Though he did not actually do any of the killing and torture himself, he ordered it all and any spaniard who disobeyed were punished as well. “Some had their ears slit and some the nose” Document A. This proves how cruel and violent Columbus would get if they were to not get enough gold he demanded. “Those who didn’t return every three months with the amount of gold demanded were punished by having their hands chopped off” Document B. These documents explains how he killed and administered the Tainos. Some Tainos made it clear that they wanted to leave but you wouldn’t let them go. “Making it clear that they wished to leave, you refused to release them” Document B. This proves that Columbus was already thinking of making them slaves. Columbus than incorporated the Tainos into his crew and took them away to Spain as slaves. “On your second voyage to the Indies, you ordered your men to roundup Indians and had over 500 shipped to Spain as slaves” Document B. Torturing and kidnapping the Tainos was one of the main reasons why Columbus is responsible for the death of the…
Taking into consideration the moral standards of the 1490’s Europe, Christopher Columbus is clearly guilty of the crimes against him. The crimes are as follows: he and his men were responsible for the deaths of many of the indigenous people referred to by Columbus as “Indians,” and accused of causing ecological devastation through the importing of plant and animal life not native to the Western Hemisphere. Columbus physically interacted with the Native Americans by using force to get what he wanted, and carried out massacres and strange cruelties to the defenseless men, women, and children of the Indian tribes. Columbus also started what is called the “Great Disease Migration” by bringing dangerous diseases into a world venerable to these diseases.…
I think we should celebrate Columbus Day. Though he did a lot of bad things during his lifetime, he did have reasons. He lost his temper and then just became over powered with power. Most of us, if we were in his position would have probably done the same thing. Columbus should be celebrated, but should not really be given as much credit as we give him today. The government should change the name to "The Anniversary of the U.S. or something else that describes the discovery of America that was actually stated in a contract. Because, technically the Native Americans did "Discover" the land first, but didn't actually…
History has always been a topic that I personally have never thought could be wrong or false; it has always been something that I thought was unquestionable, but Hans Koning opened my eyes to the fact that we should always question history and explore things further. The stories told about Columbus are those of heroism and adventure, but Hans Koning explains in his book Columbus: His Enterprise that our beliefs on who Columbus was as a person are astray. Koning says that the story of Columbus is “Eurocentric” and told to glorify the European civilization of that time period; therefore, the most important argument that Koning makes in his book is that Columbus really was a selfish, and greedy con artist.…
Over the past year, American and other nations that recognize the achievement of Christopher Columbus have been celebrating Columbus Day on the second Monday of every October. Specifically, this year’s Columbus Day was celebrated on 9th October. However, the recent article published in New York Times conveys Americans’ losing interest in considering Columbus Day as a certified holiday. According to the author, who asks her audience whether the United States should continue celebrating Columbus Day, people should clearly understand Columbus’s achievement. With it, people will be able to determine a necessity to proceed with this day’s celebration.…
Columbus Day celebrates the so-called discovery of America. Even though, Christopher Columbus killed many native Americans and started the slave trade. We should not celebrate Columbus Day.…
Do you trust your history book to tell you everything? Many just rely on one source. Some textbooks only skim the surface. An instance of this is Christopher Columbus. Recent evidence proves that Columbus abused his power and quite possibly should not be celebrated. For example, Columbus solely relied on his greed and used Taino “Indians” to search for gold. He turned to biological warfare, bringing in new diseases and used violence and slavery against the Native Americans. Also, he sent thousands of Taino from Hispaniola to be sold in Spain. Within 60 years after Columbus had landed, only a few hundred of what may have been 250,000 Taino were left on the island and many died en route. Secondly, when he first landed on the island, Columbus…
First thing that makes Columbus a "bad guy" is lying. Columbus lied to the queen about the explored island. He said that there's a lot of gold and spices, and people there would share anything with anyone. Columbus also lied that he reached Asia, which was his destination spot. He said all those things to make the queen believe that he's a good man and to save himself from the death. Five hundred years before Columbus was even born, the Vikings settled land in northern North America. They were the true discoverers of the New World. Christopher Columbus merely takes credit while the Vikings are remembered as drunken savages. Not only did he not discover the New World, but his calculations were based on other's works. What kind of "hero" can't find his way to where he wants to go and then receives the credit for a complete and utter accident! This doesn't only make him a liar but it also makes him selfish. But yet we Americans still nationally celebrate his “accomplishments” that were all just faux.…
In October we celebrate the man who found America. People are taught at a young age that Christopher Columbus was a hero when in fact he was a murderer. Yes, he found a land that was unknown to his people, but in his findings, he murdered, raped and enslaved the true natives of this country. Columbus and his men destroyed the civilizations, cultures, and land of the Native Americans. These actions should not be portrayed as heroic.…
Many Americans view Columbus as a heroic figure whom is celebrated every year. Children look up to him, as an amazing person for being able to “discover” America and citizens are able to spend a whole day off from work/school to reflect on his greatness. However, this greatness should in no way be glorified, because it is absurd to call Columbus a hero. Columbus had taken credit for things that he didn’t accomplish, brutally abused Native Americans and caused slave trade, which led to mistreatment of Native Americans for years to come. I strongly believe that Columbus day should not be celebrated because of the torture, slavery, and lying that was caused by him.…
Among the many flaws American history textbooks have, one that stands out above the rest is heroification. Heroification is, according to Loewen "A generative process that makes people over into heroes.(pg 19)". Through heroification national heroes (such as Christopher Columbus) are always portrayed as perfect individuals, with only the best intentions and absolutely no flaws. Textbooks use heroification to inspire, and instate a sense of national pride in students. Though it may instate a sense of national pride in students, it does not present the truth. Heroification leaves out important facets of these "heroes" lives, and only presents trivial melodramatic details. By doing this students will never really fully understand why our "heroes" did what they did, and will never know the truth.…
Secondly, most people think that by celebrating Columbus Day we are celebrating the discovery of America, which is not true. How can America be ever discovered by him if there were people living there? America was already exiting and you can’t discover something that already exists. Christopher Columbus did not find North American on purpose and he was not the first to find it either. Leif Ericsson of the Viking found North America first. So technically Christopher Columbus didn’t discover America so why should we have a day just for him? It just doesn’t make sense to have a holiday for someone but there is no really reason behind it.…
Was Christopher Columbus really the hero that everyone perceived him as? Or was he really just a scoundrel who was not accepting of others? And should we celebrate Columbus Day or should we not? Most are innocent to the facts about Columbus believe that Columbus is a hero, but I’m not that naive. I believe that Christopher Columbus was more of a villain than a hero. Although he discovered the Americas and he followed his dreams, there are quite a few historical events and pieces of evidence that proves him to be more of a villain than hero. He regarded the Native Americans as inferior and cruelly, as well as his crew, he was inept at math and at being governor, and he was disrespectful and selfish towards the king and the Native Americans. I don’t know about you, but I believe those are the makings of villain, and not the makings of someone who should be celebrated.…
Christopher Columbus has a considerably similar background to that of Saddam Hussein; only Columbus may have committed more harmful actions.…
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, that sailed for Spain, in the Age of Exploration. He landed in the Caribbean in the year 1492. He trading with the local people how he thought were Indians. People think that he should not be acknowledged for this accomplishment. Columbus day should be celebrated because it created important history events, it brought civilization to the new world, and it celebrates Italian immigrants in America. Columbus created important history events like the Pledge of Allegiance, he has a lot of artwork of him, and Columbus day is the oldest holiday. Columbus also brought civilization to the new world because he attracted attention to the new world, the land was unused and there was no growth in Native American communities.finally Columbus day celebrates Italian heritage because 26 million Italian Americans live in the US, it is the fifth biggest ethnic group and it celebrates their creation in the new world.…