Christopher Columbus As A Hero
Question 1: In Christopher Columbus’s personal journal there are numerous examples that portray him to be a hero in some fashion or another. Christopher Columbus describes in immaculate detail his voyage across the sea. He portrays himself as a man of great power and leadership. Columbus describes his search for the city of gold in such a way that one would almost start to believe that he is doing the Natives a service by extracting their gold from their lands so that it can be placed in the rightful hands of the rulers of his own nation. Columbus says, “They have no religion, and I believe that they would very readily become Christians, as they have a good understanding.” (Columbus) In this regard he can be portrayed as a hero in that he was
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Las Casas directly displays the evil wrongdoing and savagery of the Spaniards and Christopher Columbus when he displays the empirical data of the Island of Hispaniola. The island was once so densely populated, estimated to have roughly 3 million inhabitants, now a population of just two hundred people. (Casas) This contradicts the notion of Columbus as a hero because it depicts him as a rabid exterminator. A hero saves people and the manner in which Las Casas describes Columbus’s actions are anything but heroic. In Columbus’s own journal he describes the events that transpired on his voyage in a way that make him appear as if though he were not the hero many people gave him credit for. One specific example from Columbus’s Journal that display this lack of heroism is the following line, “I understand the natives but imperfectly, and perceive them to be so poor that a trifling quantity of gold appears to them a great amount.”. (Columbus) I believe this quote to portray Columbus in a way that almost certainty conveys greed and prejudice, because after he says this he begins to slaughter anyone that stands between him and this gold that is ever so valuable to these natives. Heroism is not stealing from the poor in order to gain for yourself, a hero displays qualities of charity and not thievery. Christopher Columbus has been celebrated throughout history as a hero, but in a growing popularity of opinion, he is beginning to be questioned. These questions deserve to be raised and examined, so that we can better understand our
Las Casas directly displays the evil wrongdoing and savagery of the Spaniards and Christopher Columbus when he displays the empirical data of the Island of Hispaniola. The island was once so densely populated, estimated to have roughly 3 million inhabitants, now a population of just two hundred people. (Casas) This contradicts the notion of Columbus as a hero because it depicts him as a rabid exterminator. A hero saves people and the manner in which Las Casas describes Columbus’s actions are anything but heroic. In Columbus’s own journal he describes the events that transpired on his voyage in a way that make him appear as if though he were not the hero many people gave him credit for. One specific example from Columbus’s Journal that display this lack of heroism is the following line, “I understand the natives but imperfectly, and perceive them to be so poor that a trifling quantity of gold appears to them a great amount.”. (Columbus) I believe this quote to portray Columbus in a way that almost certainty conveys greed and prejudice, because after he says this he begins to slaughter anyone that stands between him and this gold that is ever so valuable to these natives. Heroism is not stealing from the poor in order to gain for yourself, a hero displays qualities of charity and not thievery. Christopher Columbus has been celebrated throughout history as a hero, but in a growing popularity of opinion, he is beginning to be questioned. These questions deserve to be raised and examined, so that we can better understand our