The Dark Truth of Christopher Columbus

991 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The columbian exchange in europe

Christopher Columbus was an Italian sailor and explorer who travelled across the Atlantic Ocean in 1942, in search of a quick route to India Spice trading, which was at the time the largest industry in the world. Columbus made a total of 4 trips between 1492 - 1504 Columbus throughout time has been revered to as a hero, and the reason that many of us are even settled on this land, but there are many dark truths that will be touched upon throughout this report.

Columbus starts his journey in August 1492, when he sets sail from Spain under the sponsorship of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. His original plan was to simply find a new route to India, so he could further prosper from the booming spice trading industry. Columbus left Spain with three ships, The Pinta (Captained by Martin Alonzo Pinzon), the Nina (Vicente Yáñez Pinzon), and the Santa Maria (Columbus). The crew of around 90 left Palos, Spain on August 3rd, 1492, and reached shore on October 11th, 1492. Columbus had arrived on what he believed to be India, so he called the natives that were there “Indians”. Columbus and his crew actually landed on an Island called Guanahani, and once him and his crew took the land, they took the woman and made them slaves as they hunted for gold. By the end of the first set of trips, Columbus had wrecked two ships, one of which was headed back to land to try and beat Columbus. As time went on Columbus made 3 more trips which focused on obtaining gold, and Columbus settling new land and bringing Indian slaves back to Spain.

As far as it seems, Columbus was a very noble mariner, and was simply in search of a new route to India. The truth however is far from that, being he stole gold from colonies, raped, murdered and ...

... middle of paper ...

...opulation of Sarawak Indians was wiped out. By 1502, Columbus had every reason to fear for the security of his position. He had been charged with maladministration in the Indies.

In conclusion, this paper was not written to trash Columbus, it was not written to convince people he was a mass-murder, which he was. It was to simply inform, and state the facts. Whether or not he is a villain is something every single person has the right to decide for themselves. When it comes to killers in history, Columbus isn’t a man who stands up to other mass murders, but as a Mariner, he is one of the worst, when it comes to how he treated the Natives, he was a murderer, and a subtle one at that. Christopher Columbus was a great explorer, who changed the world. Christopher Columbus was a murder who took the lives of innocent people, and enslaved and murdered them.

Show More
Related

  • The Myint Author Of Christopher Columbus: Hero Or Villain?

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Columbus’s “intentions were far from selfless.” (Myint, 2015, Para. 5). The greed was immense as Columbus believed in the entitlement of ten percent of all the treasures that were plundered. Nothing was shared with the crew. Natives were also mutilated and enslaved. If the natives did no collect enough money they lost limbs, some also lost their lives. A hero would not hurt innocent people trying to survive.

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus Hero Or Villain

    2323 Words  | 5 Pages

    Who is Christopher Columbus? You may already have prior knowledge of him, but if you do not, Christopher Columbus was a Spanish explorer who made four voyages to the Americas. His voyages led to the Columbian Exchange and colonization. Many cultures, ideas, technology, and foods were spread between the Americas, the “New World,” and Europe, Africa, and Asia, the “Old World”. Even though many great things were exchanged between the Old World and the New World, many diseases from Europe were introduced to the Natives. Does this make Christopher Columbus a hero, or a villain? The answer is not that debatable. A closer look must be taken at Christopher Columbus 's life to be able to judge such things. This essay will take a look at his life,

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus Should Not be Considered a Hero

    436 Words  | 1 Pages

    Christopher Columbus was a man who much credit was given to for a very small deed. In fact he discovered a new world, but that world was only new to him and the men of his previous generations. What about the many Native Americans whose fathers and father’s fathers shed their blood for the land in which they had lived for so many years. How could one such as Christopher Columbus who was looking for freedom and hope cause so much bondage and destruction? One man’s victory turned out to be devastation for millions.

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus: The Villain

    352 Words  | 1 Pages

    Christopher Columbus was a cruel, delusional, and self-centered man who does not deserve high praises for the discovery of America.

    Read More

  • Debunking the Mythical Hero: Christopher Columbus

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus is a mythical hero or in other words, not a true hero. The story of Christopher Columbus is part of the many myths of Western civilization. Also the story of Christopher Columbus represents the power of those that are privileged and in most cases white European men that have written this mythical history. Zinn (2009 exposes the truth about Columbus through eyes of the people who were there when he had arrived which were the Native Indians (p.481). Columbus had kept a personal journal for his voyage to describe the people and the journey. What was evident throughout his journal was the Native Americans were very nice, gentle and kind hearted people (Zinn, 2009, 481). As Zinn suggests Columbus spoke of the Native Americans as” they are the best people in the world and

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus: Villain or Hero?

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    For more than five centuries Americans have lifted Christopher Columbus to heights of greatness and god-like. We celebrate his life as though he was a man that had done us a great favor. In resent years Christopher Columbus has come under scrutiny, his life and works being questioned more than celebrated. There have be many great men and women that contributed to the building of our great nation but they do not receive anywhere as much recognition as Columbus. When a person begins to study the actual accounts of the "finding of the New World" they begin to wonder if Columbus should adored or hated for his actions. As a child I was taught that Columbus was a great man that had accomplished great things for the sake of humanity, but in reality his agenda was not to better humanity but to better himself. He found the Americas by mere chance and he did not even know of what he found. We give him credit for "finding" the Americas but history tells of the people, that he called Indians, already inhabiting the foreign land. So you decide whether or not Christopher Columbus should be revered a hero.

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus Rape

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    For generations upon generations, students have been taught about the “hero” Christopher Columbus who had discovered our new world. However, to say he was a hero would not exactly be the truth; Columbus was an eccentric man who cared much more about his profits than the well being and even lives of the natives. It is documented in journals that he and his crew had slaughtered entire villages at a time, and that he had even killed people just for the point of testing how sharp his sword was. Not only did Columbus and his crew have a thing for violence, on multiple accounts crew members wrote down every single successful rape of women; and used the voyage to help begin a slave export for the royalty of Spain.

    Read More

  • Columbian Exchange

    2028 Words  | 5 Pages

    Christopher Columbus was a famous navigator and explorer who was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Columbus wanted to claim land for Spain so he could be rich and spread religion. He originally set out to find the East Indies for many reasons. One was that he hoped to establish trade routes and colonies in order to gain wealth. Another was that there were now bigger guns that could be strapped on ships so he felt that his voyage had more of a chance of being successful. The main reasons for his exploration was that he wanted to find a western route to Asia to find the riches that Marco Polo talked about in his book. So basically he was not courageous, he was just greedy. He intended on arriving in Japan on his first voyage, but instead, he arrived at the Bahamas archipelago. He ended up making numerous voyages and claiming the lands he visited for the Spanish Empire. Columbus continued voyages creating the first lasting European conta...

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus: The Villain

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus, was he a hero, or villain? For about 500 years, people have praised him and celebrated his life as though he was someone who did good for us. Schools teach students that Columbus was a great man, found gold and pearls, and discovered new lands. Students are even taught the names of Christopher Columbus' three ships he used on his first voyage. However, they grow up not knowing the truth about Christopher Columbus, what he really did to 'accomplish' his tasks. I simply believe that schools should show both sides of Columbus' story, so that students can be aware of the facts behind the 'discovery' of Early America.

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus: The Hero

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is thought by many that Christopher Columbus was a skilled sailor on a mission of greed. Many think that he in fact did it all for the money, honor and the status that comes with an explorer, but this is not the case entirely. Columbus was an adventurer and was enthused by the thrill of the quest of the unknown. “Columbus had a firm religious faith and a scientific curiosity, a zest for life, the felling for beauty and the striving for novelty that we associate with the advancement of learning”. He had heard of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. He believed that Japan was about 4,800 km to the west of Portugal. In 1484, Columbus wanted support for an exploratory voyage from King John II of Portugal, but he was refused. In 1485, Columbus took his son Diego and went to Spain to get some help.

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus: Discoverer or Invader?

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus was a renaissance explorer in 1492. he was sent by queen Isabelle and king Ferdinand of Spain to look for a trade route to east Asia

    Read More

  • Ridley Scott’s Failure to Acknowledge the Truth in 1492: Conquest of Paradise

    4122 Words  | 9 Pages

    [2] Columbus is a mainstay of American patriotism. He is the patron saint who planted the seeds of our nation. Our culture has been lulled into his heroic myth for hundreds of years and has celebrated this man with much pomp and circumstance. Columbus’ worthiness has been the subject of much controversy and is now being linked to such un-heroic terms as mass murder, holocaust, and genocide.

    Read More

  • Cause And Impact Of Christopher Columbus

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus was one of the most legendary sailors and explorers of all time. Christopher Columbus , an italian explorer, was born in the year of 1451 in the Republic of Genoa. Christopher Columbus was a teenager when he first set sail the ocean in 1465. He became a sailor in 1476 and started to travel many places before going on his largest voyage in 1480. In 1492, Christopher Columbus exploration to the New World linked Europe and the Americas. His discoveries enlightened the globe and started a new age of exploration. His standards and morals changed the history of the whole globe. He was known for traveling for all types of reasons for many foreign monarchs. But why would a monarch from one country be interested in employing an explorer from a foreign country to complete such an important task?

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Was Christopher Columbus A Hero Or Villain?

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus is a worshipped, glorified, murderer. Due to Columbus’s sense of godly superiority, millions of innocent victims faced acts so savage that for decades the facts have been concealed, and a miniscule number of people continue their ignorant mindset to the violent truth. Columbus is the start of a genocide, the beginning of the end. However, for Americans, this matters not, as they celebrate a national holiday dedicated to this criminal. The man who founded the new world is nothing more than an imposturous degenerate, and it is essential for America to own up to his monstrous acts by mourning the victims, not praising the perpetrator.

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus and Samuel de Champlain

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Columbus was increasing the wealth and strength of Spain, he was “a catastrophe for the indigenous inhabitants of the lands” (Belasco 67). He had no remorse for the natives as he proceeded to establish plantations, enslave them, slaughter them, and create a new colony called Espanola on their lands. According to Schuman, Howard, Barry Schwartz, and Hannah d’Arcy, Christopher Columbus “deserves condemnation for having brought slavery, disease, and death...

    Read More

More about The Dark Truth of Christopher Columbus

Open Document