Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?

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A Villain Disguised as a Hero In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. This is the phrase that most elementary school children learn when they are taught about the discovery of the Americas. Most people look fondly on Christopher Columbus since he traveled to the unknown and started the colonization of America that lead to the North and South America that we know today. Christopher Columbus is not a hero, however, since he was not the one to discover the Americas and because of his cruel treatment of the Native Americans.
In order to determine if Columbus is a hero or a villain, one must first learn about Columbus’ background. Not that much is known about Christopher Columbus’ early life. Columbus was born sometime between August 26 and October …show more content…

Columbus was the governor of Hispaniola, an island in the Caribbean, however he was quite cruel. In fact: “Native islanders who didn’t collect enough gold could have their hands cut off, and rebel Spanish colonists were executed at the gallows” (Klein). Enough people complained to the monarchy about Columbus’ cruel treatment that in 1500, a royal commissioner arrested Columbus and brought back to Spain (Klein). Columbus eventually lost his title as governor, yet Columbus was still able and in fact sent on another voyage to the Americas by King Ferdinand. In modern society we are stricter on our idea of what a hero is so if in the 1500’s someone was thought of as a villain than in modern times that person is definitely not a hero. However not everything Columbus did was …show more content…

Columbus’ goal in his mission to America was somewhat heroic: “Christian missionary and anti-Islamic fervour, the power of Castile and Aragon, the fear of Portugal, the lust for gold, the desire for adventure, the hope of conquests, and Europe’s genuine need for a reliable supply of herbs and spices for cooking, preserving, and medicine all combined to produce an explosion of energy that launched the first voyage” (Flint). Although Columbus’ mission may have been heroic, what really matters is what Columbus did when he got to America, which was kidnap, enslave, and kill Native

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