Americas or truly discover them. Indigenous people were there before him and Vikings discovered Greenland and Canada. The historical importance of Columbus is that he was the first person to open the eyes of Europeans to this new and exciting world. If could have taken a long time to discover the Americas if Christopher Columbus hadn’t discovered them. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated on October 12th; the day Columbus touched land. Not the second Monday of October. Christopher Columbus made the first step to a new world and new change that’s what makes him so significant and should be celebrated.
Christopher Columbus did not actually discover America. In fact the Vikings discovered it a long time ago. However in essence Columbus discovered the America we know today. Before European exploration America belonged to separate Native American tribes. Columbus discovered a route to the Americas while looking for a route to India. This in turn led to European population of America. If Columbus had not rediscovered America then America as we know it would not be the same. The downside to Columbus’s discovery is it’s effect on the Native Americans. Disease and war destroyed much of the Native’s culture and people. Indians were forced of there land as well as forced to accept European religion and culture. This devastation of Native Americans is a direct result of Columbus’s actions. Another result of Columbus’s actions is the many wars between the European powers and Indians whether England against France or settlers against non submissive Native American tribes. As a society we should celebrate Columbus day because America as we know it today descends from European ideas and cultures blended together. Columbus may not have first discovered America but he did plant the seed that became The United States of America we know and love today.
I feel that we should see Columbus as a both an adventurer and violent conqueror. Columbus set out to find a quick way to Asia by going around the world instead of around Africa because he thought there would be nothing there. Of course, he was wrong. His lack of rightness is what led him to ruin a large population of Native Americans and use them as a profit making scheme and enslave/kill most of them. This could have caused a near extinction of the native people in that area but he did discover a new place for the European world to expand to. He did it for the sake of exploration initially and didn’t think that he was setting out to murder the majority of a people. So he can’t really be called a villain. He was a business man and the business that he found was of a similar merit to the blood diamonds of today in Africa. So he is still at fault for being a genocidal, money driven business man but you have to remember he started out as just a business man.
Personally, I don’t think Columbus Day should be celebrated for the reasons that it is. Most of us see this day as a celebration of a man who apparently discovered America. There is still controversy of whether or not he was the first person to discover this land, regardless; he did set foot on it. What he did when he got here however, was completely unacceptable. Columbus’s original intentions were to find a trade route to India. While setting foot in the New World, an already inhabited land, he came across the Native Americans. It is said that Columbus treated the natives harshly. Taking their land, food, money and caused a complete massacre of the native culture. To what could be a considered one of the earliest known genocides. Now the majority of this country lacks this knowledge, they just think of him as the discoverer of America. Now, I do however have a different perspective of how this celebration should be approached. Columbus did not discover America; the Vikings especially had explored this land hundreds of years before him. His accomplishments should be recognized in a different perspective. His expedition was important in that it resulted in the interweaving of Europe with the Americas. This expedition lead to the settlements of the European colonies in the New World. Obviously without this, America might now be here today. Thus Columbus was important in our nation’s history; however the day shouldn’t necessarily be named after him. Columbus was harsh toward the natives and lacked respect. He can be viewed as a terrible person for the things he did at his arrival, but him and the crew he traveled with, accomplished something very important that would impact every step of the future.
From first grade, the only view of Christopher Columbus that has been presented to me was that of the discoverer of America. He has been put on a pedestal by the overwhelming majority of society, as a brave, courageous, and fearless explorer who deserves the credit for introducing a “New World” to the rest of the world. After reading in depth about Columbus however, I feel that he no longer deserves the glory that I, along with the rest of society, have been giving him. Columbus may have “discovered” the Americas, but when he landed in Central America, he “discovered” much more than just a land mass. He made contact with countless native peoples that had “discovered” his “New World” long ago, and he entered their home with no regard for them. I do not believe that he should be celebrated for discovering America. If Columbus did not find the Americas, another European explorer would have undoubtedly made the same discovery at a later time. Also, how can a man be credited with discovering a place that has already been “found” by the native people living there? Columbus only opened the Americas to European conquest and exploitation. I know that the European response to this foreign land was typical to the time period, but I do not believe that it warrants celebration. At the same time, I do not believe Columbus should be vilified. As I mentioned before, Columbus was behaving in a manner typical to his day in age. He was also not alone in his actions, and therefore he alone should not take the blame for the atrocities carried out against the native peoples. Columbus was also responsible for an incredible transformation in Europe caused by an intellectual revolution. Europe was opened to the rest of the world with his landmark journey, and a subsequent exchange of information and ideas occurred. Columbus’s violent actions cannot be ignored, and his name still invoke hatred among Native Americans, but once again I do not feel that he alone can be held responsible for the bloodbath that the voyage of 1492 opened up. If Columbus is not vilified, he should not be celebrated either, because he alone is also not responsible for the discovery of the Americas. He is an interesting man, and our perspective of him will undoubtedly change as time progresses.
I believe that Columbus Day should not be celebrated for the reasons that it is, because Christopher Columbus in fact did not discover America. He was looking for a new route to India and happened to land upon Central America and claim it as his new territory. Columbus was a great explorer, yes, as we have been taught since elementary school, but is not the hero that we believe him to be. He brought disease and war to the peaceful villages of the native people, and tried to rid them of their values for new European ones. He excavated the land for treasures and stole from the native people already living in that culture. It is believed that the Vikings had landed upon the America’s much sooner than Columbus, and so he is not the true discoverer. And also, how can a new land be found when people are already living on it? He may have discovered the Americas for people in Europe, but he surely did not discover the land that the native’s ancestors had been living on for centuries before he arrived. We as a society should view Columbus as a man who was a great explorer, but is not a founder of a new territory, and certainly not as a man who respected the rights of the people already living in his “new land”. He was stealing and taking away the rights of the people who he should have never had power over in the first place. Overall I believe Columbus should not be celebrated for his accident of landing on America and he should not be considered the man who discovered this land.
I personally enjoy Columbus Day, since we have a day off from school. However, I do not believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated, at least not in the name of Christopher Columbus. The day Columbus landed on the “New World” signaled a new future for the Europeans, leading up to the founding of the United States of America. At the same time, it also brought about the enslaver, cruel treatment, and almost destruction of another race – the Native Americans. To me, Christopher Columbus was an ignorant, greedy, and ruthless man. Upon his first encounter with the Native Americans on October 12th, 1492, Columbus had their domination in his mind. After the Natives treated him with such generosity and kindness, he proceeded to report back to his King, declaring his discovery of the new land and the discovery of the new people, whom he told the King, would be great servants. It was then the imperialism began. There was violence, slavery, and religious persecution against the Native Americans. Europeans, in pursuit of gold, brought diseases to the “New World”, killing millions of Natives. They ravaged the Native Indians of their land, their resources, and their freedom and happiness. Beside the point Christopher Columbus did not discovery the “New World”. The land was discovered by the Vikings and inhabited by the native people. The Europeans, specially the Spanish, did not have the right over the land or the people of the “New World”. The discovery of the “New World” should be celebrated, however not in the name of an ignorant imperialist. Columbus Day has been celebrated by South Dakota as Native American Day, and by the city of Berkley, California, as the Indigenous People’s Day. I believe a celebration should be held for the discovery of the “New World” that brought hope to the suppressed Europeans, however, it be not be celebrated in the name of Columbus.
Personally, I feel that Columbus Day should not be celebrated. To begin with, I feel that Americans give him too much credit, and honor Columbus as if his actions were the reason that America was founded. It is true that he was one of the first to land in the new world, and his discovery led to a lot of the European expeditions, but he is not responsible for the making of this country. There are many people that came after Columbus and impacted America in a much greater way, and these are the people who deserve the praise. Consider John Rolfe. Without him, the Jamestown colony would have failed, and America would be a completely different nation today, if it became a nation at all. Yet there is no John Rolfe day that I am familiar with. Columbus didn’t even realize that he was on a new continent, and so it is unreasonable to give him so much credit. Furthermore, it is also important to remember that although his discovery was a good thing for America, it had a very negative impact on many other people. Given that the plight of many people were not directly related to Columbus, it is still important to be respectful to those that suffered. For these reasons, it is better if Columbus Day is not suffered.
At the same time, I feel that some people are overly critical of Columbus’s actions, and too easily condemn his as a villain. It is true that Columbus’s voyage to the new world eventually had a very negative impact on the many people living there. However, he did not commit all of the atrocities and cannot be singled out for blaming. When he left Europe, he did not leave with the mindset that he was going to conquer a people. He left because he wanted to find a route to China to help his people and Europe, and possibly earn some fame. People blame epidemics and Spanish conquests on Columbus, when these clearly weren’t his fault. Because Columbus is so well known (and perhaps because he has a holiday) people are quick to point the finger at him, when they should be looking at people like Cortez or Pizarro.
In conclusion, Columbus is overrated through both positive and negative aspects. Americans need to celebrate the triumphs of others who did more for America, and those who dislike Columbus must remember to hate the other explorers of the era as well.
I feel that society should view Christopher Columbus as a significant figure in history who made vague contributions to the world we inhabit today. In addition to this, I do not think he should be celebrated for his actions. This is because he was simply an explorer who set out to find new trade routes in the East Indies. Instead, he stumbled upon the Bahamas and Cuba. It is a wide assumption that Columbus discovered America, which is the main reason why people also believe he should be celebrated. In fact, Columbus did not discover any new land. When he did finally reach land, there had already been people living there; the Native Americans. Even though he was not the first to settle in this new land, he decided to name the new land he found “San Salvador” and attempted to take credit for his “discovery.” Another reason I feel Columbus should not be celebrated is because he caused war with the Native Americans for no reason. Instead of trying to coexist with these new people, he decided to cause unrest and disturb any peace they maintained. Therefore, Columbus caused problems in lands that had already been founded instead of discovering and prospering in new lands, as many believe he did. On the other hand, I do not believe Columbus should be vilified. This is because his actions began a revolution in exploration that led to the discovering and settlement of the Americas. He helped begin a flow of ideas, cultures, and most importantly people to new lands around the globe. Also, he helped navigators understand that the world was not only round, but also contained more land masses than they had previously thought. Overall, I feel Columbus’s actions are not worthy of being celebrated, but also should not be vilified because they sparked a prosperous chain of events leading to the progression of a “New World.”
When it comes to Christopher Columbus, I think it is really difficult to pick one side when it comes to his celebration or vilification. The argument for his celebration is that in effect he started America. Yes, the Vikings found it long ago but he created an outlet for European countries itching to expand. By misjudging where he landed, he created a race for colonization, power, and resources in the New World. Chances are that without Columbus’ mistake, we might not be in the United States today. The argument for his vilification is that he started genocide in the Americas. While much of the death he caused was unintentional much of it was. European diseases ravished the Indians. Columbus did not intend this obviously, and there was not much he, or future explorers could do to stop it. But also, on the other hand, Columbus and those that followed did intentionally mass murder natives. The Indians stood in the way of expansion, and to break down this barrier, Indians were slaughtered. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated and that society should view Columbus with respect and appreciation but without losing sight of his faults. Columbus can be considered the stepping stone that America need to get its start and that needs to be celebrated.
I believe that Columbus should be viewed as a great adventurer because he did make the voyage from Europe to the Americas. Even though he was in search of Asia he was the first European to discover the Americas in centuries. But, being a great explorer does not make Columbus a person that should be admired. He was by no means a man of good integrity or valor. But, we have been taught since early ages that he was a great man and to be admired. Our teachers left out the horror that him and his men committed against the natives, which is for the best being so young. But, what he did cannot be ignored. To treat a group of people like he did cannot be looked upon lightly. As a society I do not think we should exactly celebrate him as a person, but his achievements. As a society Columbus should be seen as a man that helped shape the world as we know geographically, but as far as character is concerned he should be villified. The horrors he took part in are comprabable to genocide in today's society and for no reason should be looked at in a positive light.
Recently Columbus' reputation as the hero of Spain and the greatest explorer of all time has been called into question. Concerns about his treatment of the Native Americans and the example that he set for future colonists have been mostly criticized. However, the fact that he still was able to discover and reveal the Americas to Europe is still significant and may justify his other actions. Every single American owes some gratitude and acknowledgement to him. If he had not journeyed to the Bahamas and discovered the rest of our nation, then it is quite possible that we would not be here. He connected the advancements of the European culture with the primitive lifestyle of the Native Americans, and neither civilization was ever the same. Never mind the fact that he was technically not the first to venture to America, as the Norse, led by Leif Ericson, first set up a temporary settlement there 500 years earlier. However, Columbus made a more lasting impact. The land fascinated him so much that he would venture back to America 3 more times after his initial voyage. He managed to assimilate with the natives and began to learn their customs, even though his actions may have been questionable. He also managed to advance the European's knowledge of the rest of the world, even though he originally thought that American was really India. Through a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the small island colony, Columbus connected the cultures of the 15th and 16th century. He inspired a new generation of colonists and innovators, and many benefited from his discoveries. He always persevered to discover the continent, as his crew had told him many times to turn back, and there may have been a mutiny if there wasn't a land sighting. His discoveries and dedication to the advancement of the European society make him a hero, and everyone should praise his accomplishments instead of always finding faults in his actions. His major contribution to European society is also the foundation of the American society, and so we should be grateful to him as compensation.
In the beginning I always thought of Columbus as a hero that should be honored. I believed a holiday devoted to his exploration and determination was very appropriate and necessary. However, now after studying it more closely I have come to the conclusion that he is not as great of a guy as I first believed, and devoting a day to him is completely inappropriate. Its human nature to only look at the good in American history and it’s easy to overlook the bad, because we don’t want to know it. We don’t want to be associated with those accused of genocide because we always believe that our leaders have nothing in common with leaders like Hitler. But the truth is all the crimes and violence committed against the native people of the Americas does earn the term “genocide.” These that are in support of Columbus Day are turning a blind eye to the horrible treatment that Columbus and his people imposed upon the native people. We should not be condoning this way of acquiring land. It is unjust and violent and if the American people were informed of this treatment, I doubt Columbus Day would have gained so much support.
I do not find that Columbus should be vilified or revered. Columbus simply embarked on a mission that he believed would result in a trade route to Asia and instead he found the Americas. Columbus neither set out to annihilate the indigenous population of the Americas or to discover a landmass with a bounty of untapped resources. In all reality Columbus had thought he had succeeded in finding the West Indies until much later in life, and although we know this not to be true, the fact that he did not consider these people as part of a newly discovered continent reveals that he harbored them no ill intent. The fact that Columbus brutally treated the Indians does not make him a horrible creator of mass destruction. There are always rulers that treat their people bad but Columbus did not actively create destruction on all of the Native American culture, and this is what people who criticize Columbus associate him with. Yes, because of Columbus’s discovery Spain sent an expeditionary force to the New World, which certainly accounted for millions of deaths. Yes, because of Columbus’s discovery the culture in the Americas was wiped from the earth. However Columbus did not pursue nor did he advocate these actions, his role was simply to navigate and discover the New World. Neither should Columbus be revered because he did not create anything that was truly great. He did not prove that the world was round, people knew this already. Columbus’s discovery did not usher in a new age; the Portuguese were already exploring and exploiting new territory in Africa. Neither was Columbus a great symbol of success because he actually failed in his initial goal to find a route to Asia. So it is my opinion that while his actions have a profound effect on history, he himself did not initiate or embody any of the things we associate with him beyond the discovery of the New World.
Christopher Columbus day is celebrated every year in the United States. Should it, however, even be a holiday? Columbus is usually thought of as the man who discovered the Americas. In reality, the Americas had already been settled for hundreds, if not thousands of years prior to the arrival of Columbus. Even the Vikings from northern Europe settled in North America hundreds of years before Columbus, so why is he the one that receives lots of fame and praise? Columbus landed in the Caribbean and thought it was Asia. When he finally realized that it wasn’t, he started manipulating the people there to gain massive profits for himself and his motherland, Spain. Of course, many people, such as the natives were killed from disease, overwork, and massacres. Looking at all the deaths however, Columbus himself did not commit all the murders. While he did kill many people, other conquistadors were also responsible, such as Cortez, who selfishly killed countless innocent people. Had Columbus not found the Americas, someone else from Europe would have eventually found it anyways. This leads to two main points. The first is that Columbus should not have the honor of having a whole holiday granted to him, because anyone could have done it, it just so happens that Columbus got lucky and discovered it. The other point is that the other pioneer may or may not have treated the natives better. Columbus was obviously the first major European explorer, but if someone else had found the Americas, how would the world today be different? Columbus does still deserve a bit of credit. Because he discovered the Americas and not someone else who would discover it later, the extra time gives major benefits. Civilization today may not be so advanced if Columbus did not decide to explore. The other person who would eventually discover the Americas may have taken an additional decades or even centuries. The finding of the Americas early and during a time of rapid change and intellect do provide great benefits for society today.
Growing up we have all been told about the fearless explorer, Christopher Columbus, who found America. We even have a day off in his name, which I must say I enjoy a lot, but it is similar to celebrating something in Hitler’s name. When Columbus arrived he was welcomed with openhearted generosity by the indigenous people, when returning he referred to them as people that would make good servants. This was the beginning of the devastation of Native Americans, through disease, greed, and war. Columbus is not responsible for the entire blood bath but the beginning of men like Cortes. Because of Columbus an entire people; their culture and tradition were wiped out. We cannot say Columbus found America, because the Vikings came across it long before, and you cannot really claim to find a land where people have been living. But he did open it to the exploration of the Western Hemisphere. If Columbus had not accidently stumbled into the Americas, the age of exploration would not have begun, and maybe the United States would not have existed. So by the weighing of what is good and bad about Christopher Columbus, I believe that society should view him as a man whom without we might be where we are today, but did create a terrible genocide of Native Americans. I feel also that we should celebrate the discovery of America in his name, but rather in the name of the people that arrived here first, like places like California are doing.
Growing up we have all been told about the fearless explorer, Christopher Columbus, who found America. We even have a day off in his name, which I must say I enjoy a lot, but it is similar to celebrating something in Hitler’s name. When Columbus arrived he was welcomed with openhearted generosity by the indigenous people, when returning he referred to them as people that would make good servants. This was the beginning of the devastation of Native Americans, through disease, greed, and war. Columbus is not responsible for the entire blood bath but the beginning of men like Cortes. Because of Columbus an entire people; their culture and tradition were wiped out. We cannot say Columbus found America, because the Vikings came across it long before, and you cannot really claim to find a land where people have been living. But he did open it to the exploration of the Western Hemisphere. If Columbus had not accidently stumbled into the Americas, the age of exploration would not have begun, and maybe the United States would not have existed. So by the weighing of what is good and bad about Christopher Columbus, I believe that society should view him as a man whom without we might be where we are today, but did create a terrible genocide of Native Americans. I feel also that we should celebrate the discovery of America in his name, but rather in the name of the people that arrived here first, like places like California are doing.
I believe that we as a society should recognize the figure of Columbus, and how he affected the connection between Europe and the Americas. But, as of now, I believe that people in this day and age are nothing but naive as to what the figure of Columbus represents. In primary school, children are taught, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” and following that line, Columbus discovers America, has a feast with the Native Americans and so on. But, when reading between the lines of the rhyme, it does not sound so cute anymore. During Columbus’ journeys to the “New World,” he did not discover the land. What Columbus did was create a connection between the two continents, which became vital as the world’s nations advanced and matured. When creating this connection, Columbus also began an enormous massacre of the American Indian people. He shipped hundreds of Indian slaves back to Spain in order to be auctioned and sold. He invaded upon their culture, and ripped away what settlement they had established for who knows how many years. Many American Indian civilians take offence to the celebration of Columbus Day, because they say he merely “Invaded” the land, rather than discovering it. I believe that Columbus should be recognized, for both the good and the evil that he did. Columbus should be held responsible for the massacre of the American Indian populous, and that we as a society are responsible for educating the truth about Columbus. We need to educate our people about the truth, because our country was founded under the fundamentals that all men are created equal. When we celebrate Columbus Day, we are praising this man who executed great amounts of death and destruction towards the Native American people. He considered them “barbaric” and “primitive,” because of their lack of Christianity, and their unique culture and traditions. We as a society need to recognize these acts of hatred, and learn from them, in order to make sure they do not happen again.
I believe that Columbus should be celebrated. This does not mean however that Columbus is the end all and be all of America’s discoverers. Columbus along with many others helped to explore the Americas and shape what they are today. What i propose is that instead of Columbus Day, there should be a day dedicated to all the explorers who helped to found America. Not to add to all the harping people have been doing on Columbus, but in my opinion, he did not accomplish much. Columbus decided to venture into the Atlantic to find a route to Asia. Instead he stumbled upon the Caribbean islands. This was great because of the influence it had on the Spanish and the rest of Europe. Columbus, sailing for Spain, helped this nation to start their colonization of the Americas. This subsequently sparked a competition in which all of Europe rushed to plunder the resources found in the Americas. This colonization helped to shape how America is today. However there were also a lot of negative effects of Columbus’ journey. First off, many credit Columbus for finding the Americas. Evidence, such as Newfoundland, and historians now point out that some of Europe already knew about the Americas. Also, although Columbus’ journey was good for Europe it had an immediate negative impact on the Native Americans. Columbus killed most of the Natives with disease and many others for sport. The remainder of the Natives were subject to slavery. Overall, I believe Columbus gets too much credit. Although I admit he should be celebrated for his discoveries and his influence on history, he also injured the native population. Instead of celebrating Columbus alone, we should celebrate all the explorers who shaped America.
I believe that as a society we should view Columbus as a fearless and courageous person who was determined to find a new trade route to Asia but ended up discovering America. When I have talked about him people say he is a hero but after reading about him in depth, my view has changed. Yes, people do have different theories about him. Some say he was lucky and some say he was greedy. He paved the way for European expeditions in the Americas once he set foot on the “New World”. He took the Americas to be his own property. He was not a man who can be admired. Most people are not aware of the injustice he did to the Native Americans. This is something that cannot be ignored. The Natives treated him nicely but he saw them as servants. The violence that he committed against them cannot be disregarded.
We cannot call him a villain either. Some of his actions were bad and some were good. He should not be celebrated for discovering America but I think he should be celebrated for what he did. He is said to have started the genocides against the Native Americans but he was not the only one to commit all of these actions. There were other people involved. Maybe there would be no United States of America if he had not discovered this land then. Everything has its positives and negatives. While most of us may see his actions against the Natives as horrific at the same time he discovered a land that someone would not have discovered maybe years or centuries later. It is maybe because of him that the United States today is so advanced. He found it during the Renaissance when new discoveries were being made. That played a great factor in shaping America’s society.
In conclusion, I believe that Columbus should be celebrated for what he has accomplished and for what he did but not for discovering America or starting the genocide against the Native Americans.
Although we have all heard about what tragedies that occurred to the Native Americans after the arrival of Christopher Columbus and other explorer afterwards, it had never occurred to me that we should not honor our great explorers because of these atrocities. I was actually very surprised at the adamant thought of some of the people in the readings we did, comparing his conquest to genocides and the holocausts. I always thought of Columbus Day as a holiday that most people favored. Although I don’t think that Columbus should be vilified for what he did but I don’t think he deserves all the fame and the glory either. Columbus Day celebrates the day the “New World” was discovered so I think that should be the name of the holiday. Columbus at that time didn’t even know he had discovered a new world so why should he be credited with it? Especially since he stuck stubbornly to his theory that it was India. He actually didn’t discover it but merely stumbled upon this land. From what we learned about history he didn’t actually discover the land of the United States but actually parts of the Caribbean so why are we the ones that celebrate this holiday named after him who didn’t even find us? I think that history courses should be changed so that we are taught from a young age that it was the Vikings who first saw this land and someone else (whoever first actually landed on U.S. soil) founded us. Christopher Columbus does not need to be defamed for what he did in conquering but that should not be ignored and he should be celebrated or have a holiday named for him. We should all learn about him and know that yes, he did help contribute to the founding of the United States but not have to throw celebrations in his favor. One point I do have to mention is that as a student still in school, I really do appreciate the day off we get (the only one from late September until Thanksgiving in November) so I would be really sad to see the holiday go. Perhaps we should just rename it the “Discovery Day.”
Columbus should still be celebrated as he is today, despite what some people claim are negative effects of his exploration. It is true that many natives to the New World were killed by Columbus and his crew, either directly by violence or indirectly by disease. However, it is important to note that Columbus did not attempt to exterminate the natives, because they were more useful as a labor force than if they were dead. While forcing the natives into slavery is still rather cruel, it must be noted that it was not an attempt of genocide, because Columbus did not purposefully intend to kill the natives. Columbus should be celebrated because he launched a new age of exploration and colonization of this entire new half of the globe. It is probable that even if Columbus did not discover America someone else would have, but Columbus should be celebrated because he was the first one to attempt to sail completely around the world. He made an important contribution to mankind and changed the course of history forever. For this, I believe Columbus Day should be celebrated.
For decades schools across the United States have taught young children that Columbus was the one who discovered the Americas. What many of the schools exclude from their lessons is the fear that Columbus brought upon the natives that he encountered during his four trips to the Americas in the late 15th century. He had often viewed the natives of the islands, that he and his ship landed on, as commodities and once described the natives as physically fit enough to be good laborers. It is also known that Columbus thought of slavery as an efficient way to receive the funding that he so greatly needed to finance his various explorations. As a society, we can look down upon these certain acts that Columbus had commended but we must also realize and accept that Columbus’s rediscovery of the Americas aided in the creation of a more advanced “New World”. He opened a new realm in exploration at a time when the majority of the lands were thought to have been conquered by the Europeans and the other known civilizations. When Columbus landed in the Americas, he firmly believed he was on an Asian island and so he returned to Europe and to his financial backer, Spain, with news that he had discovered a shortcut to the other side of the world. Columbus was able to spread the news that he found a shorter route to Asia and this could have been an important catalyst that led to an increase in explorers heading west towards the New World believing that it was Asia. We cannot deny Columbus his credit in rediscovering the Americas. If Columbus had not embarked on his missions, then who knows for how long the exploration of the Americas by Europeans would have been postponed until. His accomplishments must not be overshadowed by the bad deeds he had done, but instead be seen on a level ground with his good deeds. His contributions, whether negative or positive, must be viewed as necessary for the achievements and discoveries that Columbus had done. Columbus has been and shall be viewed as a celebrated explorer for years to come.
The Columbus Day controversy is not a recent development but has become a popular debate in recent years, where on one hand Columbus initiated colonization and the discovery of new peoples and lands at the cost of native lives and on the other, Columbus started a “genocide” of native peoples and destruction of culture and is compared to Hitler in regard genocide. To be entirely honest, I disagree with both of these sides. As a young elementary student, I was always taught that Columbus was someone to be proud of, like he's one of America's folk heroes or something and only in 8th grade was I told of his “dark side” and the consequences of his landing as well as the treatment of the natives. As a society I believe, that it is not wrong to celebrate Columbus or vilify him because he did significant good and bad, however, I felt betrayed to a degree that I had never heard anything against Columbus especially with his discovery of the New World causing such massive consequences. I feel that when we learn about Columbus, it should be, not necessarily with the gory details that should be withheld from young children, but as unbiased as possible. I remember him being glorified not portrayed in neutral light where we may come to our own conclusions and make our own decisions as to whether he should be glorified or vilified. Personally, I strongly disagree with the association between Columbus and genocide, based on the definition provided by “The Moral Dimentions of 1492” which explains it as being done to purposely exterminate a group, which was not at all Columbus' intent. He came to the New World, not expecting to find one and certainly not knowing that he would find millions of people with no resistance to European diseases. This is not to say that genocide did not occur in the New World, it was just on a local scale. Columbus initiated the race for European settlement, and in doing so he merely discovered the America's and started the first transmission of diseases against which the natives had no resistance, when really the stories of how Europeans in general mistreated the Natives were in far greater abundance. To conclude, despite Columbus' cruelty in using slaves as payment to the Spanish crown for his voyages, his transmission of diseases which killed the majority of the natives, and the consequence of innocent deaths at the hands of so many European conquerors; without this first step that opened the door to European settlement America would have never existed and as Charles Krauthammer said in his essay in Time, “mankind is better for it”. So personally, as an American, I would choose to celebrate him but as the decedent of a Native American and a moral person against the acts of Columbus' I would condemn him; however I believe that everyone should make their own decision after being educated in the unbiased facts, but ultimately, as Americans celebrate the man who created our country as we know it today.
Columbus Day is celebrated as a day to remember the explorer who “discovered” the Americas. However, the magnitude and manner in which Christopher Columbus is revered is quite beyond adequate. Firstly, Columbus was not the first to stumble upon “the new world”, for that title belongs to the long-gone vikings, and certainly not the first to inhabit it. The Spaniard set sail in 1492 with the intention of finding the far East and eventually acquiring a trade relationship with the nations there, but instead landed in the Carribbean on a self-named San Salvador. He then proceeded to ignore the livelihoods of natives, and pursue selfish goals. Columbus pillaged villages, enslaved men and women, and introduced a range of deadly diseases to a vulnerable people. While he did take historically important notes and samples from this new land, the malicious aspects of his expedition outweigh his accidental discovery. In an age of exploration, the incident of finding North and South America would have happened at one time or another, and Christopher Columbus deserves the praise even less for the way he handled the situation. People should remember Columbus, but reserve their gratification for someone with slightly more venerable values.
Columbus was an explorer and only deserves praise or the condemnation equal to his actions. Columbus set out to find a trade route to Asia, not to find a “New World” that he himself believed to not exist. It is true that he did allow the known world and new world to meet. However his actions were over praised and yet over condemned to. Many of his “accomplishments” were not because of his skill or will, but rather by sheer “luck.” He did not intend to do much of the stuff he actually did. Columbus did not intend to find a New World. Columbus did not intend to kill off most of the native population with disease. There would have been another explorer to rediscover the “New World” had Columbus never set sail. There would have been more Europeans who would have spread diseases that ravaged the native population. Although he does not deserve the full brunt of the blame, we cannot forget the unintended consequences of his actions. All actions have been predestined based on the theory of particle movement. One can only use the event of the past to learn in order to help decipher the events that will take place in the future. One must observe the laws in which the world operates in order to determine what will take place. So Columbus Day should not be celebrated.
Christopher Columbus was, all things considered, a terrible leader. Had he not miscalculated the earth’s circumference so greatly, and completely ignored the unrest among his crew, Columbus may never have reached the New World, and sealed his claim to fame. As a person, there is little about him to glorify; his expeditions infected countless natives, and by the time the Spanish were forced to remove him from his position as governor of Hispaniola, he had killed off as much as 95% of the indigenous people in the area. The man started a tidal wave of exploration in the New World, leading to the enslavement and murder of millions upon millions of innocent people. I see no reason to call Columbus a hero; if anything, his person can nearly be vilified. However, the fact remains that Columbus’s rediscovery (after the Vikings, years before) of the Americas is an event so momentous in history that it demands to be revered. The land he claimed for Spain led to further exploration and settlement, so that the New World became an extension of European civilization. While it is an utter pity that countless natives died by European hands, this is not a trait only evident in Columbus’s voyages; Europeans have a history of killing and subjugating the unknown and the different. Had Columbus not been the first “modern” European to cross the Atlantic, someone else would have inevitably made the trek, and the natives would have met the same end. This in no way condones the slaughter the natives faced; it merely explains a problem evident in ALL European societies, and points out that Columbus was far from the only practitioner of enslavement and other cruelties. The fact that Columbus was a rather stubborn, incompetent leader detracts nothing from his accomplishment in opening the floodgates to widespread colonization and the resulting cultural enrichment. For this achievement he should be celebrated, but no other aspects of his character really deserve praise.
Columbus is a well known, highly regarded figure, to the point that he has his own day attributed to him. Here in lies the controversy. Does he really deserve the recognition he is recieving? One must examine his actions and their results in the years after him. In reality, his expedition's purpose was to find a direct route to the Spice islands, but as a result of his leadership he ended up in a land miles away from his target. In these lands, he brought onto the natives much suffering at the hands of him and his men. The indians he encountered were forced into slavery, massacred, and plagued by the new diseases brought by the Europeans. This, in essence, eternally damaged the culture of these indigeneous people. In addition, the accomplishment that his most often reconized for, the discovery of America, isn't truthful considering the fact that the land was explored by others before him. However, although he was not the first to discover the land, he was the first to discover the opportunity there. Through his voyage, he shed light onto the land and caught the attention of the rulers of various countries. In particular, the English ruler took an interest in the land and created colonies there. These colonies were able to grow, break away from England to form a land based on justice and equality, and then grow, expand, and modernize to become the superpower our nation is today. This would not have been possible if Columbus had never come here in the first place, so in a sense he had a part in creating our country and shaping the world. Therefore, his recognition is justified, despite his brutal conflicts with the Native Americans. Columbus day exists solely to comend him for seizing the opportunity, not for discovering America or killing innocent people.
Ultimately, I think we should celebrate Columbus day. Columbus may have indirectly caused all those deaths, and possibly directly caused some of them. Yes, his ships brought over plagues from Europe that wiped out massive tolls of the natives of America, and may bad things happened to the indigenous people as a result of the European colonization. However, Columbus didn’t kill millions of people himself, and back then the practice was more common and accepted. Although this doesn’t justify the belief, it really makes no sense to simply condemn Columbus for something that was a commonly held belief at the time. Critics say that by discovering and colonizing the Americas, Columbus opened the floodgates for many explorers to come and exploit the Native Americans, but there are several arguments against that. For one, Columbus didn’t plan to discover a new world, so there really wasn’t any malicious intent involved in his decision. For another, why should we bad-mouth the official discovery of land where most of us live now? Columbus Day is sort-of like a second independence day, celebrating not particularly the man, but the discovery by the Europeans of what would end up being a world superpower. Columbus as a man may have been flawed, but nobody is perfect. Should we celebrate him as a person? No. Is it necessarily a good thing that his discovery led to a near cultural genocide? Again, a resounding negative. But as the correlation between the cultural genocide and actual discovery of America is an indirect one, I feel that the holiday shouldn’t be condemned because of that.
I think that Columbus should still be celebrated today. Columbus Day does not celebrate the things he did as Governor of Hispaniola or the way he treated Indians. Columbus Day is about celebrating the fact that this man brought the New World into the main focus of European Society for the first time. Europe was not doing all too well economically during this era and they wanted to find more trade routes to Asia. Christopher Columbus’s discovery gave Europe mountains of gold to boost their economy and while it did not find a new trade route it did give the Europeans much more resources and goods to trade to Asia. Also America provided an escape for people suffering under religious prosecution. Many people say that Columbus was too harsh during his Governorship, but that was because he was a Captain of a ship and that was his leadership style, he just stuck with what he knew best. All in all I think Christopher Columbus should be respected and honored for his accomplishments, instead of heckled because he was not suited for being Governor. He should continue to be remembered as an excellent navigator and the man who opened Europe’s eyes to the New World.
Christopher Columbus is recognized as the man who started the connection between Europe and the Americas. Even though there were others who reached the continent before him, he is accepted as the one who discovered the New World. He is celebrated with his own holiday and every elementary school student hears his name over and over again. But some people believe that he started a genocide of the native people already residing on the land he discovered for Europe. This view is too extreme, as is celebrating his discovery. Society should view Columbus for what he is, as the man who found America, not celebrated or vilified. Columbus happened upon the Americas while searching for a route to Asia. He landed there and Europe colonized the new territory, despite the fact that there were already native peoples there. The idea of celebrating him for this is silly. We remember Martin Luther King Jr. on his own holiday because of his extremely important and influential life. There is no reason to celebrate Columbus, but there is also no reason not to have a holiday or not learn about him. The holiday is a tradition, and he was indeed an important part of founding our society. He also should not be vilified. Perhaps he opened the gate to the native people being exploited and dying, but it was not his own malicious doing. As many have said, someone else could have just as possibly chanced on America, and the same thing would have undoubtedly have happened under those circumstances as well. The native people did experience an extreme loss of life, but it was due to a combination of many factors. The native people were not used to European diseases. Also, they were forced to be slaves for the conquering people. This exploitation was common between all the conquerors of the time period, not just Columbus, and it was not even his doing alone. He should be recognized as a part of our history, but not the starter of genocide or a person greater than what he was.
The controversy of Christopher Columbus is something completely new to me. It has been pounded into my head since first grade that he discovered America and should be honored for that. Now, however there are reasons to believe that a holiday should not be celebrated in his name. Technically he did not discover America, but he did pave the way to the settlement and usage of the new land. I believe it just depends on you point of view. Like anything, there are pros and cons to what Columbus did. He was a brilliant navigator and when he found the Americas it proved as another economic tool for Europe. The negative view of Columbus is that he killed many of the native people. I do not have any respect for him in that sense, although the spread of disease was not intentional, there were cases that involved the intentional wiping out of native peoples. I think that it is good how the discovery lead to economic advancements, but I do not agree with the treatment and blatant disrespect for the native people. After learning more in depth about Columbus, I no longer believe that he should be a national hero. The discovery of the Americas lead to the taking away of land from the native people, although this is how many European nations were thinking at the time, it did not make it truly there land. If Columbus did not sail to the Americas someone else would have in the near future and the same events would have taken place. In the eyes of Europe, this holiday should be great, but in the eyes of other people it may not be.
Christopher Columbus has recently become quite a polarizing figure, a lot of negative things about him have recently been brought to light to accompany all of his accomplishments.
We as a society should not view Columbus as the extraordinary man he has come to be known as. He was not the first person to discover the New World, he was not the first person to think that the world was spherical rather than flat, and he was not even successful in what he first set out to achieve, which was finding a trade route to East Asia. Rather, he was the first European in a few centuries to stumble upon the New World, after the Vikings. Also, his treatment of the Natives once he reached the New World was nothing short of appalling. Any male over the age of 14 were put to work in goldmines, and were then worked to death. Women were raped by the spanish colonists. The population was reduced from and estimated 8 million to 60,000. Afterwards, he was stripped of his title as governor of his discovered land for "mismanaging" the colony. The Columbus I grew up with did not commit these deeds, but the real Columbus did, and because of that, he should not be celebrated.
That being said, I do not think Columbus should be villified either. It is true that these terrible things were done to the Tainos, but its not as if Columbus was responsible for each and every atrocity that occured. After all, it was the colonists who carried out the actions. Also, Columbus should not be held responsible for the actions of people such as Cortes, who annihilated the Mayans, simply for setting of New World exploration.
In conclusion, Christopher Columbus could be perceived many different ways, but in my opinion, he should neither be celebrated nor villified for his actions, but somewhere inbetween.
Despite Christopher Columbus not being the first to discover America, he should still be respected as an important discoverer and celebrated. Past discoverers may have found America first, but Europeans were not in the colonizing moods that lead them to seek new land in the west at that time. Had Columbus not had good timing, then he probably would have gone done in history similarly to the Vikings. His discovery, though, lead to the colonization of Central and South America by Spain, and North America by France and England. Had it not been for Columbus, the United States would not have been formed, capitalism never would have gotten its chance, the computer would have never been invented, and we would not be able to write this right now. Unalienable rights that let us live our lives the way we want are a result of Columbus. His discovery lead to eventual creation of the US, and everything awesome that America or capitalism has ever made. The only negative thing Columbus did was toward the Native Americans. The diseases that he brought over wiped out millions of people. But this would have been true had any European made it to America. Columbus cannot be blamed for the mistreatment of the Aztecs by Cortes either. The critics of Columbus should realize that the only reason that they can criticize him is because America was formed with the freedom of speech protected. Christopher Columbus should be recognized as a hero, because he was indirectly responsible for the founding of America and giving capitalism a chance.
Columbus should be viewed by society as a significant, yet controversial figure. Although many more came before him, he was the most famous to go to the New World. Columbus was one of the reasons that America came to be. He traveled to the West from Spain, looking for Asia, and he discovered what is now America. If he had not taken this journey and returned to tell many about it in Europe, then others may not have wanted to explore. He set the precedent for years to come. On the other hand, Columbus did treat the Natives of the places that he explored very poorly. He and his team of fellow explorers went many places in the Caribbean and in Central and North America, and were "exploring" for their own good. Although their first objective was to find Asia by going West by way of the Pacific Ocean, once they thought that they had landed in Asia, they developed different ideas. Hired to explore, they started to look for gold and made the Natives their slaves. They had no right to rule over the Natives. There are even some accounts of killings by Columbus and his crew. Although some of this may be exaggerated and resulting from bias, there was most likely some fighting and death because of the new mixture of cultures and the mistrust. Because of his harsh mistreatment of the Natives and the selfish quest for himself, Columbus should not be celebrated, yet he should not be totally cast off because he did make a great contribution to the world.
To put it bluntly, I think that as a society we should view Columbus as a complete jerk. Lest not forget the Vikings discovered America before Columbus did. Yes the man was the catalyst for the European settlement of America, which did in turn led to the creation of this beautiful nation that we live in today, but this was not his intent. His intent was to find a route across the Atlantic to India, but instead he landed in the Bahamas. I give him credit for finding land because navigation skills were much more primitive, however he began the ruin of an amazing society of peoples. The fact that he didn’t find what he had planned though is just an extra something to add to his stupidity. He also for a while, even more stubbornly insisted that the Bahamas and other island groups were a part of India giving them the misnomer, the Indies. Columbus brought raw materials back to Spain, which they benefited from, sure, but what did he bring to America? Disease. Injustice. Massacre. Death. Oh, and he also began the enslavement of the Tainos of the Dominican and the Native Americans! Cool guy, right? So why would anyone celebrate this man? This beats me. His landing in America allowed Europe to build more trading networks as well as colonies, but was that really necessary? Not for the price of the ultimate desecration of the natives and their culture. Of course the Europeans would now want them to be converted to Christianity, so that in itself is a major blow to the culture of the native peoples. So, first of all Columbus wasn’t the first to discover the Americas, and secondly, when he did he completely disrespected the native people by claiming their land without regards to the fact that they were the original inhabitants, and he senselessly violated their way of life and their right to live. Columbus should not be celebrated at all, because he is a cold blooded genocidal man with the mere purpose of making good business at the expense of innocent people. Also, if he wasn’t the first European to found America, someone else would’ve surely come along soon after and have done the job.
Columbus Day is a day where the people of the United States celebrate the day that Columbus landed in the Americas. Even though by accident, Columbus landed in islands near Florida, which is now known as the Bahamas, and mistakenly mistook the islands as the Indies. His journey was originally to find a fast route to the Indies but instead found America. I believe that since he did discover America and create a colony in the New World then this holiday should be celebrated because even though the Vikings discovered it before, Columbus still played an influential role in the development of the colonies in the New World. If Columbus had never found America the United States of America would not be known as it was today. Basically, all of the things that have been created in life for our enjoyment are because of him since if he had never found the Americas a simple commodity such as electricity may have never been invented. In addition, the Vikings may have found the Americas but they did not bring colonists to it and make a settlement there. However, you know who did? Christopher Columbus. For all of these reasons Columbus should not be vilified or dishonored he should be celebrated due to his creation of colonies in the Americas and because if he did not find the Americas the U.S. may have not been created.
Columbus was a man who had an atrocious regard for Native American human life, and was so stubborn that he could not admit that where he landed was not where he had planned. Yes, he did make a significant discovery. And yes, it took a person as strong-willed as him to achieve what he did. But this by no means qualifies him to be a celebrated hero. He has been painted as the icon for the discovery of America. This is a simple concept that is easy for the public to believe. However, this is completely inaccurate; there having been findings that many came before him. Granted, Columbus’s so-called “discovery” had many positive effects. It caused America to develop into a booming civilization that is now the forerunner of society. It boosted Europe’s stagnant economy, and provided an outlet for the misfits, adventurers, and enterprisers of European society. However, Columbus is not the sole cause of this success; with the rate that European exploration was progressing in his time, within the next few decades someone else would have realized the bounties of the New World. Columbus’s rapacity and violence in the New World set precedence for future explorers, which created endless negative ramifications. His genocide and enslavement of the natives set the tone for how the Native Americans would be treated for hundreds of years; as sub-human. The pathogens he and his crew brought with them also decimated millions. Columbus also set a precedence for exploiting all resources and taking them back to Europe to amass wealth. Columbus should not be celebrated as an American hero. His actions are unforgivable, even in the context of his time period. He is credited with finding America, even though he refused to believe it, and others had explored the continent before him. He was not well-intentioned. This is not the type of person who Americans should respect and celebrate.
In many parts of the world, Christopher Columbus is recognized as the fearless expolorer who discovered the New World. Yet, although Columbus did bring two "worlds" together after centuries of separation, this was not his initial intention. Columbus's real goal was to find an alternative route to China; in doing so, he reached the Americas. Still, despite his mistake, he was certainly not the person who "discovered" the New World; the area had been settled thousands of years earlier by migrants from Asia, and Vikings from Europe two centuries ago settled in Greenland and Iceland. Although Columbus's accident was beneficial to Europe, for it helped Europe's dominance in the world. Columbus's "discovery" brought the East and West together, and the East and West remained in contact for the rest of history, something that his preceding European brothers, the Vikings, could not do. Still, despite his audacity to try something no one has ever done before, Columbus certainly caused devastation, enough devastation that in certain parts of the world, his name is vindicated rather than celebrated. In coming in contact with the New World, Columbus weakened the immune systems of the Native Americans, killing with disease, before selling many of the natives to Spain into slavery. Just as how Columbus could not stop the spread of disease, he also could not stop the curiosity that perked amoung different European countries in hearing that a new land mass was discovered. And thus, the "genocide" in the New World began, with selfish Europeans hungry for gold subjugating the Native people, and digging up the precious land. Hence, Columbus, a great explorer, should not be celebrated for anything other than a great explorer.
The character of Christopher Columbus is a complex one. Some argue that Columbus was a mass murderer responsible for the deaths of millions of natives. However, I tend to disagree with this. Although the impact of his encounter in the New world was monumental, and led to the warfare and subjugation of the native populations that would be inflected by the great nations of Europe, he himself was not personally responsible for this. Columbus had no control over the actions that the people of France, Britain, and Spain would do to the natives; this was entirely of their own volition, and it only came about due to Columbus's discovery, not through any fault of his own. Some also argue that his militant command of the Hispaniola governance makes him an evil figure; I also deny this. Simply because Columbus was inept as a governor does not make him evil, it simply means he did not have the proper qualifications for his job. To declare columbus a villain for his ineptitude would devalue the definition of the word. Granted, Columbus was no saint; he was responsible for harsh treatment of the natives during his governance, but little more could be expected from a man in his position with his ideology at that time. In fact, by comparison to the cruel treatment Cortes inflicted upon the natives of Mexico, columbus was sweet and mild-mannered. Thus, he should not be declared an example of virtue or an idol of awe (as was his connotation prior); yet few people, now and then, are.
However, I would be lying if I said that I did not feel a certain measure of pride in Columbus. Though much bad did result from his encounter, so to did alot of good. The economy of Europe was jolted, and it led to much needed revenue in the countries. It was also due to his discovery that democratic ideals were able to spread to the americas, eventually. Again, he did not have direct control over these developments, but it did come by as a result of his actions. Still, i take much happiness in the fact that this nation arose because of the discovery of one of my own countrymen.
Therefore, i think that Christopher Columbus should be neither sanctified nor vilified. He was simply a hardworking man who was doing his job to the best of his abilities. He had his triumphs and failures, imperfections and virtues. Still, whether he had control of it or not, Columbus was undoubtedly monumental in the development of the Americas, and I still find in him good reason to be proud to be Italian.
After mulling this question over, I think that Christopher Columbus should be partly celebrated, partly vilified and also partly pitied. Columbus obviously did not really "discover" America, as there were inhabitants living there years before his arrival. He also did not find an alternate trade route to Asia. What he did do was open up a "new world" for Europeans to explore. For this he should be commemorated and celebrated because he was the one who changed exploration as the world knew it. If not for him, the United States might have been quite different today. At the same time however, he should be vilified for his horrendous treatment of the Native Americans. Based on the documented sources, the Natives showed him and his crew kindness when Columbus first came to America. He repaid them by catogorizing them as "sub-humans" and shipping 500 off to Spain to work in slavery. He also slaughtered a huge portion of the Native population, which was completely uncalled for. He was ignorant of their culture and ignorant of them as human beings in general, seeing as he wrote them off as savages and barbarians. Finally, Christopher Columbus could be looked upon as pitiful. He refused to believe that he had not, as much as he hoped, landed in Asia. He went to his grave sticking to this belief, despite all of the signs that told him he was wrong. He was a stubborn man, yet he knew he had failed in other expeditions. Maybe this was the reason he did not want to acknowledge that he was wrong about his "discovery". From this perspective, he could be seen as a man who did not want to disappoint those around him and tried to get them to see he was right. Christopher Columbus was a complex man, and because he was only human, there are multiple aspects of how we can view him as a society today.
Columbus Day is a holiday dedicated to honor the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, but should it be celebrated upon learning that it caused the destruction of people in the Americas and wiped out cultures? I do not think Columbus Day should be celebrated for it only provided benefits to the Europeans and not the world as a whole as his discovery seems to have been marred with causing only benefits. Christopher Columbus originally set out to discover a trade route to India and China. He circumnavigated to the West Indies due to an error in his calculations. His finding caused an age of exploration to shift towards a scramble to colonize these lands and in this process, the Europeans killed thousands upon thousands of natives whom they encountered. It is important to state that the time period of exploration conjured an age which demonstrated that the discovery of the new world was inevitable. Columbus simply happened to be considered the first to be recognized as well as allowing Europeans a better understanding of the world in geographic terms. Nevertheless, he took advantage of the newly found lands by trading the indigenous people, finding mines of gold and silver, and other valuable goods which could be used to empower the nation of Spain. As other European nations became involved, the natives were treated with little respect, massacred for amusement, labored to death, and even labeled “sub-humans” with no souls. His discovery led to the wiping out of entire populations of natives, and even though he was not the only one, he opened up a pathway of the destruction of cultures. Neither is he technically the first man to discover the America’s, the Vikings have left evidence of their own journey. Columbus Day is a holiday which should not be celebrated because it led to the relentless killings of indigenous people who were treated as mere animals in most cases, and he wasn’t even the first to discover the new world.
I don't think that Columbus is as deserving of recognition as he is in our society. Yes, it is true that he is worthy of some historical recognition as one of the first to sail to the Americas. However, he was not the first, the last, nor was he especially amazing as a leader. His success was simply based on the fact that he made an incorrect calculation of the Earth's circumference, his belief that he was going to be the first person to reach India by sailing westward and his exceptional capability of keeping his crew disciplined. Historically speaking, the Vikings deserve more credit since they were the first Europeans to arrive to North America. Moreover, Amerigo Vespucci was the one who discovered that what Columbus thought was the West Indies was actually a completely new continent. On the other hand, Columbus irrationally disagreed with this discovery and died believing that he found a route to India rather than “discovering” a new continent.
This is not to say that Columbus doesn't deserve credit as an explorer. However, it is my belief that he alone shouldn't be sitting on the throne on Columbus Day. At the very least, I'd say that the Vikings and Vespucci deserve equal credit. I shouldn't complain though, because if there wasn't a Columbus Day, we wouldn't have a day off from school.
Columbus day should not be celebrated in the United States because Columbus did not do anything good. Columbus accidentally stumbled on a bunch of islands. Then, he did not even realize that they were part of a totally new continent, it took Amerigo Vespucci to figure that out. Columbus still has cities named after him and did not do anything. This is totally ridiculous. Then What he did do successfully was lead in the persecution of the Native Americans. Columbus enslaved these people and continued to persecute them throughout his time being there. As a whole Columbus continued to abuse this large percentage of the population. Columbus also brought disease with him. More Native Americans died of disease than war. Columbus contributed to the massive decline in population which is estimated to be at 90-95% of the pre-Columbian population. Columbus is a murder who accomplished nothing during his life and does not deserve to be remembered or celebrated.
It is very difficult to judge Christopher Columbus's actions objectively. Society's interpretation of historical events, such as Columbus's actions, changes over time. People in the 20th century celebrated Columbus's discovery of the New World, but recently historians began branding Columbus as a mass murderer who caused the death of 60 million people. Some historians even said, "Columbus makes Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent." While it is true that Columbus's arrival did cause many Native Americans to die, he alone cannot be held accountable for their deaths.
European diseases killed more Native Americans than European armies. The Native Americans' lack of immunity to European diseases was caused by nature. While it is true that Europeans exploited this to their advantage, the Europeans did not intentionally bring these diseases to use against the Native Americans. If Europeans never arrived in the New World, when another group of settlers, perhaps from Asia, arrived, the same outcome would occur. While some people accuse Christopher Columbus of genocide, Europeans did not bring their diseases with the intent to exterminate the Native American population.
Although Christopher Colubus's arrival in the New World caused the death of many Native Americans, his discovery led to the creation of new nations. Without him, the North American and South American continent might never have been settled. Christopher Columbus's actions were justified during his time. When he returned from the New World, he was greeted by his country, and Europe, as a hero, not a mass murderer. Columbus's actions were acceptable during his time period. It is impossible for people living over five centuries after Columbus' time to judge him objectively.
When I was in first grade, I was taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America. His accomplishments were glorified and he was portrayed as a hero. Throughout most of elementary school, the same story was repeated again and again: the great Christopher Columbus and his long, arduous voyage to discover the New World. Only in middle schoo and high school did we finally learn the truth. Columbus was not the first person to discover America. He was not even the first European. He didn't even believe it was a new continent. In fact, he made his crew swear to him that they believed they were in China, and until the day he died Columbus believed he had found a new route to Asia. This is quite different than the elementary school version of Christopher Columbus.One thing that previous teachers had neglected to mention was the mass deaths of the natives. It was called genocide by some, perhaps incorrectly, but no one can deny that the Europeans exploration of the New World led directly to the deaths of a vast number of natives. Many died of diseases brought with the Europeans, their immune systems to frail to withstand the new pestilence. Many more were killed by the Europeans. The natives were considered savages, subhuman, souless. As they supposedly had no souls, the Europeans had no qualms about killing them. The deaths of so many natives, and the loss of their culture was devastating and casts a shadow on Columbus's deeds. Columbus's own refusal to believe that he had discovered a new land was unfortunate, and makes him less of a hero. There is enough evidence to make anyone believe that Columbus should be vilified. There is one thing that my first grade teachers got right though. Regardless of who got there first, or how many natives were killed, Columbus changed the course of world history. Christopher Columbus was the one who began the permanent settlement of the Americas. Eventually someone else would have done it, but Columbus did do it, and therefore he should be celebrated for that, if not forgiven for the deaths of the Indians.
In Elementary schools, Columbus is portrayed as the brave explorer who was the first to come across North America and Columbus day was a day to celebrate this "heroic" man. However, Columbus wasn't as great of a man that he is cracked up to be. Columbus was indeed, a very important person in the history of the world and his discoveries and contributions led to many advancements. However, he was also a very cruel and greedy man who brought devastation to the natives of the Americas. After Columbus landed on the new world, diseases started ravaging the natives and millions of people died. Of course, this was not his fault, but many people leave out this detail about Columbus, the fact that he brought upon a horrible massacre of innocent people. He also turned many of the natives into mining slaves in order to obtain as much gold and silver as possible. It is said that if one of the slaves didn't bring any gold back or they didn't bring back enough, Columbus would have thier hands chopped off at the wrists. This shows how greedy and cruel he really was. He also demanded a high percent of any riches that he may find for the King and Queen which again, shows his greed. He wasn't even the first person to come across the new world because there is substantial evidence that the vikings were the first ones to land here and up to his dying day, Columbus refused to belive that he had found a new world. Even though he had a lot of bad attributes associated with him, Columbus still made one of the greatest discoveries that put the world on a new level of advancement. He opened the new world up to future settlement and opportunities. He also advanced the view of the world, it was getting "smaller" with this discovery. Therefore, Columbus Day should not really celebrate Columbus, it should celebrate his acheivements. As a person he as cruel and conceded, but his discovery changed the world forever.
While controversy surrounds Christopher Columbus’ discovery in the New World, I believe that his discovery should be celebrated. Columbus discovered the New World only through accident, but that does not change the effects of his discovery. It is true that many Europeans following him treated the Native Americans inhumanely, but this was not something that Columbus willingly initiated. It is true that Columbus himself was less than kind to the Natives he encountered, and unwittingly spread calamitous disease among them, but this was at a time where xenophobia and ethnocentrism existed rampantly; this was a societal norm. Columbus was no worse in his day than he could be expected to be. Christopher Columbus brought about a union of two entirely different worlds of humans that were completely ignorant of the other’s existence. Although this realization was later abused, this cultural awareness was vital to global and social development on both hemispheres. Columbus was mistaken in his discovery and certainly fallible in his actions, but what he did brought a plethora of benefits and enlightenment that would have been more expensive in the long run to go without. Columbus cannot and should not be held responsible for the actions and decisions of his followers, or of what was felt to be right at the time. He cannot in good conscious be considered a villain for his discovery of the Americas.
I do not believe that there is a correct answer as to whether Christopher Columbus “should” be celebrated or not. The situation really takes on a totally different meaning depending on which perspective you’re looking at it from. For instance, I cannot definitively say that if I were Native American, I would necessarily be “celebrating” Columbus Day. When Christopher Columbus first came over to the Americas in 1492, he was not kind to the “Indians” (whom he named under the assumption that he had landed in India). He thought that the Indians possessed the gold he was looking for, so he ransacked their settlements looking for it; when he observed their religious practices he and his crew forced them to convert to Christianity and learn to speak Spanish (to assimilate to his culture). Also, looking at the big picture, if Columbus’ expeditions to the Americas were the beginning of colonization of the Americas, it was also the end of the Indians’ free reign of the land. Columbus’ actions also led to the mass colonization of North America , which eventually became the United States of America, whose government also did not get along well with the Indians in the beginning either. An example of this being the Trail of Tears, during the 1800’s, when the Native Americans were forcibly removed from their land in the southern United States. On the flip side of the coin, if you consider yourself an American, you might be grateful that Columbus “discovered” the Americas, or began the trend of colonizing the lands in the western hemisphere, because, perhaps, if he had not, history would not have turned the same. Perhaps, if Columbus had not essentially started the colonization of America, if he had found some other land and started colonies there, and all of Europe had followed him there, America would not be what it is today. Maybe, if Columbus had not landed here, the original settlers that came here searching for religious freedom and the like, these ideas being the basis of what America is, would not have seen this land as an opportunity for them the break away from the Church of England and create a place where “All men are created equal”. There is no way of knowing for sure, but history could very well have been significantly different had Christopher Columbus started the trend of colonizing the Americas. And even though a great loss of lives and culture did take place during this process, I am grateful that it happened the way it did, because I am unsure that I would be as fortunate had history turned out differently. However, like I said, I can’t say I would feel the same way about the situation if I were a Native American. It just goes to show you how self -concerned human beings are by nature, to say that I am grateful for the way things happened is really only because they happened in my best interests, it is hard to say that you are happy things turned out the way they did, knowing that it was all at the expense of someone else.
Christopher Columbus should be celebrated. The argument over whether he was correct in his actions needs to be taken into context. Columbus didn't do anything that wasn't being done already. During this time period conquering people who are weaker than the conquerer was common. Columbus was merely doing what he knew, to take land that seemed to have wealth for the good of his own country. Slave labor wasn't new either, there were slaves everywhere. They were viewed as merchandise and it was as if Columbus had just found a new stash of product. Although that doesn't make it right it wasn't out of the norm. Even though they Vikings technically were the first to discover the Americas. Columbus rediscovered the Americas but the difference was that his discovery had a lasting effect while the Viking's effect was next to none. They were driven out by the natives and their discovery wasn't spread while Christopher's lasted until today.
I do not believe that there is a correct answer as to whether Christopher Columbus “should” be celebrated or not. The situation really takes on a totally different meaning depending on which perspective you’re looking at it from. For instance, I cannot definitively say that if I were Native American, I would necessarily be “celebrating” Columbus Day. When Christopher Columbus first came over to the Americas in 1492, he was not kind to the “Indians” (whom he named under the assumption that he had landed in India). He thought that the Indians possessed the gold he was looking for, so he ransacked their settlements looking for it; when he observed their religious practices he and his crew forced them to convert to Christianity and learn to speak Spanish (to assimilate to his culture). Also, looking at the big picture, if Columbus’ expeditions to the Americas were the beginning of colonization of the Americas, it was also the end of the Indians’ free reign of the land. Columbus’ actions also led to the mass colonization of North America , which eventually became the United States of America, whose government also did not get along well with the Indians in the beginning either. An example of this being the Trail of Tears, during the 1800’s, when the Native Americans were forcibly removed from their land in the southern United States. On the flip side of the coin, if you consider yourself an American, you might be grateful that Columbus “discovered” the Americas, or began the trend of colonizing the lands in the western hemisphere, because, perhaps, if he had not, history would not have turned the same. Perhaps, if Columbus had not essentially started the colonization of America, if he had found some other land and started colonies there, and all of Europe had followed him there, America would not be what it is today. Maybe, if Columbus had not landed here, the original settlers that came here searching for religious freedom and the like, these ideas being the basis of what America is, would not have seen this land as an opportunity for them the break away from the Church of England and create a place where “All men are created equal”. There is no way of knowing for sure, but history could very well have been significantly different had Christopher Columbus started the trend of colonizing the Americas. And even though a great loss of lives and culture did take place during this process, I am grateful that it happened the way it did, because I am unsure that I would be as fortunate had history turned out differently. However, like I said, I can’t say I would feel the same way about the situation if I were a Native American. It just goes to show you how self -concerned human beings are by nature, to say that I am grateful for the way things happened is really only because they happened in my best interests, it is hard to say that you are happy things turned out the way they did, knowing that it was all at the expense of someone else.
For many years, people have wondered who truly found America. Was it Columbus, like commonly believed, or was it Northern European Vikings? That may be a question that will never be settled upon, but as of now, most people believe that it Was Christopher Columbus. However, a debate that rages over Columbus himself is over whether or not he is a hero for discovering the America’s or a villain for expose the Native peoples populations to disasters. I think that Columbus Day should still be celebrated today, because he was the first European to start colonies into the New World, the foundation of the forming of America. Columbus should not be viewed as a villain, because, although many Europeans did enslave and kill natives, many also did not on purpose. Columbus was not a conquistador, but an explorer who was searching for trade routes to India. He may have fought with Natives, but he was not one who directly enslaved and killed natives. His men may have carried deadly diseases with them, but they did not do it on purpose. Columbus has had his name smudged because he led the Spanish invasion into the New World, a horrifically violent event. He may have treated the few native he encountered harshly, but not some of his fellow countrymen did. As the first European to start expansions into the New World, Christopher Columbus should still be honored today.
We should definitely celebrate the fact that Columbus discovered the Americas. The large amount of controversy follows his discovery is because of what other people used the discovery for and is sickening and inhuman but when we celebrate the holiday we look at the positives that have come from the discovery. This is a hard question to answer because the discovery and the following actions of the European settlers were terrible and had a profound impact on the lives of millions of natives. People should know the truth about these actions on the Native Americans just as people know the truth about the Jewish holocaust because it is necessary that we try and prevent this from happening again anywhere in the world. Therefore, society should view Columbus as a man who did what he thought was right. By mistake he introduced Europe to the Americas but at the same time he started the holocaust of the Native’s by providing a motive that induced greed on many Europeans. By providing this greed, Columbus should be viewed as a man of discovery but also as a man who cannot be pardoned for his taking part in the New World holocaust. Since people have become accustomed to celebrating Columbus, he should be still be celebrated but it also on his day, people should take time to become educated about what happened after he relayed his discovery of the New World to Europe. Everything about Columbus’s rediscovery affects us as Americans today from the integrated races to the millions of lives that were lost as a result of his actions. Because of this, I believe that Columbus day should be celebrated so that we may commemorate the European discovery, respect the lives of the Native Americans that were lost, and to learn from the horrible mistakes that took place as a result of Columbus.
Americans love their holidays and they most definitely love days off of work and school. However, one holiday that should not be celebrated is Columbus Day. In elementary school most children learn the rhyme, “In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue” and they are taught that Christopher Columbus is a great explorer that discovered our home or the “New World.” It is ludicrous to say a place already inhabited can be so called discovered. Generally the word discovered means to be the first to find, learn or observe. Therefore, Christopher Columbus did not discover the “New World” because millions of Native Americans already lived there at the time and clearly new about this “New World.” Besides, the Vikings were actually the first people to arrive at the shores of the “New World.” Why do we not honor and glorify the Vikings for finding our land or even better the Native Americans who once and still do call this land their home? So Columbus did not discover America in that sense, however he did contribute important knowledge to Europe at the time. He helped boost Europe’s economy and he found a means of escape for Europeans that were adventurous and those that were enterprisers. This in the long run has helped America be the successful country it is today. Yet some claim he proved the earth was round. But various qualified people have proven that only a very small minority of people would have believed this. So why do we celebrate him as if he is this honorable hero? It certainly is not because of his cruelty towards Native Americans: he started a “genocide” of Native Americans and destroyed their valuable culture. It is certainly not because of his skill, he accidently stumbled upon America. It was sheer luck. In given time, another European would have discovered the “New World” if Columbus hadn’t. I believe the American education system teaches young children a very bias perception of Columbus. By teaching children that Columbus was this great hero that was best friends with the Native Americans is wrong and just as bad as countries that censor information from their people. I believe that school children should be taught all the great things about Columbus but also be taught how he did kill Indians for his own gain. This allows everyone to form their own opinion on what type of man Christopher Columbus was and if he should be celebrated. I do not suggest that we should abandon any features that make America the country it is nor do I suggest we stop celebrating principles that we value so much. Rather, I think we should stop glorifying Christopher Columbus and have a day to celebrate the formation of America in general.
I believe that Columbus should neither be celebrated nor should Columbus be vilified. What Columbus did does not deserve a national holiday but also does not earn him the title of “mass murderer.” Without Columbus’s discovery the modern world would be significantly different and which is one of his greatest achievements. However, Columbus did stumble upon his achievement by landing on islands that he believed were part of Asia when in fact they belonged to the Americas. Although his discovery was significant it does not earn him the right to have a holiday in his name. At the same time however I do not believe that he should be vilified for what he did. He was not the main reason for the deaths of thousands of natives of the lands he discovered. There were thousands of other European settlers that were also responsible for the deaths and it is just because Columbus was the one of the original discoverers of the “new world” is why the deaths are blamed on him. Columbus acted as a typical man of his time and should not be vilified for what he did. I believe that Columbus should neither be vilified nor honored for his discovery of the “new world.”
Columbus day is a day that should not be celebrated the way it is as a Holiday. It is true that Christopher Columbus untied the Americas and European civilization, but what is often overlooked is the incredible amount of harm and destruction he caused. First, it is only sheer luck that he found the Americas, because he was only looking for trade routes to India. When he landed here, he launched a genocide on the natives, replacing their morals and values with European ones. He killed them, brought foreign diseases, and destroyed their villages. Why should we celebrate a man who did so much damage? On top of that, he was not even the first person to set foot on this continent. Native people were already residing here, and Vikings are believed to have set foot on this soil earlier than he did. He was a good explorer, and he connected the world, but he really didn’t discover anything. So as a society, we should view him as a explorer who cause a great amount of damage to the Native culture. He removed them from their beliefs, punished them, and often times killed them. We can even compare him to Hitler, because he too launched a genocide, no better than that of the jewish people in Germany. I personally don’t think it is practical to celebrate the accomplishments of a murderer.
The commemoration of the ‘discovery’ of America by Christopher Columbus is continued annually by tradition, despite the widely held consensus that most of what the holiday celebrates is incorrect. Historians have asserted that Columbus was neither the first man in the Americas (quite obviously) or the first discoverer of the New World. Our country’s name, America, is not even attributed to Columbus, but to the exploratory efforts of Amerigo Vespucci. Achievements discredited, Columbus has begun to bear an increasing brunt of criticism from modern historians in regards to his treatment of the Native Americans. Thus we turn to the question of whether Columbus should be celebrated, commemorated, or vilified for his actions and their eventual consequences. Opponents of his point to his mistreatment of the Natives, and the annihilation caused by the spread of European diseases, as evidence of his villainy. Many even compare him to Hitler, and parallel the spread of disease to the extermination of the Jews in Nazi Germany. It is here that historians’ imaginations run away with their pens, and their arguments become less stable. Today, the Holocaust is the epitomic archetype of something ‘evil.’ The more a modern protocol can be compared and paralleled against Hitler, the more evil it must be. Or, so the thinking goes at least. Even under the loosely defined terms of ‘holocaust’ and ‘genocide,’ however, it his highly unfair and ethnocentric to accuse Columbus of wiping out the millions of Natives that were estimated to live in America. Calling the spread of germs a ‘holocaust’ is akin to calling a hurricane a declaration of war on America by the colonies in the equatorial Pacific ocean. Far from deliberate, it is likely Columbus never even knew the full effects his germs had on the native population. Though his violence against the Natives is considered morally incorrect by today’s standards, it must be taken into account that this expedition was undertaken by men from a continent that had experienced the Crusades. The killing of pagans was considered common, and even righteous, practice at the time. Many historians again loose their base in fact, and offer evidence of numerous explorers and their mistreatment of the Natives even with regard to this. Columbus, however, is not numerous explorers; he is himself, and only that. Blaming the actions of others on him is incorrect morally and factually. Some historians argue that the destruction of the vast Native American society was a tragedy, others a necessary turning point in the history of the modern world. Regardless of either, the abstract concept of Columbus’ actions must be reduced to what he himself did in order to judge him fairly. If it could be said that the fate of the Natives was set by his actions, could it be extrapolated that every event in American history was made by his grand design? Unless some minority society subscribes to the idea of Columbus as a minor god, this is completely unreasonable. Columbus should be celebrated. Not for his injustices against the Natives, but for the risk-taking entrepreneurial spirit he represented. The age of colonization in the Americas was spawned by his discovery, and as such we, as the decedents of that colonization, should be thankful. Whether another explorer would or wouldn’t have discovered the continent eventually is a moot point- Columbus did, and as such deserves credit and commendation. The kind of explorative courage he exhibited is a model to which many should aspire, and those who succeed following it deserve appreciation.
Columbus should be acknowledged as a man of impact on the intellectual world of Europe, but not celebrated as the founder of a "new world". Other before him had already discovered and populated what is now the Americas, so his old title of 'founder' should not be applied. Though he may not have discovered this land first hand, he did bring in to effect the economic race between the stronger countries of Europe, such as Spain and Portugal. New people, goods, and opportunities were acted upon with these new lands, and the economy of Europe was drastically impacted from the early 15oo's on. I personally view Columbus in a negative light, as he brought almost total decimation to the indigenous people of south and central America. As more and more ships sailed across the Atlantic, ships carrying diseases and power-hungry tyrants wiped out the Aztecs and Incas and brought others from the islands into slavery and oppression. One section from the readings we were assigned on the subject really enlightened my new views on Columbus; he was described to have made Hitler look like and amateur. Huge sums of needless deaths occurred with the arrival of conquistadors and other foreigners, many starting with Columbus's mistake of the year 1492.
I believe that as a society Columbus should be viewed as a significant figure in history, but to be celebrated or vilified is excessive. The accomplishment Columbus is know for, the discovery of the Americas, was only achieved by accident while he was on his real goal of finding a new sea route to Asia. His accomplishment of discovering America wasn’t even something new, since the Vikings had already discovered North America long before Columbus’s first voyage to the new world. There’s not much about Columbus himself thats really worth celebrating, but it is the effects his discovery of the new world had that are significant. Without Columbus’s accidental discovery, the people of the Eastern hemisphere wouldn’t have known of the existence of this brand new world. Then the colonization of the new world wouldn’t occur and develop into the modern Americas we know today. Columbus’s voyages helped spark the interest in Europe about the new world that lead to their colonization. This also however caused great damage to the population of the native peoples already living in the Americas at the time. Europeans colonizing the new world carried over their diseases that the native populations had no resistance for, devastating their population. Its also in this sense that Columbus is considered a villain, due to his treatment of natives. Columbus really can’t be blamed though due to the fact that this treatment was typical of the time and Columbus never had the intention of killing the natives. Therefore Columbus should be characterized so harshly as a villain, but as a significant figure in history who’s actions helped shape the world we live in today.
Some would say that Columbus can be described as a murder to the extreme of Hitler and the Nazis. Others will say that h should be known for the discovery of the new world and nothing else. Although I understand that people can view Columbus in these ways because there is no doubt that he committed murders and killed many natives of the new world, but I still believe that Columbus day should be a celebrated holiday not for these murders but for his discovery of the new world. Columbus committed many murders but as history shows he is getting credit for murders that he took no part in and which he had no control over. An example of this is when people blame him for the murders of Native Americans who got diseases as a result of European exploration, and also murders which other Europeans committed and not Columbus. Society should understand the things that Columbus did but should still appreciate the other things he did, such as risking his life to mistakenly find the new world. Columbus may have done terrible some terrible things but he is receiving a name for more terrible things than he actually took part in. In the end Columbus Day should still be a celebrated holiday for his discovery of the new world.
There is a great deal of argument whether or not Columbus should be seen as a hero or a villain to put it simply. In my opinion, Columbus, while having committed many atrocious crimes, cannot truly be blamed for what he did. Christopher began his journey seeking a new route to the East, but ended up finding an entirely new landmass. Even when Columbus had discovered the New World, he thought it was the old world. He found many indigenous people, and this is where the real controversy starts. Because of Columbus' discovery of this new world, a wave of disease and mistreatment of Indians sprung out. However, in my opinion, I do not really believe that Columbus is entirely to blame for all these mistreatments. Most of the deaths of the Native were caused by disease. There is still the mistreatment of natives however. This can be blamed on Columbus, however, not entirely. The Church had rendered these people to be soulless, and Columbus, like any other man in the day and age, took the Church for it's word. Columbus was simply not a Renaissance man with thoughts of Enlightenment and human rights. He was just a navigator. Because of this I do not believe that Columbus really should be villified as many do, but should not really be celebrated either. He should be viewed simply as a many that discovered America, but was not really the first to do so. Simply a good navigator with the serendipity to discover the New World.
Christopher Columbus was a man who happened to stumble on a new world. He had no intention of ever making the profound discovery that he did. All he was looking for was a trade route. I do not think that he should personally be celebrated, but rather, his discovery. Although countless lives have been lost with upon his arrival at the new world, this does not make the discovery less prominent. Without Christopher Columbus’s discovery, it is scary to imagine where our society might be. So while we must not forget the tens of millions of lives lost, we must commemorate the discovery. I have always seen Columbus Day as being a holiday to look at the past, not just one side of the story. We must remember what happened, all the aspects. This includes the groundbreaking discovery of Christopher Columbus and also the remembrance of Native Americans. I do agree that the holiday should be renamed, but not banned. If it was banned, then we are telling society that it is ok to forget the past. I vehemently disagree with this. The past is what helps a society to grow and to learn from mistakes, what kind of message would we be sending if we got rid of Columbus Day? We must celebrate the bittersweet discovery of Columbus. No matter what, Christopher Columbus will always be somewhat viewed as a hero; there is no erasing this. So rather than completely ban Columbus Day, we must change it.
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The controversy over whether Columbus Day should be celebrated has been going on for many years. To decide on this matter we must measure the positive and negative effects that Christopher Columbus has created for the present. Christopher Columbus began in search for a new route to Asia through the Atlantic. Though he never succeeded in doing so he arrived in the Americas. Despite the fact that the Vikings had already visited the Americas, this opened up new land and opportunities for the Kingdom of Spain, whom Columbus served. With Columbus’s “new” discovery it created a race between all of the countries in Europe to colonize this new land and expand their territories; but mostly in search of gold. If Columbus had not had the idea to travel to Asia through the Atlantic then the United States might not have ever been founded. This might be because had Columbus not explored the other side of the Atlantic then the Native Americans would solely inhabit the Americas and Europe would have stayed in Europe. Without the colonization in the Americas then there wouldn’t have been the American Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. Though are many negative effects for Columbus going to the Americas. There ended up being wars between Columbus and the Native Americans. Columbus also sold some of the war prisoners of the wars as slaves back in Spain. Also because Europe had already experienced disease and famine such as the plague, Columbus brought the viruses to this secluded land where the natives had no proper immune systems to fight the viruses. Because of Columbus going to the Americas many natives died through war and disease and eventually the civilization was wiped out along with its traditions and culture. From these facts we can say that Columbus was the catalyst for the European invasion to the Americas, which led eventually to colonization and later to the United States. Though this happened without intent of Columbus and was just fortuitous. But what did happen through Columbus’s greed and his service to a higher power was the destruction of many lives and the decimation of culture and traditions. We can celebrate Columbus for possibly being the reason for the United States being founded, but we cannot forgive him for the all of the destruction he has done to the Native Americans.
I believe that Christopher Columbus should be celebrated. Society should view Columbus as a guy who had made a smart mistake. Christopher Columbus was trying to find a trade route to India. Instead his boat landed in the Bahamas. Christopher Columbus didn’t plan on finding the Americas. He wanted to find a quicker trade route to India. On August 3rd,1492 his ships set sail in a southwest from Spain. On October 12th his ships hit land which he named San Salvador. He brought spices, gold and other valuable goods back to Spain. He made four total trips to the Americas. On the third trip he realized that he didn’t find a faster trade route to India; he had founded another world that wasn’t known to Europeans. Though he may not have been the first one to find the Americas or truly discover them. Indigenous people were there before him and Vikings discovered Greenland and Canada. The historical importance of Columbus is that he was the first person to open the eyes of Europeans to this new and exciting world. If could have taken a long time to discover the Americas if Christopher Columbus hadn’t discovered them. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated on October 12th; the day Columbus touched land. Not the second Monday of October. Christopher Columbus made the first step to a new world and new change that’s what makes him so significant and should be celebrated.
Christopher Columbus did not actually discover America. In fact the Vikings discovered it a long time ago. However in essence Columbus discovered the America we know today. Before European exploration America belonged to separate Native American tribes. Columbus discovered a route to the Americas while looking for a route to India. This in turn led to European population of America. If Columbus had not rediscovered America then America as we know it would not be the same. The downside to Columbus’s discovery is it’s effect on the Native Americans. Disease and war destroyed much of the Native’s culture and people. Indians were forced of there land as well as forced to accept European religion and culture. This devastation of Native Americans is a direct result of Columbus’s actions. Another result of Columbus’s actions is the many wars between the European powers and Indians whether England against France or settlers against non submissive Native American tribes. As a society we should celebrate Columbus day because America as we know it today descends from European ideas and cultures blended together. Columbus may not have first discovered America but he did plant the seed that became The United States of America we know and love today.
I feel that we should see Columbus as a both an adventurer and violent conqueror. Columbus set out to find a quick way to Asia by going around the world instead of around Africa because he thought there would be nothing there. Of course, he was wrong. His lack of rightness is what led him to ruin a large population of Native Americans and use them as a profit making scheme and enslave/kill most of them.
This could have caused a near extinction of the native people in that area but he did discover a new place for the European world to expand to. He did it for the sake of exploration initially and didn’t think that he was setting out to murder the majority of a people. So he can’t really be called a villain. He was a business man and the business that he found was of a similar merit to the blood diamonds of today in Africa. So he is still at fault for being a genocidal, money driven business man but you have to remember he started out as just a business man.
Personally, I don’t think Columbus Day should be celebrated for the reasons that it is. Most of us see this day as a celebration of a man who apparently discovered America. There is still controversy of whether or not he was the first person to discover this land, regardless; he did set foot on it. What he did when he got here however, was completely unacceptable. Columbus’s original intentions were to find a trade route to India. While setting foot in the New World, an already inhabited land, he came across the Native Americans. It is said that Columbus treated the natives harshly. Taking their land, food, money and caused a complete massacre of the native culture. To what could be a considered one of the earliest known genocides. Now the majority of this country lacks this knowledge, they just think of him as the discoverer of America. Now, I do however have a different perspective of how this celebration should be approached. Columbus did not discover America; the Vikings especially had explored this land hundreds of years before him. His accomplishments should be recognized in a different perspective. His expedition was important in that it resulted in the interweaving of Europe with the Americas. This expedition lead to the settlements of the European colonies in the New World. Obviously without this, America might now be here today. Thus Columbus was important in our nation’s history; however the day shouldn’t necessarily be named after him. Columbus was harsh toward the natives and lacked respect. He can be viewed as a terrible person for the things he did at his arrival, but him and the crew he traveled with, accomplished something very important that would impact every step of the future.
From first grade, the only view of Christopher Columbus that has been presented to me was that of the discoverer of America. He has been put on a pedestal by the overwhelming majority of society, as a brave, courageous, and fearless explorer who deserves the credit for introducing a “New World” to the rest of the world. After reading in depth about Columbus however, I feel that he no longer deserves the glory that I, along with the rest of society, have been giving him. Columbus may have “discovered” the Americas, but when he landed in Central America, he “discovered” much more than just a land mass. He made contact with countless native peoples that had “discovered” his “New World” long ago, and he entered their home with no regard for them. I do not believe that he should be celebrated for discovering America. If Columbus did not find the Americas, another European explorer would have undoubtedly made the same discovery at a later time. Also, how can a man be credited with discovering a place that has already been “found” by the native people living there? Columbus only opened the Americas to European conquest and exploitation. I know that the European response to this foreign land was typical to the time period, but I do not believe that it warrants celebration.
At the same time, I do not believe Columbus should be vilified. As I mentioned before, Columbus was behaving in a manner typical to his day in age. He was also not alone in his actions, and therefore he alone should not take the blame for the atrocities carried out against the native peoples. Columbus was also responsible for an incredible transformation in Europe caused by an intellectual revolution. Europe was opened to the rest of the world with his landmark journey, and a subsequent exchange of information and ideas occurred. Columbus’s violent actions cannot be ignored, and his name still invoke hatred among Native Americans, but once again I do not feel that he alone can be held responsible for the bloodbath that the voyage of 1492 opened up. If Columbus is not vilified, he should not be celebrated either, because he alone is also not responsible for the discovery of the Americas. He is an interesting man, and our perspective of him will undoubtedly change as time progresses.
I believe that Columbus Day should not be celebrated for the reasons that it is, because Christopher Columbus in fact did not discover America. He was looking for a new route to India and happened to land upon Central America and claim it as his new territory. Columbus was a great explorer, yes, as we have been taught since elementary school, but is not the hero that we believe him to be. He brought disease and war to the peaceful villages of the native people, and tried to rid them of their values for new European ones. He excavated the land for treasures and stole from the native people already living in that culture. It is believed that the Vikings had landed upon the America’s much sooner than Columbus, and so he is not the true discoverer. And also, how can a new land be found when people are already living on it? He may have discovered the Americas for people in Europe, but he surely did not discover the land that the native’s ancestors had been living on for centuries before he arrived.
We as a society should view Columbus as a man who was a great explorer, but is not a founder of a new territory, and certainly not as a man who respected the rights of the people already living in his “new land”. He was stealing and taking away the rights of the people who he should have never had power over in the first place. Overall I believe Columbus should not be celebrated for his accident of landing on America and he should not be considered the man who discovered this land.
I personally enjoy Columbus Day, since we have a day off from school. However, I do not believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated, at least not in the name of Christopher Columbus. The day Columbus landed on the “New World” signaled a new future for the Europeans, leading up to the founding of the United States of America. At the same time, it also brought about the enslaver, cruel treatment, and almost destruction of another race – the Native Americans. To me, Christopher Columbus was an ignorant, greedy, and ruthless man. Upon his first encounter with the Native Americans on October 12th, 1492, Columbus had their domination in his mind. After the Natives treated him with such generosity and kindness, he proceeded to report back to his King, declaring his discovery of the new land and the discovery of the new people, whom he told the King, would be great servants. It was then the imperialism began. There was violence, slavery, and religious persecution against the Native Americans. Europeans, in pursuit of gold, brought diseases to the “New World”, killing millions of Natives. They ravaged the Native Indians of their land, their resources, and their freedom and happiness. Beside the point Christopher Columbus did not discovery the “New World”. The land was discovered by the Vikings and inhabited by the native people. The Europeans, specially the Spanish, did not have the right over the land or the people of the “New World”.
The discovery of the “New World” should be celebrated, however not in the name of an ignorant imperialist. Columbus Day has been celebrated by South Dakota as Native American Day, and by the city of Berkley, California, as the Indigenous People’s Day. I believe a celebration should be held for the discovery of the “New World” that brought hope to the suppressed Europeans, however, it be not be celebrated in the name of Columbus.
Personally, I feel that Columbus Day should not be celebrated. To begin with, I feel that Americans give him too much credit, and honor Columbus as if his actions were the reason that America was founded. It is true that he was one of the first to land in the new world, and his discovery led to a lot of the European expeditions, but he is not responsible for the making of this country. There are many people that came after Columbus and impacted America in a much greater way, and these are the people who deserve the praise. Consider John Rolfe. Without him, the Jamestown colony would have failed, and America would be a completely different nation today, if it became a nation at all. Yet there is no John Rolfe day that I am familiar with. Columbus didn’t even realize that he was on a new continent, and so it is unreasonable to give him so much credit. Furthermore, it is also important to remember that although his discovery was a good thing for America, it had a very negative impact on many other people. Given that the plight of many people were not directly related to Columbus, it is still important to be respectful to those that suffered. For these reasons, it is better if Columbus Day is not suffered.
At the same time, I feel that some people are overly critical of Columbus’s actions, and too easily condemn his as a villain. It is true that Columbus’s voyage to the new world eventually had a very negative impact on the many people living there. However, he did not commit all of the atrocities and cannot be singled out for blaming. When he left Europe, he did not leave with the mindset that he was going to conquer a people. He left because he wanted to find a route to China to help his people and Europe, and possibly earn some fame. People blame epidemics and Spanish conquests on Columbus, when these clearly weren’t his fault. Because Columbus is so well known (and perhaps because he has a holiday) people are quick to point the finger at him, when they should be looking at people like Cortez or Pizarro.
In conclusion, Columbus is overrated through both positive and negative aspects. Americans need to celebrate the triumphs of others who did more for America, and those who dislike Columbus must remember to hate the other explorers of the era as well.
I feel that society should view Christopher Columbus as a significant figure in history who made vague contributions to the world we inhabit today. In addition to this, I do not think he should be celebrated for his actions. This is because he was simply an explorer who set out to find new trade routes in the East Indies. Instead, he stumbled upon the Bahamas and Cuba. It is a wide assumption that Columbus discovered America, which is the main reason why people also believe he should be celebrated. In fact, Columbus did not discover any new land. When he did finally reach land, there had already been people living there; the Native Americans. Even though he was not the first to settle in this new land, he decided to name the new land he found “San Salvador” and attempted to take credit for his “discovery.” Another reason I feel Columbus should not be celebrated is because he caused war with the Native Americans for no reason. Instead of trying to coexist with these new people, he decided to cause unrest and disturb any peace they maintained. Therefore, Columbus caused problems in lands that had already been founded instead of discovering and prospering in new lands, as many believe he did.
On the other hand, I do not believe Columbus should be vilified. This is because his actions began a revolution in exploration that led to the discovering and settlement of the Americas. He helped begin a flow of ideas, cultures, and most importantly people to new lands around the globe. Also, he helped navigators understand that the world was not only round, but also contained more land masses than they had previously thought. Overall, I feel Columbus’s actions are not worthy of being celebrated, but also should not be vilified because they sparked a prosperous chain of events leading to the progression of a “New World.”
When it comes to Christopher Columbus, I think it is really difficult to pick one side when it comes to his celebration or vilification.
The argument for his celebration is that in effect he started America. Yes, the Vikings found it long ago but he created an outlet for European countries itching to expand. By misjudging where he landed, he created a race for colonization, power, and resources in the New World. Chances are that without Columbus’ mistake, we might not be in the United States today.
The argument for his vilification is that he started genocide in the Americas. While much of the death he caused was unintentional much of it was. European diseases ravished the Indians. Columbus did not intend this obviously, and there was not much he, or future explorers could do to stop it. But also, on the other hand, Columbus and those that followed did intentionally mass murder natives. The Indians stood in the way of expansion, and to break down this barrier, Indians were slaughtered.
I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated and that society should view Columbus with respect and appreciation but without losing sight of his faults. Columbus can be considered the stepping stone that America need to get its start and that needs to be celebrated.
I believe that Columbus should be viewed as a great adventurer because he did make the voyage from Europe to the Americas. Even though he was in search of Asia he was the first European to discover the Americas in centuries. But, being a great explorer does not make Columbus a person that should be admired. He was by no means a man of good integrity or valor. But, we have been taught since early ages that he was a great man and to be admired. Our teachers left out the horror that him and his men committed against the natives, which is for the best being so young. But, what he did cannot be ignored. To treat a group of people like he did cannot be looked upon lightly. As a society I do not think we should exactly celebrate him as a person, but his achievements.
As a society Columbus should be seen as a man that helped shape the world as we know geographically, but as far as character is concerned he should be villified. The horrors he took part in are comprabable to genocide in today's society and for no reason should be looked at in a positive light.
Recently Columbus' reputation as the hero of Spain and the greatest explorer of all time has been called into question. Concerns about his treatment of the Native Americans and the example that he set for future colonists have been mostly criticized. However, the fact that he still was able to discover and reveal the Americas to Europe is still significant and may justify his other actions. Every single American owes some gratitude and acknowledgement to him. If he had not journeyed to the Bahamas and discovered the rest of our nation, then it is quite possible that we would not be here. He connected the advancements of the European culture with the primitive lifestyle of the Native Americans, and neither civilization was ever the same. Never mind the fact that he was technically not the first to venture to America, as the Norse, led by Leif Ericson, first set up a temporary settlement there 500 years earlier. However, Columbus made a more lasting impact. The land fascinated him so much that he would venture back to America 3 more times after his initial voyage. He managed to assimilate with the natives and began to learn their customs, even though his actions may have been questionable. He also managed to advance the European's knowledge of the rest of the world, even though he originally thought that American was really India. Through a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the small island colony, Columbus connected the cultures of the 15th and 16th century. He inspired a new generation of colonists and innovators, and many benefited from his discoveries. He always persevered to discover the continent, as his crew had told him many times to turn back, and there may have been a mutiny if there wasn't a land sighting. His discoveries and dedication to the advancement of the European society make him a hero, and everyone should praise his accomplishments instead of always finding faults in his actions. His major contribution to European society is also the foundation of the American society, and so we should be grateful to him as compensation.
In the beginning I always thought of Columbus as a hero that should be honored. I believed a holiday devoted to his exploration and determination was very appropriate and necessary. However, now after studying it more closely I have come to the conclusion that he is not as great of a guy as I first believed, and devoting a day to him is completely inappropriate. Its human nature to only look at the good in American history and it’s easy to overlook the bad, because we don’t want to know it. We don’t want to be associated with those accused of genocide because we always believe that our leaders have nothing in common with leaders like Hitler. But the truth is all the crimes and violence committed against the native people of the Americas does earn the term “genocide.” These that are in support of Columbus Day are turning a blind eye to the horrible treatment that Columbus and his people imposed upon the native people. We should not be condoning this way of acquiring land. It is unjust and violent and if the American people were informed of this treatment, I doubt Columbus Day would have gained so much support.
I do not find that Columbus should be vilified or revered. Columbus simply embarked on a mission that he believed would result in a trade route to Asia and instead he found the Americas. Columbus neither set out to annihilate the indigenous population of the Americas or to discover a landmass with a bounty of untapped resources. In all reality Columbus had thought he had succeeded in finding the West Indies until much later in life, and although we know this not to be true, the fact that he did not consider these people as part of a newly discovered continent reveals that he harbored them no ill intent. The fact that Columbus brutally treated the Indians does not make him a horrible creator of mass destruction. There are always rulers that treat their people bad but Columbus did not actively create destruction on all of the Native American culture, and this is what people who criticize Columbus associate him with. Yes, because of Columbus’s discovery Spain sent an expeditionary force to the New World, which certainly accounted for millions of deaths. Yes, because of Columbus’s discovery the culture in the Americas was wiped from the earth. However Columbus did not pursue nor did he advocate these actions, his role was simply to navigate and discover the New World. Neither should Columbus be revered because he did not create anything that was truly great. He did not prove that the world was round, people knew this already. Columbus’s discovery did not usher in a new age; the Portuguese were already exploring and exploiting new territory in Africa. Neither was Columbus a great symbol of success because he actually failed in his initial goal to find a route to Asia. So it is my opinion that while his actions have a profound effect on history, he himself did not initiate or embody any of the things we associate with him beyond the discovery of the New World.
Christopher Columbus day is celebrated every year in the United States. Should it, however, even be a holiday? Columbus is usually thought of as the man who discovered the Americas. In reality, the Americas had already been settled for hundreds, if not thousands of years prior to the arrival of Columbus. Even the Vikings from northern Europe settled in North America hundreds of years before Columbus, so why is he the one that receives lots of fame and praise?
Columbus landed in the Caribbean and thought it was Asia. When he finally realized that it wasn’t, he started manipulating the people there to gain massive profits for himself and his motherland, Spain. Of course, many people, such as the natives were killed from disease, overwork, and massacres. Looking at all the deaths however, Columbus himself did not commit all the murders. While he did kill many people, other conquistadors were also responsible, such as Cortez, who selfishly killed countless innocent people.
Had Columbus not found the Americas, someone else from Europe would have eventually found it anyways. This leads to two main points. The first is that Columbus should not have the honor of having a whole holiday granted to him, because anyone could have done it, it just so happens that Columbus got lucky and discovered it. The other point is that the other pioneer may or may not have treated the natives better. Columbus was obviously the first major European explorer, but if someone else had found the Americas, how would the world today be different?
Columbus does still deserve a bit of credit. Because he discovered the Americas and not someone else who would discover it later, the extra time gives major benefits. Civilization today may not be so advanced if Columbus did not decide to explore. The other person who would eventually discover the Americas may have taken an additional decades or even centuries. The finding of the Americas early and during a time of rapid change and intellect do provide great benefits for society today.
Growing up we have all been told about the fearless explorer, Christopher Columbus, who found America. We even have a day off in his name, which I must say I enjoy a lot, but it is similar to celebrating something in Hitler’s name. When Columbus arrived he was welcomed with openhearted generosity by the indigenous people, when returning he referred to them as people that would make good servants. This was the beginning of the devastation of Native Americans, through disease, greed, and war. Columbus is not responsible for the entire blood bath but the beginning of men like Cortes. Because of Columbus an entire people; their culture and tradition were wiped out. We cannot say Columbus found America, because the Vikings came across it long before, and you cannot really claim to find a land where people have been living. But he did open it to the exploration of the Western Hemisphere. If Columbus had not accidently stumbled into the Americas, the age of exploration would not have begun, and maybe the United States would not have existed. So by the weighing of what is good and bad about Christopher Columbus, I believe that society should view him as a man whom without we might be where we are today, but did create a terrible genocide of Native Americans. I feel also that we should celebrate the discovery of America in his name, but rather in the name of the people that arrived here first, like places like California are doing.
Growing up we have all been told about the fearless explorer, Christopher Columbus, who found America. We even have a day off in his name, which I must say I enjoy a lot, but it is similar to celebrating something in Hitler’s name. When Columbus arrived he was welcomed with openhearted generosity by the indigenous people, when returning he referred to them as people that would make good servants. This was the beginning of the devastation of Native Americans, through disease, greed, and war. Columbus is not responsible for the entire blood bath but the beginning of men like Cortes. Because of Columbus an entire people; their culture and tradition were wiped out. We cannot say Columbus found America, because the Vikings came across it long before, and you cannot really claim to find a land where people have been living. But he did open it to the exploration of the Western Hemisphere. If Columbus had not accidently stumbled into the Americas, the age of exploration would not have begun, and maybe the United States would not have existed. So by the weighing of what is good and bad about Christopher Columbus, I believe that society should view him as a man whom without we might be where we are today, but did create a terrible genocide of Native Americans. I feel also that we should celebrate the discovery of America in his name, but rather in the name of the people that arrived here first, like places like California are doing.
I believe that we as a society should recognize the figure of Columbus, and how he affected the connection between Europe and the Americas. But, as of now, I believe that people in this day and age are nothing but naive as to what the figure of Columbus represents. In primary school, children are taught, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” and following that line, Columbus discovers America, has a feast with the Native Americans and so on. But, when reading between the lines of the rhyme, it does not sound so cute anymore. During Columbus’ journeys to the “New World,” he did not discover the land. What Columbus did was create a connection between the two continents, which became vital as the world’s nations advanced and matured. When creating this connection, Columbus also began an enormous massacre of the American Indian people. He shipped hundreds of Indian slaves back to Spain in order to be auctioned and sold. He invaded upon their culture, and ripped away what settlement they had established for who knows how many years. Many American Indian civilians take offence to the celebration of Columbus Day, because they say he merely “Invaded” the land, rather than discovering it. I believe that Columbus should be recognized, for both the good and the evil that he did. Columbus should be held responsible for the massacre of the American Indian populous, and that we as a society are responsible for educating the truth about Columbus. We need to educate our people about the truth, because our country was founded under the fundamentals that all men are created equal. When we celebrate Columbus Day, we are praising this man who executed great amounts of death and destruction towards the Native American people. He considered them “barbaric” and “primitive,” because of their lack of Christianity, and their unique culture and traditions. We as a society need to recognize these acts of hatred, and learn from them, in order to make sure they do not happen again.
I believe that Columbus should be celebrated. This does not mean however that Columbus is the end all and be all of America’s discoverers. Columbus along with many others helped to explore the Americas and shape what they are today. What i propose is that instead of Columbus Day, there should be a day dedicated to all the explorers who helped to found America.
Not to add to all the harping people have been doing on Columbus, but in my opinion, he did not accomplish much. Columbus decided to venture into the Atlantic to find a route to Asia. Instead he stumbled upon the Caribbean islands. This was great because of the influence it had on the Spanish and the rest of Europe. Columbus, sailing for Spain, helped this nation to start their colonization of the Americas. This subsequently sparked a competition in which all of Europe rushed to plunder the resources found in the Americas. This colonization helped to shape how America is today. However there were also a lot of negative effects of Columbus’ journey. First off, many credit Columbus for finding the Americas. Evidence, such as Newfoundland, and historians now point out that some of Europe already knew about the Americas. Also, although Columbus’ journey was good for Europe it had an immediate negative impact on the Native Americans. Columbus killed most of the Natives with disease and many others for sport. The remainder of the Natives were subject to slavery.
Overall, I believe Columbus gets too much credit. Although I admit he should be celebrated for his discoveries and his influence on history, he also injured the native population. Instead of celebrating Columbus alone, we should celebrate all the explorers who shaped America.
I believe that as a society we should view Columbus as a fearless and courageous person who was determined to find a new trade route to Asia but ended up discovering America. When I have talked about him people say he is a hero but after reading about him in depth, my view has changed. Yes, people do have different theories about him. Some say he was lucky and some say he was greedy. He paved the way for European expeditions in the Americas once he set foot on the “New World”. He took the Americas to be his own property. He was not a man who can be admired. Most people are not aware of the injustice he did to the Native Americans. This is something that cannot be ignored. The Natives treated him nicely but he saw them as servants. The violence that he committed against them cannot be disregarded.
We cannot call him a villain either. Some of his actions were bad and some were good. He should not be celebrated for discovering America but I think he should be celebrated for what he did. He is said to have started the genocides against the Native Americans but he was not the only one to commit all of these actions. There were other people involved. Maybe there would be no United States of America if he had not discovered this land then. Everything has its positives and negatives. While most of us may see his actions against the Natives as horrific at the same time he discovered a land that someone would not have discovered maybe years or centuries later. It is maybe because of him that the United States today is so advanced. He found it during the Renaissance when new discoveries were being made. That played a great factor in shaping America’s society.
In conclusion, I believe that Columbus should be celebrated for what he has accomplished and for what he did but not for discovering America or starting the genocide against the Native Americans.
Although we have all heard about what tragedies that occurred to the Native Americans after the arrival of Christopher Columbus and other explorer afterwards, it had never occurred to me that we should not honor our great explorers because of these atrocities. I was actually very surprised at the adamant thought of some of the people in the readings we did, comparing his conquest to genocides and the holocausts. I always thought of Columbus Day as a holiday that most people favored. Although I don’t think that Columbus should be vilified for what he did but I don’t think he deserves all the fame and the glory either. Columbus Day celebrates the day the “New World” was discovered so I think that should be the name of the holiday. Columbus at that time didn’t even know he had discovered a new world so why should he be credited with it? Especially since he stuck stubbornly to his theory that it was India. He actually didn’t discover it but merely stumbled upon this land. From what we learned about history he didn’t actually discover the land of the United States but actually parts of the Caribbean so why are we the ones that celebrate this holiday named after him who didn’t even find us? I think that history courses should be changed so that we are taught from a young age that it was the Vikings who first saw this land and someone else (whoever first actually landed on U.S. soil) founded us. Christopher Columbus does not need to be defamed for what he did in conquering but that should not be ignored and he should be celebrated or have a holiday named for him. We should all learn about him and know that yes, he did help contribute to the founding of the United States but not have to throw celebrations in his favor. One point I do have to mention is that as a student still in school, I really do appreciate the day off we get (the only one from late September until Thanksgiving in November) so I would be really sad to see the holiday go. Perhaps we should just rename it the “Discovery Day.”
Columbus should still be celebrated as he is today, despite what some people claim are negative effects of his exploration. It is true that many natives to the New World were killed by Columbus and his crew, either directly by violence or indirectly by disease. However, it is important to note that Columbus did not attempt to exterminate the natives, because they were more useful as a labor force than if they were dead. While forcing the natives into slavery is still rather cruel, it must be noted that it was not an attempt of genocide, because Columbus did not purposefully intend to kill the natives. Columbus should be celebrated because he launched a new age of exploration and colonization of this entire new half of the globe. It is probable that even if Columbus did not discover America someone else would have, but Columbus should be celebrated because he was the first one to attempt to sail completely around the world. He made an important contribution to mankind and changed the course of history forever. For this, I believe Columbus Day should be celebrated.
For decades schools across the United States have taught young children that Columbus was the one who discovered the Americas. What many of the schools exclude from their lessons is the fear that Columbus brought upon the natives that he encountered during his four trips to the Americas in the late 15th century. He had often viewed the natives of the islands, that he and his ship landed on, as commodities and once described the natives as physically fit enough to be good laborers. It is also known that Columbus thought of slavery as an efficient way to receive the funding that he so greatly needed to finance his various explorations. As a society, we can look down upon these certain acts that Columbus had commended but we must also realize and accept that Columbus’s rediscovery of the Americas aided in the creation of a more advanced “New World”. He opened a new realm in exploration at a time when the majority of the lands were thought to have been conquered by the Europeans and the other known civilizations. When Columbus landed in the Americas, he firmly believed he was on an Asian island and so he returned to Europe and to his financial backer, Spain, with news that he had discovered a shortcut to the other side of the world. Columbus was able to spread the news that he found a shorter route to Asia and this could have been an important catalyst that led to an increase in explorers heading west towards the New World believing that it was Asia. We cannot deny Columbus his credit in rediscovering the Americas. If Columbus had not embarked on his missions, then who knows for how long the exploration of the Americas by Europeans would have been postponed until. His accomplishments must not be overshadowed by the bad deeds he had done, but instead be seen on a level ground with his good deeds. His contributions, whether negative or positive, must be viewed as necessary for the achievements and discoveries that Columbus had done. Columbus has been and shall be viewed as a celebrated explorer for years to come.
The Columbus Day controversy is not a recent development but has become a popular debate in recent years, where on one hand Columbus initiated colonization and the discovery of new peoples and lands at the cost of native lives and on the other, Columbus started a “genocide” of native peoples and destruction of culture and is compared to Hitler in regard genocide. To be entirely honest, I disagree with both of these sides. As a young elementary student, I was always taught that Columbus was someone to be proud of, like he's one of America's folk heroes or something and only in 8th grade was I told of his “dark side” and the consequences of his landing as well as the treatment of the natives. As a society I believe, that it is not wrong to celebrate Columbus or vilify him because he did significant good and bad, however, I felt betrayed to a degree that I had never heard anything against Columbus especially with his discovery of the New World causing such massive consequences. I feel that when we learn about Columbus, it should be, not necessarily with the gory details that should be withheld from young children, but as unbiased as possible. I remember him being glorified not portrayed in neutral light where we may come to our own conclusions and make our own decisions as to whether he should be glorified or vilified. Personally, I strongly disagree with the association between Columbus and genocide, based on the definition provided by “The Moral Dimentions of 1492” which explains it as being done to purposely exterminate a group, which was not at all Columbus' intent. He came to the New World, not expecting to find one and certainly not knowing that he would find millions of people with no resistance to European diseases. This is not to say that genocide did not occur in the New World, it was just on a local scale. Columbus initiated the race for European settlement, and in doing so he merely discovered the America's and started the first transmission of diseases against which the natives had no resistance, when really the stories of how Europeans in general mistreated the Natives were in far greater abundance.
To conclude, despite Columbus' cruelty in using slaves as payment to the Spanish crown for his voyages, his transmission of diseases which killed the majority of the natives, and the consequence of innocent deaths at the hands of so many European conquerors; without this first step that opened the door to European settlement America would have never existed and as Charles Krauthammer said in his essay in Time, “mankind is better for it”. So personally, as an American, I would choose to celebrate him but as the decedent of a Native American and a moral person against the acts of Columbus' I would condemn him; however I believe that everyone should make their own decision after being educated in the unbiased facts, but ultimately, as Americans celebrate the man who created our country as we know it today.
Columbus Day is celebrated as a day to remember the explorer who “discovered” the Americas. However, the magnitude and manner in which Christopher Columbus is revered is quite beyond adequate. Firstly, Columbus was not the first to stumble upon “the new world”, for that title belongs to the long-gone vikings, and certainly not the first to inhabit it. The Spaniard set sail in 1492 with the intention of finding the far East and eventually acquiring a trade relationship with the nations there, but instead landed in the Carribbean on a self-named San Salvador. He then proceeded to ignore the livelihoods of natives, and pursue selfish goals. Columbus pillaged villages, enslaved men and women, and introduced a range of deadly diseases to a vulnerable people. While he did take historically important notes and samples from this new land, the malicious aspects of his expedition outweigh his accidental discovery. In an age of exploration, the incident of finding North and South America would have happened at one time or another, and Christopher Columbus deserves the praise even less for the way he handled the situation. People should remember Columbus, but reserve their gratification for someone with slightly more venerable values.
Columbus was an explorer and only deserves praise or the condemnation equal to his actions. Columbus set out to find a trade route to Asia, not to find a “New World” that he himself believed to not exist. It is true that he did allow the known world and new world to meet. However his actions were over praised and yet over condemned to. Many of his “accomplishments” were not because of his skill or will, but rather by sheer “luck.” He did not intend to do much of the stuff he actually did. Columbus did not intend to find a New World. Columbus did not intend to kill off most of the native population with disease. There would have been another explorer to rediscover the “New World” had Columbus never set sail. There would have been more Europeans who would have spread diseases that ravaged the native population. Although he does not deserve the full brunt of the blame, we cannot forget the unintended consequences of his actions. All actions have been predestined based on the theory of particle movement. One can only use the event of the past to learn in order to help decipher the events that will take place in the future. One must observe the laws in which the world operates in order to determine what will take place. So Columbus Day should not be celebrated.
Christopher Columbus was, all things considered, a terrible leader. Had he not miscalculated the earth’s circumference so greatly, and completely ignored the unrest among his crew, Columbus may never have reached the New World, and sealed his claim to fame. As a person, there is little about him to glorify; his expeditions infected countless natives, and by the time the Spanish were forced to remove him from his position as governor of Hispaniola, he had killed off as much as 95% of the indigenous people in the area. The man started a tidal wave of exploration in the New World, leading to the enslavement and murder of millions upon millions of innocent people. I see no reason to call Columbus a hero; if anything, his person can nearly be vilified.
However, the fact remains that Columbus’s rediscovery (after the Vikings, years before) of the Americas is an event so momentous in history that it demands to be revered. The land he claimed for Spain led to further exploration and settlement, so that the New World became an extension of European civilization. While it is an utter pity that countless natives died by European hands, this is not a trait only evident in Columbus’s voyages; Europeans have a history of killing and subjugating the unknown and the different. Had Columbus not been the first “modern” European to cross the Atlantic, someone else would have inevitably made the trek, and the natives would have met the same end. This in no way condones the slaughter the natives faced; it merely explains a problem evident in ALL European societies, and points out that Columbus was far from the only practitioner of enslavement and other cruelties. The fact that Columbus was a rather stubborn, incompetent leader detracts nothing from his accomplishment in opening the floodgates to widespread colonization and the resulting cultural enrichment. For this achievement he should be celebrated, but no other aspects of his character really deserve praise.
Columbus is a well known, highly regarded figure, to the point that he has his own day attributed to him. Here in lies the controversy. Does he really deserve the recognition he is recieving? One must examine his actions and their results in the years after him. In reality, his expedition's purpose was to find a direct route to the Spice islands, but as a result of his leadership he ended up in a land miles away from his target. In these lands, he brought onto the natives much suffering at the hands of him and his men. The indians he encountered were forced into slavery, massacred, and plagued by the new diseases brought by the Europeans. This, in essence, eternally damaged the culture of these indigeneous people. In addition, the accomplishment that his most often reconized for, the discovery of America, isn't truthful considering the fact that the land was explored by others before him. However, although he was not the first to discover the land, he was the first to discover the opportunity there. Through his voyage, he shed light onto the land and caught the attention of the rulers of various countries. In particular, the English ruler took an interest in the land and created colonies there. These colonies were able to grow, break away from England to form a land based on justice and equality, and then grow, expand, and modernize to become the superpower our nation is today. This would not have been possible if Columbus had never come here in the first place, so in a sense he had a part in creating our country and shaping the world. Therefore, his recognition is justified, despite his brutal conflicts with the Native Americans. Columbus day exists solely to comend him for seizing the opportunity, not for discovering America or killing innocent people.
Ultimately, I think we should celebrate Columbus day. Columbus may have indirectly caused all those deaths, and possibly directly caused some of them. Yes, his ships brought over plagues from Europe that wiped out massive tolls of the natives of America, and may bad things happened to the indigenous people as a result of the European colonization. However, Columbus didn’t kill millions of people himself, and back then the practice was more common and accepted. Although this doesn’t justify the belief, it really makes no sense to simply condemn Columbus for something that was a commonly held belief at the time. Critics say that by discovering and colonizing the Americas, Columbus opened the floodgates for many explorers to come and exploit the Native Americans, but there are several arguments against that. For one, Columbus didn’t plan to discover a new world, so there really wasn’t any malicious intent involved in his decision. For another, why should we bad-mouth the official discovery of land where most of us live now? Columbus Day is sort-of like a second independence day, celebrating not particularly the man, but the discovery by the Europeans of what would end up being a world superpower. Columbus as a man may have been flawed, but nobody is perfect. Should we celebrate him as a person? No. Is it necessarily a good thing that his discovery led to a near cultural genocide? Again, a resounding negative. But as the correlation between the cultural genocide and actual discovery of America is an indirect one, I feel that the holiday shouldn’t be condemned because of that.
I think that Columbus should still be celebrated today. Columbus Day does not celebrate the things he did as Governor of Hispaniola or the way he treated Indians. Columbus Day is about celebrating the fact that this man brought the New World into the main focus of European Society for the first time. Europe was not doing all too well economically during this era and they wanted to find more trade routes to Asia. Christopher Columbus’s discovery gave Europe mountains of gold to boost their economy and while it did not find a new trade route it did give the Europeans much more resources and goods to trade to Asia. Also America provided an escape for people suffering under religious prosecution. Many people say that Columbus was too harsh during his Governorship, but that was because he was a Captain of a ship and that was his leadership style, he just stuck with what he knew best. All in all I think Christopher Columbus should be respected and honored for his accomplishments, instead of heckled because he was not suited for being Governor. He should continue to be remembered as an excellent navigator and the man who opened Europe’s eyes to the New World.
Christopher Columbus is recognized as the man who started the connection between Europe and the Americas. Even though there were others who reached the continent before him, he is accepted as the one who discovered the New World. He is celebrated with his own holiday and every elementary school student hears his name over and over again. But some people believe that he started a genocide of the native people already residing on the land he discovered for Europe. This view is too extreme, as is celebrating his discovery. Society should view Columbus for what he is, as the man who found America, not celebrated or vilified.
Columbus happened upon the Americas while searching for a route to Asia. He landed there and Europe colonized the new territory, despite the fact that there were already native peoples there. The idea of celebrating him for this is silly. We remember Martin Luther King Jr. on his own holiday because of his extremely important and influential life. There is no reason to celebrate Columbus, but there is also no reason not to have a holiday or not learn about him. The holiday is a tradition, and he was indeed an important part of founding our society. He also should not be vilified. Perhaps he opened the gate to the native people being exploited and dying, but it was not his own malicious doing. As many have said, someone else could have just as possibly chanced on America, and the same thing would have undoubtedly have happened under those circumstances as well. The native people did experience an extreme loss of life, but it was due to a combination of many factors. The native people were not used to European diseases. Also, they were forced to be slaves for the conquering people. This exploitation was common between all the conquerors of the time period, not just Columbus, and it was not even his doing alone. He should be recognized as a part of our history, but not the starter of genocide or a person greater than what he was.
The controversy of Christopher Columbus is something completely new to me. It has been pounded into my head since first grade that he discovered America and should be honored for that. Now, however there are reasons to believe that a holiday should not be celebrated in his name. Technically he did not discover America, but he did pave the way to the settlement and usage of the new land. I believe it just depends on you point of view. Like anything, there are pros and cons to what Columbus did. He was a brilliant navigator and when he found the Americas it proved as another economic tool for Europe. The negative view of Columbus is that he killed many of the native people. I do not have any respect for him in that sense, although the spread of disease was not intentional, there were cases that involved the intentional wiping out of native peoples. I think that it is good how the discovery lead to economic advancements, but I do not agree with the treatment and blatant disrespect for the native people. After learning more in depth about Columbus, I no longer believe that he should be a national hero. The discovery of the Americas lead to the taking away of land from the native people, although this is how many European nations were thinking at the time, it did not make it truly there land. If Columbus did not sail to the Americas someone else would have in the near future and the same events would have taken place. In the eyes of Europe, this holiday should be great, but in the eyes of other people it may not be.
Christopher Columbus has recently become quite a polarizing figure, a lot of negative things about him have recently been brought to light to accompany all of his accomplishments.
We as a society should not view Columbus as the extraordinary man he has come to be known as. He was not the first person to discover the New World, he was not the first person to think that the world was spherical rather than flat, and he was not even successful in what he first set out to achieve, which was finding a trade route to East Asia. Rather, he was the first European in a few centuries to stumble upon the New World, after the Vikings. Also, his treatment of the Natives once he reached the New World was nothing short of appalling. Any male over the age of 14 were put to work in goldmines, and were then worked to death. Women were raped by the spanish colonists. The population was reduced from and estimated 8 million to 60,000. Afterwards, he was stripped of his title as governor of his discovered land for "mismanaging" the colony. The Columbus I grew up with did not commit these deeds, but the real Columbus did, and because of that, he should not be celebrated.
That being said, I do not think Columbus should be villified either. It is true that these terrible things were done to the Tainos, but its not as if Columbus was responsible for each and every atrocity that occured. After all, it was the colonists who carried out the actions. Also, Columbus should not be held responsible for the actions of people such as Cortes, who annihilated the Mayans, simply for setting of New World exploration.
In conclusion, Christopher Columbus could be perceived many different ways, but in my opinion, he should neither be celebrated nor villified for his actions, but somewhere inbetween.
Despite Christopher Columbus not being the first to discover America, he should still be respected as an important discoverer and celebrated. Past discoverers may have found America first, but Europeans were not in the colonizing moods that lead them to seek new land in the west at that time. Had Columbus not had good timing, then he probably would have gone done in history similarly to the Vikings. His discovery, though, lead to the colonization of Central and South America by Spain, and North America by France and England. Had it not been for Columbus, the United States would not have been formed, capitalism never would have gotten its chance, the computer would have never been invented, and we would not be able to write this right now. Unalienable rights that let us live our lives the way we want are a result of Columbus. His discovery lead to eventual creation of the US, and everything awesome that America or capitalism has ever made.
The only negative thing Columbus did was toward the Native Americans. The diseases that he brought over wiped out millions of people. But this would have been true had any European made it to America. Columbus cannot be blamed for the mistreatment of the Aztecs by Cortes either. The critics of Columbus should realize that the only reason that they can criticize him is because America was formed with the freedom of speech protected. Christopher Columbus should be recognized as a hero, because he was indirectly responsible for the founding of America and giving capitalism a chance.
Columbus should be viewed by society as a significant, yet controversial figure. Although many more came before him, he was the most famous to go to the New World. Columbus was one of the reasons that America came to be. He traveled to the West from Spain, looking for Asia, and he discovered what is now America. If he had not taken this journey and returned to tell many about it in Europe, then others may not have wanted to explore. He set the precedent for years to come. On the other hand, Columbus did treat the Natives of the places that he explored very poorly. He and his team of fellow explorers went many places in the Caribbean and in Central and North America, and were "exploring" for their own good. Although their first objective was to find Asia by going West by way of the Pacific Ocean, once they thought that they had landed in Asia, they developed different ideas. Hired to explore, they started to look for gold and made the Natives their slaves. They had no right to rule over the Natives. There are even some accounts of killings by Columbus and his crew. Although some of this may be exaggerated and resulting from bias, there was most likely some fighting and death because of the new mixture of cultures and the mistrust. Because of his harsh mistreatment of the Natives and the selfish quest for himself, Columbus should not be celebrated, yet he should not be totally cast off because he did make a great contribution to the world.
To put it bluntly, I think that as a society we should view Columbus as a complete jerk. Lest not forget the Vikings discovered America before Columbus did. Yes the man was the catalyst for the European settlement of America, which did in turn led to the creation of this beautiful nation that we live in today, but this was not his intent. His intent was to find a route across the Atlantic to India, but instead he landed in the Bahamas. I give him credit for finding land because navigation skills were much more primitive, however he began the ruin of an amazing society of peoples. The fact that he didn’t find what he had planned though is just an extra something to add to his stupidity. He also for a while, even more stubbornly insisted that the Bahamas and other island groups were a part of India giving them the misnomer, the Indies. Columbus brought raw materials back to Spain, which they benefited from, sure, but what did he bring to America? Disease. Injustice. Massacre. Death. Oh, and he also began the enslavement of the Tainos of the Dominican and the Native Americans! Cool guy, right? So why would anyone celebrate this man? This beats me. His landing in America allowed Europe to build more trading networks as well as colonies, but was that really necessary? Not for the price of the ultimate desecration of the natives and their culture. Of course the Europeans would now want them to be converted to Christianity, so that in itself is a major blow to the culture of the native peoples. So, first of all Columbus wasn’t the first to discover the Americas, and secondly, when he did he completely disrespected the native people by claiming their land without regards to the fact that they were the original inhabitants, and he senselessly violated their way of life and their right to live. Columbus should not be celebrated at all, because he is a cold blooded genocidal man with the mere purpose of making good business at the expense of innocent people. Also, if he wasn’t the first European to found America, someone else would’ve surely come along soon after and have done the job.
While Columbus was not the first person to discover the New World, he was the first European to establish a permanent presence in the New World. He deserves neither celebration nor vilification, but acknowledgement for his contribution.
Columbus’s discovery does not merit celebration because it was by chance and led to horrible repercussions for the native peoples and the native environment. Christopher Columbus did not sail the ocean blue in 1492 intending on finding a new continent. He had underestimated the Earth’s circumference, so he was aiming to circumnavigate the world to reach China. However, he had planned for too short of a trip. Without the landmass of the Americas, Columbus would have run out of food and water, long before reaching China. Even after others had verified that the islands on which he landed were not part of China, Columbus still tenaciously stood firm in his resolution that he had accomplished the feat of circumnavigation. If he did not even recognize the significance of his actions, he does not deserve to be glorified for something that fate played more of a role in than his own merit. Furthermore, the New World saved Columbus more than he actually “saved” the natives living in the New World. Columbus’ discovery led to the colonization of the lands he found and the deaths of many native residents. The Europeans who pursued new dreams, inspired by Columbus’ discoveries, introduced different aspects of European flora and fauna to the Americas. They also obliterated forests and other environmental treasures for their own convenience in travel or colonization. For the Native Americans, diseases, murders, and subjugation followed Columbus. Overall, one unfortunate result of discovering the New World was the destruction of its ecology and the decimation of its people.
Nevertheless, Columbus should not be blamed entirely for what happened to the Native Americans. If he had not found the New World, some other explorer would have later, and that discovery would have prompted the same results. In addition, Father Bartolomé de las Casas called Columbus a good man who had simply been blind in regards to the native people. Columbus was a successful sea captain, but he failed in administrating his colony. He had little control over the people and their actions, and he had even less control on the actions of future conquistadors such as Cortes and Pizarro, who led most of killing and subjugating. Columbus had been powerless to stop any violence against the natives.
Therefore, society should not celebrate Columbus for accomplishing something that someone else could have easily done as well, but society should also not punish Columbus for unintentionally paving the way for others to kill the Native Americans. In “When Worlds Collide: Clash of Cultures during the Age of Discovery,” Thomas C. Tirado said, “As a direct result of his voyage, two hitherto disconnected and unknown worlds came together.” Society should simply appreciate Columbus for doing that.
Columbus Day is a day where the people of the United States celebrate the day that Columbus landed in the Americas. Even though by accident, Columbus landed in islands near Florida, which is now known as the Bahamas, and mistakenly mistook the islands as the Indies. His journey was originally to find a fast route to the Indies but instead found America. I believe that since he did discover America and create a colony in the New World then this holiday should be celebrated because even though the Vikings discovered it before, Columbus still played an influential role in the development of the colonies in the New World. If Columbus had never found America the United States of America would not be known as it was today. Basically, all of the things that have been created in life for our enjoyment are because of him since if he had never found the Americas a simple commodity such as electricity may have never been invented. In addition, the Vikings may have found the Americas but they did not bring colonists to it and make a settlement there. However, you know who did? Christopher Columbus. For all of these reasons Columbus should not be vilified or dishonored he should be celebrated due to his creation of colonies in the Americas and because if he did not find the Americas the U.S. may have not been created.
Columbus was a man who had an atrocious regard for Native American human life, and was so stubborn that he could not admit that where he landed was not where he had planned. Yes, he did make a significant discovery. And yes, it took a person as strong-willed as him to achieve what he did. But this by no means qualifies him to be a celebrated hero. He has been painted as the icon for the discovery of America. This is a simple concept that is easy for the public to believe. However, this is completely inaccurate; there having been findings that many came before him.
Granted, Columbus’s so-called “discovery” had many positive effects. It caused America to develop into a booming civilization that is now the forerunner of society. It boosted Europe’s stagnant economy, and provided an outlet for the misfits, adventurers, and enterprisers of European society. However, Columbus is not the sole cause of this success; with the rate that European exploration was progressing in his time, within the next few decades someone else would have realized the bounties of the New World.
Columbus’s rapacity and violence in the New World set precedence for future explorers, which created endless negative ramifications. His genocide and enslavement of the natives set the tone for how the Native Americans would be treated for hundreds of years; as sub-human. The pathogens he and his crew brought with them also decimated millions. Columbus also set a precedence for exploiting all resources and taking them back to Europe to amass wealth.
Columbus should not be celebrated as an American hero. His actions are unforgivable, even in the context of his time period. He is credited with finding America, even though he refused to believe it, and others had explored the continent before him. He was not well-intentioned. This is not the type of person who Americans should respect and celebrate.
In many parts of the world, Christopher Columbus is recognized as the fearless expolorer who discovered the New World. Yet, although Columbus did bring two "worlds" together after centuries of separation, this was not his initial intention. Columbus's real goal was to find an alternative route to China; in doing so, he reached the Americas. Still, despite his mistake, he was certainly not the person who "discovered" the New World; the area had been settled thousands of years earlier by migrants from Asia, and Vikings from Europe two centuries ago settled in Greenland and Iceland. Although Columbus's accident was beneficial to Europe, for it helped Europe's dominance in the world. Columbus's "discovery" brought the East and West together, and the East and West remained in contact for the rest of history, something that his preceding European brothers, the Vikings, could not do. Still, despite his audacity to try something no one has ever done before, Columbus certainly caused devastation, enough devastation that in certain parts of the world, his name is vindicated rather than celebrated. In coming in contact with the New World, Columbus weakened the immune systems of the Native Americans, killing with disease, before selling many of the natives to Spain into slavery. Just as how Columbus could not stop the spread of disease, he also could not stop the curiosity that perked amoung different European countries in hearing that a new land mass was discovered. And thus, the "genocide" in the New World began, with selfish Europeans hungry for gold subjugating the Native people, and digging up the precious land. Hence, Columbus, a great explorer, should not be celebrated for anything other than a great explorer.
The character of Christopher Columbus is a complex one. Some argue that Columbus was a mass murderer responsible for the deaths of millions of natives. However, I tend to disagree with this. Although the impact of his encounter in the New world was monumental, and led to the warfare and subjugation of the native populations that would be inflected by the great nations of Europe, he himself was not personally responsible for this. Columbus had no control over the actions that the people of France, Britain, and Spain would do to the natives; this was entirely of their own volition, and it only came about due to Columbus's discovery, not through any fault of his own. Some also argue that his militant command of the Hispaniola governance makes him an evil figure; I also deny this. Simply because Columbus was inept as a governor does not make him evil, it simply means he did not have the proper qualifications for his job. To declare columbus a villain for his ineptitude would devalue the definition of the word. Granted, Columbus was no saint; he was responsible for harsh treatment of the natives during his governance, but little more could be expected from a man in his position with his ideology at that time. In fact, by comparison to the cruel treatment Cortes inflicted upon the natives of Mexico, columbus was sweet and mild-mannered. Thus, he should not be declared an example of virtue or an idol of awe (as was his connotation prior); yet few people, now and then, are.
However, I would be lying if I said that I did not feel a certain measure of pride in Columbus. Though much bad did result from his encounter, so to did alot of good. The economy of Europe was jolted, and it led to much needed revenue in the countries. It was also due to his discovery that democratic ideals were able to spread to the americas, eventually. Again, he did not have direct control over these developments, but it did come by as a result of his actions. Still, i take much happiness in the fact that this nation arose because of the discovery of one of my own countrymen.
Therefore, i think that Christopher Columbus should be neither sanctified nor vilified. He was simply a hardworking man who was doing his job to the best of his abilities. He had his triumphs and failures, imperfections and virtues. Still, whether he had control of it or not, Columbus was undoubtedly monumental in the development of the Americas, and I still find in him good reason to be proud to be Italian.
After mulling this question over, I think that Christopher Columbus should be partly celebrated, partly vilified and also partly pitied. Columbus obviously did not really "discover" America, as there were inhabitants living there years before his arrival. He also did not find an alternate trade route to Asia. What he did do was open up a "new world" for Europeans to explore. For this he should be commemorated and celebrated because he was the one who changed exploration as the world knew it. If not for him, the United States might have been quite different today. At the same time however, he should be vilified for his horrendous treatment of the Native Americans. Based on the documented sources, the Natives showed him and his crew kindness when Columbus first came to America. He repaid them by catogorizing them as "sub-humans" and shipping 500 off to Spain to work in slavery. He also slaughtered a huge portion of the Native population, which was completely uncalled for. He was ignorant of their culture and ignorant of them as human beings in general, seeing as he wrote them off as savages and barbarians. Finally, Christopher Columbus could be looked upon as pitiful. He refused to believe that he had not, as much as he hoped, landed in Asia. He went to his grave sticking to this belief, despite all of the signs that told him he was wrong. He was a stubborn man, yet he knew he had failed in other expeditions. Maybe this was the reason he did not want to acknowledge that he was wrong about his "discovery". From this perspective, he could be seen as a man who did not want to disappoint those around him and tried to get them to see he was right. Christopher Columbus was a complex man, and because he was only human, there are multiple aspects of how we can view him as a society today.
Columbus Day is a holiday dedicated to honor the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, but should it be celebrated upon learning that it caused the destruction of people in the Americas and wiped out cultures? I do not think Columbus Day should be celebrated for it only provided benefits to the Europeans and not the world as a whole as his discovery seems to have been marred with causing only benefits. Christopher Columbus originally set out to discover a trade route to India and China. He circumnavigated to the West Indies due to an error in his calculations. His finding caused an age of exploration to shift towards a scramble to colonize these lands and in this process, the Europeans killed thousands upon thousands of natives whom they encountered. It is important to state that the time period of exploration conjured an age which demonstrated that the discovery of the new world was inevitable. Columbus simply happened to be considered the first to be recognized as well as allowing Europeans a better understanding of the world in geographic terms. Nevertheless, he took advantage of the newly found lands by trading the indigenous people, finding mines of gold and silver, and other valuable goods which could be used to empower the nation of Spain. As other European nations became involved, the natives were treated with little respect, massacred for amusement, labored to death, and even labeled “sub-humans” with no souls. His discovery led to the wiping out of entire populations of natives, and even though he was not the only one, he opened up a pathway of the destruction of cultures. Neither is he technically the first man to discover the America’s, the Vikings have left evidence of their own journey. Columbus Day is a holiday which should not be celebrated because it led to the relentless killings of indigenous people who were treated as mere animals in most cases, and he wasn’t even the first to discover the new world.
I don't think that Columbus is as deserving of recognition as he is in our society. Yes, it is true that he is worthy of some historical recognition as one of the first to sail to the Americas. However, he was not the first, the last, nor was he especially amazing as a leader. His success was simply based on the fact that he made an incorrect calculation of the Earth's circumference, his belief that he was going to be the first person to reach India by sailing westward and his exceptional capability of keeping his crew disciplined. Historically speaking, the Vikings deserve more credit since they were the first Europeans to arrive to North America. Moreover, Amerigo Vespucci was the one who discovered that what Columbus thought was the West Indies was actually a completely new continent. On the other hand, Columbus irrationally disagreed with this discovery and died believing that he found a route to India rather than “discovering” a new continent.
This is not to say that Columbus doesn't deserve credit as an explorer. However, it is my belief that he alone shouldn't be sitting on the throne on Columbus Day. At the very least, I'd say that the Vikings and Vespucci deserve equal credit. I shouldn't complain though, because if there wasn't a Columbus Day, we wouldn't have a day off from school.
Columbus day should not be celebrated in the United States because Columbus did not do anything good. Columbus accidentally stumbled on a bunch of islands. Then, he did not even realize that they were part of a totally new continent, it took Amerigo Vespucci to figure that out. Columbus still has cities named after him and did not do anything. This is totally ridiculous. Then What he did do successfully was lead in the persecution of the Native Americans. Columbus enslaved these people and continued to persecute them throughout his time being there. As a whole Columbus continued to abuse this large percentage of the population. Columbus also brought disease with him. More Native Americans died of disease than war. Columbus contributed to the massive decline in population which is estimated to be at 90-95% of the pre-Columbian population. Columbus is a murder who accomplished nothing during his life and does not deserve to be remembered or celebrated.
It is very difficult to judge Christopher Columbus's actions objectively. Society's interpretation of historical events, such as Columbus's actions, changes over time. People in the 20th century celebrated Columbus's discovery of the New World, but recently historians began branding Columbus as a mass murderer who caused the death of 60 million people. Some historians even said, "Columbus makes Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent." While it is true that Columbus's arrival did cause many Native Americans to die, he alone cannot be held accountable for their deaths.
European diseases killed more Native Americans than European armies. The Native Americans' lack of immunity to European diseases was caused by nature. While it is true that Europeans exploited this to their advantage, the Europeans did not intentionally bring these diseases to use against the Native Americans. If Europeans never arrived in the New World, when another group of settlers, perhaps from Asia, arrived, the same outcome would occur. While some people accuse Christopher Columbus of genocide, Europeans did not bring their diseases with the intent to exterminate the Native American population.
Although Christopher Colubus's arrival in the New World caused the death of many Native Americans, his discovery led to the creation of new nations. Without him, the North American and South American continent might never have been settled. Christopher Columbus's actions were justified during his time. When he returned from the New World, he was greeted by his country, and Europe, as a hero, not a mass murderer. Columbus's actions were acceptable during his time period. It is impossible for people living over five centuries after Columbus' time to judge him objectively.
When I was in first grade, I was taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America. His accomplishments were glorified and he was portrayed as a hero. Throughout most of elementary school, the same story was repeated again and again: the great Christopher Columbus and his long, arduous voyage to discover the New World. Only in middle schoo and high school did we finally learn the truth. Columbus was not the first person to discover America. He was not even the first European. He didn't even believe it was a new continent. In fact, he made his crew swear to him that they believed they were in China, and until the day he died Columbus believed he had found a new route to Asia. This is quite different than the elementary school version of Christopher Columbus.One thing that previous teachers had neglected to mention was the mass deaths of the natives. It was called genocide by some, perhaps incorrectly, but no one can deny that the Europeans exploration of the New World led directly to the deaths of a vast number of natives. Many died of diseases brought with the Europeans, their immune systems to frail to withstand the new pestilence. Many more were killed by the Europeans. The natives were considered savages, subhuman, souless. As they supposedly had no souls, the Europeans had no qualms about killing them.
The deaths of so many natives, and the loss of their culture was devastating and casts a shadow on Columbus's deeds. Columbus's own refusal to believe that he had discovered a new land was unfortunate, and makes him less of a hero. There is enough evidence to make anyone believe that Columbus should be vilified. There is one thing that my first grade teachers got right though. Regardless of who got there first, or how many natives were killed, Columbus changed the course of world history. Christopher Columbus was the one who began the permanent settlement of the Americas. Eventually someone else would have done it, but Columbus did do it, and therefore he should be celebrated for that, if not forgiven for the deaths of the Indians.
In Elementary schools, Columbus is portrayed as the brave explorer who was the first to come across North America and Columbus day was a day to celebrate this "heroic" man. However, Columbus wasn't as great of a man that he is cracked up to be. Columbus was indeed, a very important person in the history of the world and his discoveries and contributions led to many advancements. However, he was also a very cruel and greedy man who brought devastation to the natives of the Americas. After Columbus landed on the new world, diseases started ravaging the natives and millions of people died. Of course, this was not his fault, but many people leave out this detail about Columbus, the fact that he brought upon a horrible massacre of innocent people. He also turned many of the natives into mining slaves in order to obtain as much gold and silver as possible. It is said that if one of the slaves didn't bring any gold back or they didn't bring back enough, Columbus would have thier hands chopped off at the wrists. This shows how greedy and cruel he really was. He also demanded a high percent of any riches that he may find for the King and Queen which again, shows his greed. He wasn't even the first person to come across the new world because there is substantial evidence that the vikings were the first ones to land here and up to his dying day, Columbus refused to belive that he had found a new world. Even though he had a lot of bad attributes associated with him, Columbus still made one of the greatest discoveries that put the world on a new level of advancement. He opened the new world up to future settlement and opportunities. He also advanced the view of the world, it was getting "smaller" with this discovery. Therefore, Columbus Day should not really celebrate Columbus, it should celebrate his acheivements. As a person he as cruel and conceded, but his discovery changed the world forever.
While controversy surrounds Christopher Columbus’ discovery in the New World, I believe that his discovery should be celebrated. Columbus discovered the New World only through accident, but that does not change the effects of his discovery. It is true that many Europeans following him treated the Native Americans inhumanely, but this was not something that Columbus willingly initiated. It is true that Columbus himself was less than kind to the Natives he encountered, and unwittingly spread calamitous disease among them, but this was at a time where xenophobia and ethnocentrism existed rampantly; this was a societal norm. Columbus was no worse in his day than he could be expected to be. Christopher Columbus brought about a union of two entirely different worlds of humans that were completely ignorant of the other’s existence. Although this realization was later abused, this cultural awareness was vital to global and social development on both hemispheres. Columbus was mistaken in his discovery and certainly fallible in his actions, but what he did brought a plethora of benefits and enlightenment that would have been more expensive in the long run to go without. Columbus cannot and should not be held responsible for the actions and decisions of his followers, or of what was felt to be right at the time. He cannot in good conscious be considered a villain for his discovery of the Americas.
I do not believe that there is a correct answer as to whether Christopher Columbus “should” be celebrated or not. The situation really takes on a totally different meaning depending on which perspective you’re looking at it from. For instance, I cannot definitively say that if I were Native American, I would necessarily be “celebrating” Columbus Day. When Christopher Columbus first came over to the Americas in 1492, he was not kind to the “Indians” (whom he named under the assumption that he had landed in India). He thought that the Indians possessed the gold he was looking for, so he ransacked their settlements looking for it; when he observed their religious practices he and his crew forced them to convert to Christianity and learn to speak Spanish (to assimilate to his culture). Also, looking at the big picture, if Columbus’ expeditions to the Americas were the beginning of colonization of the Americas, it was also the end of the Indians’ free reign of the land. Columbus’ actions also led to the mass colonization of North America , which eventually became the United States of America, whose government also did not get along well with the Indians in the beginning either. An example of this being the Trail of Tears, during the 1800’s, when the Native Americans were forcibly removed from their land in the southern United States.
On the flip side of the coin, if you consider yourself an American, you might be grateful that Columbus “discovered” the Americas, or began the trend of colonizing the lands in the western hemisphere, because, perhaps, if he had not, history would not have turned the same. Perhaps, if Columbus had not essentially started the colonization of America, if he had found some other land and started colonies there, and all of Europe had followed him there, America would not be what it is today. Maybe, if Columbus had not landed here, the original settlers that came here searching for religious freedom and the like, these ideas being the basis of what America is, would not have seen this land as an opportunity for them the break away from the Church of England and create a place where “All men are created equal”. There is no way of knowing for sure, but history could very well have been significantly different had Christopher Columbus started the trend of colonizing the Americas. And even though a great loss of lives and culture did take place during this process, I am grateful that it happened the way it did, because I am unsure that I would be as fortunate had history turned out differently. However, like I said, I can’t say I would feel the same way about the situation if I were a Native American. It just goes to show you how self -concerned human beings are by nature, to say that I am grateful for the way things happened is really only because they happened in my best interests, it is hard to say that you are happy things turned out the way they did, knowing that it was all at the expense of someone else.
Christopher Columbus should be celebrated. The argument over whether he was correct in his actions needs to be taken into context. Columbus didn't do anything that wasn't being done already. During this time period conquering people who are weaker than the conquerer was common. Columbus was merely doing what he knew, to take land that seemed to have wealth for the good of his own country. Slave labor wasn't new either, there were slaves everywhere. They were viewed as merchandise and it was as if Columbus had just found a new stash of product. Although that doesn't make it right it wasn't out of the norm.
Even though they Vikings technically were the first to discover the Americas. Columbus rediscovered the Americas but the difference was that his discovery had a lasting effect while the Viking's effect was next to none. They were driven out by the natives and their discovery wasn't spread while Christopher's lasted until today.
I do not believe that there is a correct answer as to whether Christopher Columbus “should” be celebrated or not. The situation really takes on a totally different meaning depending on which perspective you’re looking at it from. For instance, I cannot definitively say that if I were Native American, I would necessarily be “celebrating” Columbus Day. When Christopher Columbus first came over to the Americas in 1492, he was not kind to the “Indians” (whom he named under the assumption that he had landed in India). He thought that the Indians possessed the gold he was looking for, so he ransacked their settlements looking for it; when he observed their religious practices he and his crew forced them to convert to Christianity and learn to speak Spanish (to assimilate to his culture). Also, looking at the big picture, if Columbus’ expeditions to the Americas were the beginning of colonization of the Americas, it was also the end of the Indians’ free reign of the land. Columbus’ actions also led to the mass colonization of North America , which eventually became the United States of America, whose government also did not get along well with the Indians in the beginning either. An example of this being the Trail of Tears, during the 1800’s, when the Native Americans were forcibly removed from their land in the southern United States.
On the flip side of the coin, if you consider yourself an American, you might be grateful that Columbus “discovered” the Americas, or began the trend of colonizing the lands in the western hemisphere, because, perhaps, if he had not, history would not have turned the same. Perhaps, if Columbus had not essentially started the colonization of America, if he had found some other land and started colonies there, and all of Europe had followed him there, America would not be what it is today. Maybe, if Columbus had not landed here, the original settlers that came here searching for religious freedom and the like, these ideas being the basis of what America is, would not have seen this land as an opportunity for them the break away from the Church of England and create a place where “All men are created equal”. There is no way of knowing for sure, but history could very well have been significantly different had Christopher Columbus started the trend of colonizing the Americas. And even though a great loss of lives and culture did take place during this process, I am grateful that it happened the way it did, because I am unsure that I would be as fortunate had history turned out differently. However, like I said, I can’t say I would feel the same way about the situation if I were a Native American. It just goes to show you how self -concerned human beings are by nature, to say that I am grateful for the way things happened is really only because they happened in my best interests, it is hard to say that you are happy things turned out the way they did, knowing that it was all at the expense of someone else.
For many years, people have wondered who truly found America. Was it Columbus, like commonly believed, or was it Northern European Vikings? That may be a question that will never be settled upon, but as of now, most people believe that it Was Christopher Columbus. However, a debate that rages over Columbus himself is over whether or not he is a hero for discovering the America’s or a villain for expose the Native peoples populations to disasters. I think that Columbus Day should still be celebrated today, because he was the first European to start colonies into the New World, the foundation of the forming of America. Columbus should not be viewed as a villain, because, although many Europeans did enslave and kill natives, many also did not on purpose. Columbus was not a conquistador, but an explorer who was searching for trade routes to India. He may have fought with Natives, but he was not one who directly enslaved and killed natives. His men may have carried deadly diseases with them, but they did not do it on purpose. Columbus has had his name smudged because he led the Spanish invasion into the New World, a horrifically violent event. He may have treated the few native he encountered harshly, but not some of his fellow countrymen did. As the first European to start expansions into the New World, Christopher Columbus should still be honored today.
We should definitely celebrate the fact that Columbus discovered the Americas. The large amount of controversy follows his discovery is because of what other people used the discovery for and is sickening and inhuman but when we celebrate the holiday we look at the positives that have come from the discovery. This is a hard question to answer because the discovery and the following actions of the European settlers were terrible and had a profound impact on the lives of millions of natives. People should know the truth about these actions on the Native Americans just as people know the truth about the Jewish holocaust because it is necessary that we try and prevent this from happening again anywhere in the world. Therefore, society should view Columbus as a man who did what he thought was right. By mistake he introduced Europe to the Americas but at the same time he started the holocaust of the Native’s by providing a motive that induced greed on many Europeans. By providing this greed, Columbus should be viewed as a man of discovery but also as a man who cannot be pardoned for his taking part in the New World holocaust.
Since people have become accustomed to celebrating Columbus, he should be still be celebrated but it also on his day, people should take time to become educated about what happened after he relayed his discovery of the New World to Europe. Everything about Columbus’s rediscovery affects us as Americans today from the integrated races to the millions of lives that were lost as a result of his actions. Because of this, I believe that Columbus day should be celebrated so that we may commemorate the European discovery, respect the lives of the Native Americans that were lost, and to learn from the horrible mistakes that took place as a result of Columbus.
Americans love their holidays and they most definitely love days off of work and school. However, one holiday that should not be celebrated is Columbus Day. In elementary school most children learn the rhyme, “In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue” and they are taught that Christopher Columbus is a great explorer that discovered our home or the “New World.” It is ludicrous to say a place already inhabited can be so called discovered. Generally the word discovered means to be the first to find, learn or observe. Therefore, Christopher Columbus did not discover the “New World” because millions of Native Americans already lived there at the time and clearly new about this “New World.” Besides, the Vikings were actually the first people to arrive at the shores of the “New World.” Why do we not honor and glorify the Vikings for finding our land or even better the Native Americans who once and still do call this land their home? So Columbus did not discover America in that sense, however he did contribute important knowledge to Europe at the time. He helped boost Europe’s economy and he found a means of escape for Europeans that were adventurous and those that were enterprisers. This in the long run has helped America be the successful country it is today. Yet some claim he proved the earth was round. But various qualified people have proven that only a very small minority of people would have believed this. So why do we celebrate him as if he is this honorable hero? It certainly is not because of his cruelty towards Native Americans: he started a “genocide” of Native Americans and destroyed their valuable culture. It is certainly not because of his skill, he accidently stumbled upon America. It was sheer luck. In given time, another European would have discovered the “New World” if Columbus hadn’t. I believe the American education system teaches young children a very bias perception of Columbus. By teaching children that Columbus was this great hero that was best friends with the Native Americans is wrong and just as bad as countries that censor information from their people. I believe that school children should be taught all the great things about Columbus but also be taught how he did kill Indians for his own gain. This allows everyone to form their own opinion on what type of man Christopher Columbus was and if he should be celebrated. I do not suggest that we should abandon any features that make America the country it is nor do I suggest we stop celebrating principles that we value so much. Rather, I think we should stop glorifying Christopher Columbus and have a day to celebrate the formation of America in general.
I believe that Columbus should neither be celebrated nor should Columbus be vilified. What Columbus did does not deserve a national holiday but also does not earn him the title of “mass murderer.” Without Columbus’s discovery the modern world would be significantly different and which is one of his greatest achievements. However, Columbus did stumble upon his achievement by landing on islands that he believed were part of Asia when in fact they belonged to the Americas. Although his discovery was significant it does not earn him the right to have a holiday in his name.
At the same time however I do not believe that he should be vilified for what he did. He was not the main reason for the deaths of thousands of natives of the lands he discovered. There were thousands of other European settlers that were also responsible for the deaths and it is just because Columbus was the one of the original discoverers of the “new world” is why the deaths are blamed on him. Columbus acted as a typical man of his time and should not be vilified for what he did. I believe that Columbus should neither be vilified nor honored for his discovery of the “new world.”
Columbus day is a day that should not be celebrated the way it is as a Holiday. It is true that Christopher Columbus untied the Americas and European civilization, but what is often overlooked is the incredible amount of harm and destruction he caused. First, it is only sheer luck that he found the Americas, because he was only looking for trade routes to India. When he landed here, he launched a genocide on the natives, replacing their morals and values with European ones. He killed them, brought foreign diseases, and destroyed their villages. Why should we celebrate a man who did so much damage? On top of that, he was not even the first person to set foot on this continent. Native people were already residing here, and Vikings are believed to have set foot on this soil earlier than he did. He was a good explorer, and he connected the world, but he really didn’t discover anything. So as a society, we should view him as a explorer who cause a great amount of damage to the Native culture. He removed them from their beliefs, punished them, and often times killed them. We can even compare him to Hitler, because he too launched a genocide, no better than that of the jewish people in Germany. I personally don’t think it is practical to celebrate the accomplishments of a murderer.
The commemoration of the ‘discovery’ of America by Christopher Columbus is continued annually by tradition, despite the widely held consensus that most of what the holiday celebrates is incorrect. Historians have asserted that Columbus was neither the first man in the Americas (quite obviously) or the first discoverer of the New World. Our country’s name, America, is not even attributed to Columbus, but to the exploratory efforts of Amerigo Vespucci. Achievements discredited, Columbus has begun to bear an increasing brunt of criticism from modern historians in regards to his treatment of the Native Americans.
Thus we turn to the question of whether Columbus should be celebrated, commemorated, or vilified for his actions and their eventual consequences. Opponents of his point to his mistreatment of the Natives, and the annihilation caused by the spread of European diseases, as evidence of his villainy. Many even compare him to Hitler, and parallel the spread of disease to the extermination of the Jews in Nazi Germany.
It is here that historians’ imaginations run away with their pens, and their arguments become less stable. Today, the Holocaust is the epitomic archetype of something ‘evil.’ The more a modern protocol can be compared and paralleled against Hitler, the more evil it must be. Or, so the thinking goes at least. Even under the loosely defined terms of ‘holocaust’ and ‘genocide,’ however, it his highly unfair and ethnocentric to accuse Columbus of wiping out the millions of Natives that were estimated to live in America. Calling the spread of germs a ‘holocaust’ is akin to calling a hurricane a declaration of war on America by the colonies in the equatorial Pacific ocean. Far from deliberate, it is likely Columbus never even knew the full effects his germs had on the native population.
Though his violence against the Natives is considered morally incorrect by today’s standards, it must be taken into account that this expedition was undertaken by men from a continent that had experienced the Crusades. The killing of pagans was considered common, and even righteous, practice at the time. Many historians again loose their base in fact, and offer evidence of numerous explorers and their mistreatment of the Natives even with regard to this. Columbus, however, is not numerous explorers; he is himself, and only that. Blaming the actions of others on him is incorrect morally and factually.
Some historians argue that the destruction of the vast Native American society was a tragedy, others a necessary turning point in the history of the modern world. Regardless of either, the abstract concept of Columbus’ actions must be reduced to what he himself did in order to judge him fairly. If it could be said that the fate of the Natives was set by his actions, could it be extrapolated that every event in American history was made by his grand design? Unless some minority society subscribes to the idea of Columbus as a minor god, this is completely unreasonable.
Columbus should be celebrated. Not for his injustices against the Natives, but for the risk-taking entrepreneurial spirit he represented. The age of colonization in the Americas was spawned by his discovery, and as such we, as the decedents of that colonization, should be thankful. Whether another explorer would or wouldn’t have discovered the continent eventually is a moot point- Columbus did, and as such deserves credit and commendation. The kind of explorative courage he exhibited is a model to which many should aspire, and those who succeed following it deserve appreciation.
Columbus should be acknowledged as a man of impact on the intellectual world of Europe, but not celebrated as the founder of a "new world". Other before him had already discovered and populated what is now the Americas, so his old title of 'founder' should not be applied.
Though he may not have discovered this land first hand, he did bring in to effect the economic race between the stronger countries of Europe, such as Spain and Portugal. New people, goods, and opportunities were acted upon with these new lands, and the economy of Europe was drastically impacted from the early 15oo's on.
I personally view Columbus in a negative light, as he brought almost total decimation to the indigenous people of south and central America. As more and more ships sailed across the Atlantic, ships carrying diseases and power-hungry tyrants wiped out the Aztecs and Incas and brought others from the islands into slavery and oppression. One section from the readings we were assigned on the subject really enlightened my new views on Columbus; he was described to have made Hitler look like and amateur. Huge sums of needless deaths occurred with the arrival of conquistadors and other foreigners, many starting with Columbus's mistake of the year 1492.
I believe that as a society Columbus should be viewed as a significant figure in history, but to be celebrated or vilified is excessive. The accomplishment Columbus is know for, the discovery of the Americas, was only achieved by accident while he was on his real goal of finding a new sea route to Asia. His accomplishment of discovering America wasn’t even something new, since the Vikings had already discovered North America long before Columbus’s first voyage to the new world. There’s not much about Columbus himself thats really worth celebrating, but it is the effects his discovery of the new world had that are significant. Without Columbus’s accidental discovery, the people of the Eastern hemisphere wouldn’t have known of the existence of this brand new world. Then the colonization of the new world wouldn’t occur and develop into the modern Americas we know today. Columbus’s voyages helped spark the interest in Europe about the new world that lead to their colonization. This also however caused great damage to the population of the native peoples already living in the Americas at the time. Europeans colonizing the new world carried over their diseases that the native populations had no resistance for, devastating their population. Its also in this sense that Columbus is considered a villain, due to his treatment of natives. Columbus really can’t be blamed though due to the fact that this treatment was typical of the time and Columbus never had the intention of killing the natives. Therefore Columbus should be characterized so harshly as a villain, but as a significant figure in history who’s actions helped shape the world we live in today.
Some would say that Columbus can be described as a murder to the extreme of Hitler and the Nazis. Others will say that h should be known for the discovery of the new world and nothing else. Although I understand that people can view Columbus in these ways because there is no doubt that he committed murders and killed many natives of the new world, but I still believe that Columbus day should be a celebrated holiday not for these murders but for his discovery of the new world. Columbus committed many murders but as history shows he is getting credit for murders that he took no part in and which he had no control over. An example of this is when people blame him for the murders of Native Americans who got diseases as a result of European exploration, and also murders which other Europeans committed and not Columbus. Society should understand the things that Columbus did but should still appreciate the other things he did, such as risking his life to mistakenly find the new world. Columbus may have done terrible some terrible things but he is receiving a name for more terrible things than he actually took part in. In the end Columbus Day should still be a celebrated holiday for his discovery of the new world.
There is a great deal of argument whether or not Columbus should be seen as a hero or a villain to put it simply. In my opinion, Columbus, while having committed many atrocious crimes, cannot truly be blamed for what he did. Christopher began his journey seeking a new route to the East, but ended up finding an entirely new landmass. Even when Columbus had discovered the New World, he thought it was the old world. He found many indigenous people, and this is where the real controversy starts. Because of Columbus' discovery of this new world, a wave of disease and mistreatment of Indians sprung out. However, in my opinion, I do not really believe that Columbus is entirely to blame for all these mistreatments. Most of the deaths of the Native were caused by disease. There is still the mistreatment of natives however. This can be blamed on Columbus, however, not entirely. The Church had rendered these people to be soulless, and Columbus, like any other man in the day and age, took the Church for it's word. Columbus was simply not a Renaissance man with thoughts of Enlightenment and human rights. He was just a navigator. Because of this I do not believe that Columbus really should be villified as many do, but should not really be celebrated either. He should be viewed simply as a many that discovered America, but was not really the first to do so. Simply a good navigator with the serendipity to discover the New World.
Christopher Columbus was a man who happened to stumble on a new world. He had no intention of ever making the profound discovery that he did. All he was looking for was a trade route. I do not think that he should personally be celebrated, but rather, his discovery. Although countless lives have been lost with upon his arrival at the new world, this does not make the discovery less prominent. Without Christopher Columbus’s discovery, it is scary to imagine where our society might be. So while we must not forget the tens of millions of lives lost, we must commemorate the discovery. I have always seen Columbus Day as being a holiday to look at the past, not just one side of the story. We must remember what happened, all the aspects. This includes the groundbreaking discovery of Christopher Columbus and also the remembrance of Native Americans. I do agree that the holiday should be renamed, but not banned. If it was banned, then we are telling society that it is ok to forget the past. I vehemently disagree with this. The past is what helps a society to grow and to learn from mistakes, what kind of message would we be sending if we got rid of Columbus Day? We must celebrate the bittersweet discovery of Columbus. No matter what, Christopher Columbus will always be somewhat viewed as a hero; there is no erasing this. So rather than completely ban Columbus Day, we must change it.
Is Mr. Kirby going to close this?
Yes, eve4rybody after Meister was LATE
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