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Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain? Christopher Columbus was a villain because he forced natives to work for him, lied about his first expedition to the New World, and brought deadly disease to the New World. First, Christopher Columbus took control over the natives in the New World. Columbus came to the New World and saw the people there more as rather than people, and made them do whatever he wanted. In a sense, Christopher Columbus took the natives as slaves. Columbus forced the natives to work for him and sometimes risk their lives doing so. Some he took and made them hunt for gold for him to take back to Spain. Some natives would also have to fight for Spain in battles that killed many. Others were left to work in the poor conditions of mines or do odd jobs like carrying Spaniards. All that Columbus made the natives do ended with them being injured, sick or dead. The population of natives in North America dropped from three to eight million natives to around six hundred thousand. …show more content…
When Columbus returned to Madrid from his first trip, he lied and said that he had made it to Asia. The things told to the Court were exaggerated. Columbus told people that the land was filled with gold and spices and other valuables. Columbus talked about the natives being naive and could easily be tricked into becoming slaves for them. Christopher promised the king and queen that if he went on another trip that he would bring back as much gold and slaves as possible. Of course the ships and crew were granted to Columbus and he returned to the New World. Though he soon discovered that he could not keep his promise of gold and
Many consider Columbus a Hero, others believe he was selfish and self centered. Myint author of “Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?” and Ransby author of “Columbus and the Making of Historical Myth.”, are faced with the same dilemma. From a young age children are taught about Columbus and his greatness, but the books fail to document the atrocities committed in the process. Most of the books use biased language; little evidence and vague language is used to hail Columbus as a great hero. Myint provides a more objective stance, while Ransby condemns Columbus entirely. However, both suggest to consider Columbus a hero is a mistake.
Some consequences of the exchange are the spread of disease to the Native people and settlers, the destruction of the Native population, and the disappearance of the Natives custom’s, beliefs, and way of life. Columbus’s arrival to the Americas, land that had already been established by the Natives, resulted in a spread of fatal diseases. Disagreement between the Europeans and the Natives and the enslavement of Native people helped to wipe out the population. Document 5 illustrates the fighting that occurred between the Natives and Europeans.
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,
Columbus appears to be a dreamer. His goals were selfish and his true knowledge weak. He was deceitful and egotistical and knew how to manipulate others. Throughout his writings he refers to the things that ‘he’ accomplished, as if he had done them alone. He lied almost daily to the sailors according to his journal when he stated “less than the true number” (Halsall) of leagues travelled each day was reported to them. He spoke of an abundance of gold he found in the islands when he wrote “the majority [of rivers]…contain gold” (Belasco and Johnson 82). According to his journal entries, he only observes the existence of gold two times and both times it is seen hanging from a man’s nose. For example, on October 17 he encounters a man that had “hanging at his nose a piece of gold half as big as a castellailo” (Halsall), about a half pound in weight. Although he was told about gold and searched for gold, he never procured any. Additionally, he had a very high opinion of himself and was not hesitant in letting others know this. In his initial Journal writing he announces himself to be “Don” (Halsall), that’s like saying ‘I’m the head man.’ Furthermore, he let the King and Queen know that his proclaimed distinction was to be passed to his oldest son, including governorship of islands and lands he finds on his journey. He appears to think that what once belonged to native islanders, will belonged to him.
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And, when he reached his destination he killed, raped and enslaved innocent natives. Was Columbus a villain? The answer to that question, in my opinion, would be yes. Christopher Columbus was a cruel, self-centered, delusional man who does not deserve to be praised for the discovery of America.
Although this essay is historically accurate it lacks important details, which might paint a different view of Columbus. Boorstin writes favorable of Columbus and depicts him as a heroic and determined figure who helped shape history, but he neglects to include Columbus’ unethical acts committed in the world that was not supposed to exist, the Americas. When Columbus first discovered the New World, he took care that the royal standard had been brought ashore and he claimed the land for Spain in front of all, including the indigenous population who had been sighted even before Columbus made landfall. According to the medieval concepts of natural law, only those territories that are uninhabited can become the property of the first person to discover them. Clearly this was an unethical act. Thus, the first contact between European and non-European worlds was carried out through a decidedly European prism, which ensured Spanish claim to the islands of the Americas. Faced with a colony in an inhospitable area, the Spanish soon inaugurated the practice of sending regular military parties inland to subdue the increasingly hostile natives. Members of the indigenous population were captured and enslaved to support the fledgling colony. The object of Columbus’ desire changed from exploration and trade to conquest and subjugation.
Columbus' original plan was to prove that early geographers were wrong and that the world was larger than computed (William Howarth). He had sponsorship from the King and Queen of Spain who were finally convinced by Columbus by his belief that he was a divine missionary, ordained by God to spread Christianity (P. J. Riga). When he got to the New World he had found that there was the possibility that there might be an abundance of gold, and gold was the commodity Columbus pursued with obsessive zeal (William Howarth). It would seem to be an item that he had a lust for more than anything. An elder on Tortuga described "within a hundred or more ...
My personal opinion? Villain. Christopher Columbus was a nasty man who was motivated by greed. “The information that Columbus wanted most was: Where is the Gold” (Zinn 4)? He logged in his journal his first encounter with the Arawak people, stating “As soon as I arrived in the Indies, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might give me information of whatever there is in these parts” (Zinn 4). Their crime? “They wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears” (Zinn 5). Columbus would stop at nothing to gain what he most desired. Horrible as he was, he ultimately paved the way for America as we know it. All things happen for a reason, right?
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.
Christopher Columbus was not a hero. He was a leader of genocide and he enslaved a lot of indigenous natives. Mainly, the Taino people. Columbus explored the coast's of Hispaniola (Present day Haiti, Cuba, The Dominican Republic and The Bahamas.) and The East coast of Central and South America. He never stepped foot on North America's soil and many people today think he did.
Christopher Columbus is both celebrated as a hero and condemned as a villain. Columbus has done many seemingly great things and seemingly horrible things. I have never thought of columbus as a hero, I have never put him on that pedestal I have always just thought of him as an explorer who came across America by accident. Even though I never thought of Columbus as a hero I never thought of him as a villain either but upon learning more of his actions I see him more in a negative light.
In order to determine if Columbus is a hero or a villain, one must first learn about Columbus’s background. Not that much is known about Columbus’s early life. Christopher Columbus was born sometime between August 26 and October 31,
In 1492, when Christopher Columbus reached the New World it brought huge wealth to the Spanish Monarch. The conquest that that followed reached out over central and southern America and brought large amounts of gold and silver with it. However, along with these rich lands that the Spanish took over the native inhabitants of the New World also lived. Instead of been able to welcome the Spanish conquistadors, their land was taken and soaked of its riches, along with their population significantly decreasing due to massacres that the Spanish forced on them. The remaining survivors were put into forced labour where they worked in the mines and on the land.
Evidently, European countries like Spain were looking for reliable men capable of finding and bringing back the treasures of the new world. But nothing was accomplished until 1492, when an Italian explorer called Christopher Columbus requested the king and queen of Spain to pay his expedition. The kings condition was to bring back gold and spices from the new world, and literary, the kings were ordering Columbus to conquer in their names territory of the new world. Without hesitation, Columbus accepts the conditions and he sets sail on August 3, 1492 from Palos de la Frontera on “La Nina, La Pinta, and Santa Maria” to the new world ("Christopher Columbus"). Even though he did not achieve his main goal during the first voyage, which was to find and bring gold to Spain, he was still determined to exploit the land and people from the new world. Columbus ultimately disobeyed the crown of Spain and returns to the new world. Historians believe that while Columbus and his crew explored for the first time the New World, Columbus stared to realize that the people would be a good source of slave labor and the land of
The voyage of Columbus started the construction of a new world, where the Europeans dominated and settled in the Americas. The Spanish conquered the Aztec and Inca empires, the Portuguese settled in modern day Brazil, while the British, French and Dutch were in the Northern part of America. The odds were in their favor, since they were geographically closer, winds of the Atlantic were fixed and their sailing equipment was more advanced. They expanded primarily to get more land, wealthier, and on same cases to spread Christianity. The Native Americans had no immunity to the diseases that the Europeans brought with them, thus leading to a massive decrease in their number. The high death rates of the Native Americans lead to the importation of