Why Abolish Columbus Day?

Columbus Day should be abolished because he was not the first explorer to arrive in the Americas. Many explorers before him landed there, but he was the first to conquer the native people and either enslave or kill them. In document 2, Online Petition, it states that the American Indians had already been living there for around 10,000 years. Even if Columbus was the first to arrive in the Americas, he was not the discoverer. To say Columbus is entirely falsely praised would be stubborn and incorrect, because he was the first European to stay and colonize the land. Through this process, he did found America, but at the same time killed nearly three million people, according to document 6, Howard Zinn, whether they be Native Americans or Africans. Document 3, Mysterious History of Columbus, that he alone challenged the unknown sea and as a result, there was a continent that didn’t have kings. This land may not have had kings, but similarly it had slave traders who treated the slaves like animals. It is said in document 1, Joel Barlow, Europe became very wealthy from Columbus and the slave trades in Africa along with the Triangular Trade route between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This is very true, and there were many positive effects from all of this, but there were many negatives. Most of the negative effects were felt in Africa, where many cultures became nearly extinct and took decades to rebuild. Slave traders acquired their slaves in a few different ways, one being through war. With the increased demand for slaves in the Americas, more and more slaves were wanted and wars began to break. Different sides would capture prisoners and sell them to the European merchants for material goods such as rum and guns. The newly acquired weapons gave people advantages and many more people started to die. Columbus Day should be abolished because he is only remembered for the good things he started and he should be given credit for all the violence and poverty as well.