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Positive impact of christopher columbus discoveries
Christopher columbus overview essay
Christopher columbus overview essay
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Despite being one of the most renowned explorers in history, Christopher Columbus’ legacy remains controversial. The debate on whether Columbus should be celebrated has captured news headlines for decades. While many view him simply as a gifted Italian navigator who laid the seeds for the colonization of the New World, history paints a much more complicated picture. His journal entries and eye-witness testimony reveal Columbus to be a man of intolerance and indifference towards those deemed inferior to himself. Christopher Columbus’ treatment of Indigenous’ people, in addition to his ethnocentric worldview, allows for the conclusion that he should not be idolized as a hero in the modern age. In order to effectively analyze the actions of Columbus, …show more content…
What he and his men did to the Indigenous people is told in horrifying detail by the Dominican priest Bartolome de Las Casas, “whose writings give the most thorough account of the Spanish-Indian encounter.” Las Casas witnessed firsthand Columbus’ soldiers stabbing Natives for sport, dashing babies’ heads on rocks, and sexually abusing Indigenous women. His testimony was corroborated by other eyewitnesses, such as a group of Dominican friars, who addressed the Spanish monarchy in 1519, hoping to bring an end to the atrocities. At the very least, Columbus was complicit in the actions of his men. He cared so little for the welfare of the Indigenous people that he let his soldiers commit reprehensible acts that would be considered crimes against humanity in the present day. Christopher Columbus’ actions suggest he had no issue with serving as an enabler of the horrifying actions committed by his men against the Indigenous …show more content…
His legacy serves as a cautionary tale on the horrors that ethnocentrism and indifference towards the welfare of others can bring. Christopher Columbus’ reverence as a hero in the present day would allow for the acceptance of practices that are incompatible with Western values and
Columbus and de las Casas were both explorers of the new world. They both encountered Native Americans and their treatment of them was both similar and different. Columbus viewed the Native American as subhumans. He did not have much respect for the people of the land and treated them as such. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says how he took possession of the native’s highnesses by proclamation. He also discloses how no one fought back which then made native Americans seem weak. He also states how he already took Indians aboard with him.At one instance Columbus had a dispute with Spainards and decided to give up Indians as a peace offering. Which he states in the letter to that tey were not his to give
Columbus described the people as being timid and unfitted to use weapons. He wrote, “They have no iron or steel or weapons, nor are they fitted to use them. This is not because they are not very well built and of handsome stature, but because they are very marvellously timorous.” Columbus described them as though they will not provide any resistance because they do not have the skill to use weapons, and that they very timid people. However, as shown in the first quote, Columbus wrote that they did not put up any opposition; he later wrote in the letter that he took some of the natives by force. If the natives did not put up any opposition to Columbus, why would he need to take them by force? Columbus also notes that they had been very serviceable, and would very much be open to evangelization. An important note, Columbus wrote more and provided more detail about the vast islands he had “discovered” compared to the indigenous people, of which he wrote, “ In all these islands, I saw no great diversity in the appearance of the people or in their manners and language.” In the end, Columbus’s description of the Indigenous people was that are serviceable people would make adequate slaves. Columbus’s letter paints a good picture into his imperialistic mind, as opposed to providing information about the
The controversy of whether or not Christopher Columbus should continue to be acknowledged by a federal holiday proves that his legacy has not escaped the scrutiny of history. Arguments born of both sides of the controversy stem from issues such as genocide, racism, multiculturalism, geographical land rights, and the superiority of certain cultures over others. In The Christopher Columbus Controversy: Western Civilization vs. Primitivism, Michael Berliner, Ph.D. declares that recognition of Columbus Day is well-deserved, claiming that Western civilization is superior to all other cultures and Columbus personifies this truth. On the contrary, Jack Weatherford's Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus equates Columbus' so-called discovery with brutal genocide and the destruction of ancient sophisticated civilizations. These articles demonstrate two extreme points of view in a manner that makes clear each authors' goals, leading the reader to consider issues of author bias, motivation, and information validity.
The article, “Native Reactions to the invasion of America”, is written by a well-known historian, James Axtell to inform the readers about the tragedy that took place in the Native American history. All through the article, Axtell summarizes the life of the Native Americans after Columbus acquainted America to the world. Axtell launches his essay by pointing out how Christopher Columbus’s image changed in the eyes of the public over the past century. In 1892, Columbus’s work and admirations overshadowed the tears and sorrows of the Native Americans. However, in 1992, Columbus’s undeserved limelight shifted to the Native Americans when the society rediscovered the history’s unheard voices and became much more evident about the horrific tragedy of the Natives Indians.
Along the Columbus journey bits of gold were found amongst the Native Indians which led to Columbus concluding that there was more (Zinn, 2009, p.481). The Native’s were turned into servants looking for a certain amount of gold for Columbus. If they had not met the daily quota their arms were to be cut off (Zinn, 2009, p.481). This is just part of the brutality that Columbus had put upon the Natives. More cruelty can be seen when Columbus sent five hundred Natives as slaves to the King and Queen in Spain. Also stabbing of Indians was done as a sport and those that resisted against the Spaniards were hunted down as animals (Zinn, 2009, p.482). Zinn shows that the Columbus story is one of the many myths of Western civilization. All the stories about Columbus especially in the USA since, it is a celebration are seen as a heroic adventure. However, many teachers argue that children should not be told such a violent story filled with horrific history (Zinn, 2009, p.485). It is important to teach children at a young age the truth about the Columbus story, so that they know what a monster he
Though a vast majority of students learn about Columbus’ great conquests and celebrate him as a hero, very few know of the horrible atrocities he caused when he first landed in America. While considered a hero by most in the United States, Zinn argues that people should think twice about Columbus’ actions, and question whether his behavior to the Indians was necessary. In quotes one and five, Zinn clearly depicts his thoughts on the atrocities done by Columbus and other colonists to the natives living in America.
In some respects, we can attribute the founding of America and all its subsequent impacts to Christopher Columbus. Columbus a hero in the United States, has his own holiday and we view as the one who paved the way for America to be colonized. However, people tend to forget the other side of Columbus, the side that lusted after gold and resources that often belonged to the native inhabitants he came across in his exploration. In his insatiable greed, he and his crew committed countless atrocities, such as torture and killing of defenseless natives. Columbus’s discovery of these new lands contributes profound and negative effects as future colonists arrived. “Zinn estimates that perhaps 3 million people perished in the Caribbean alone from raids, forced labor and disease” (Zinn, 1980). Columbus was seen as a cruel man, who saw the peaceful inhabitants as right for the conquering and lead to the devastation of the native population, yet is celebrated every October.
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.
Christopher Columbus is a name known to nearly every American that has ever had an elementary education. He is imagined as the brave explorer that against all odds prevailed in his belief of a round earth. Credited with the discovery of America, Columbus has a holiday and even the Nation’s capitol and a powerful Catholic service organization are named after him. What isn’t as well known is the dark side of his arrival to the New World. Though he did make the first steps in founding modern America, these steps came at the cost of thousands of lives. Columbus enslaved the natives he came across and ruled the Caribbean with an iron fist. He killed thousands in a relentless pursuit to find gold and used Christianity to justify the destruction of entire cultures. Yet the true much less favoring story is pushed aside by the romanticized tale of the great Christopher Columbus. The graphic and sad nature of the truth make the myth a much better story; a story that eclipsed reality. Vestiges of the belief in White superiority perpetuated the belief that Columbus was more of a hero th...
If Columbus subjugated and misused others to reap personal benefits, then he is of unethical and dehumanizing character therefore unworthy of the honor bestowed upon his memory.
People who believe that Columbus was an extraordinary man, say that he always treated the Natives with fairness and respect for they were in the Americas before him, after all. But historians have found many of these claims of Columbus being a “nice guy,” to be false. History.com states, “In an era in which the international slave trade was starting to grow, Columbus and his men enslaved many native inhabitants of the West Indies and subjected them to extreme violence and brutality.” Many perceived Columbus as a fair man, but he was far from this. He treated the natives with violence and disrespect. Christopher believed that sense he had found the land, it was now his even thought there was people already living there. On Biography.com, it says that some blame Christopher Columbus for the destruction of the Native people of the Islands he explored throughout. People blame him for this for after he set foot on these Islands, the population of these areas seemed to decline. This was because he brought unknown diseases to the Islands, caused some deaths with his own hands, and it is said he caused some of the Natives to be sent away. Also according to History.com, “...the forced conversion of native peoples to Christianity…” Christopher Columbus took his power to the point that he forced his own people and the Natives to believe what he believed. He forced them to change their religions, belief systems, and ways of life all together. The conclusion that can be reached from this information is that Columbus was not the man that many believed him to be. He was actually a man of violence and disrespect to those whom he
Is Christopher Columbus a national hero? Does he really deserve a national holiday? What good has he done, not forgetting about his invasion of the Natives? However, the United States would not be how it is if it wasn’t for Columbus. Recently, a new movement has made many headlines about renaming ‘Columbus Day’ to ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day’. Certain cities in the United States began celebrating ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day’ rather than ‘Columbus Day’ for decades now. Recently, the city of Cambridge held a unanimous vote with the City Council, which resulted in favoring the celebration of indigenous people, instead of Columbus. Many cities are debating whether or not changing this holiday should become official or not. This change began with a need
the relationship between Christopher Columbus and the Indians. This history lesson tells the children of the dependence each group had on each other. But as the children mature, the relations between the two groups began to change with their age. So the story that the teenagers are told is a gruesome one of savage killings and lying. When the teenagers learn of this, they themselves might want to do research on this subject to find out the truth. But as one searches, one finds the inconsistency between the research books. So the question is, who is telling the truth? Mary Louise Pratt and Jane Tompkins probe these difficulties of the reading and writing of history, specifically at the problems of bias and contemplative historical accounts. In “Art of the Contact Zone,” Pratt explores the issue of whose version of history gets favored and whose gets limited by analyzing the circumstances surrounding Guaman Poma’s and de la Vega’s letter to the King of Spain. In “‘Indians’: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History,” Tompkins investigates how history is shaped in accordance to personal biases and cultural conditions of historians by questioning different writings about Native Americans. Each author comes to the conclusion between history and
Todorov argues that Columbus’s self (and, consequently, the other, which he created in the image of that self) is defined by three spheres: the divine, nature, and humans. Each of these spheres is integral to Columbus’s worldview and colors his perception of that which is outside his world. Within these spheres of perspective, Columbus’s identity is shaped by Catholicism, a reverence for nature, and European society and culture – particularly that of Portu...
All too often do historians dismiss the more gruesome realities of history. When it comes to the topic of cultural portrayal within a society, one can readily agree that a specific society, as a whole, will try to defend their reputation at all cost. In sum, history books may seem to favor individuals and negate the bad actions of those individuals. Columbus may have had explorative purpose and provided a basis for the establishment of North American Colonies but his character