Why We Shouldn T Celebrate Columbus Day

Some Americans argue that Columbus days honors Christopher Columbus, a 14th century Italian sailor and explorer, who sailed under the Spanish Crown who landed on the island of Hispaniola. Others argue that Columbus day does not honor the sailor, rather it recognizes the first contact between Europeans and Natives. While some Americans wish the holiday to be abolished altogether due to Columbus’s controversial actions in Hispaniola. Columbus Day should be renamed to acknowledge what followed Columbus’s encounter with the indigenous natives of hispaniola, accompanied by the fact that Columbus did not discover the new world. A day should still should be recognized, but should be given a title such as “Discovery Day” or “Exploration Day” to more

accurately describe what is being celebrated. The holiday recognizes the beginning of colonization of North America, and this is a fact that cannot be disputed.
Columbus day was first established as a national holiday in 1937.

It was largely established due to “intense lobbying efforts by the Knights Of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal benefits organization.” It was created to commemorate the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. Many americans hold the holiday as a way of honoring Columbus’ achievements while others celebrate discovery of the new world. However, in past years, many states and towns have changed what they celebrate. In 1992, in Berkeley, California renamed Columbus Day as “Indigenous People’s Day.” other towns in California, as well as several towns in “Wisconsin” and “Minnesota” have followed suit and changed the name of Columbus Day. Many tribal governments in the United States have abolished Columbus Day and Established Native American Day in its place. However, many other states and cities strongly disagree and support Columbus Day. An example would be New York City, which holds the largest celebration in the United States, the Columbus Day Parade, which draws around a million spectators each

year.
A big part of this disagreement is based on a lack of knowledge of average Americans by no fault of themselves. In Elementary school, children are taught about early American history and how “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” However young children are fooled into believing Christopher Columbus was a righteous and honorable man. This is not the real Columbus. Columbus was cruel and tyrannical leader, who abused his ships crew. Columbus interaction with the Natives ultimately caused what some historians label as the “Extermination of the population of Hispaniola.” Columbus was a poor leader, with a lake leadership skills and talents. Many of the indigenous people were murdered, tortured and raped by Columbus’s men due to Columbus’s lack of discipline of his men. Columbus was no great man, his crew had “been threatening to throw their stubborn captain(Columbus) overboard, turn the ships around, and make for the safety of familiar shores.” But to many Columbus is viewed as a great American hero, who encompasses the “Spirit of America” or “the spirit of Exploration.” Modern History books are partially to blame. History books still, to this day, glorify Columbus’s deeds, without going into great detail on what happened. History books might differ from one another but they all glorify Columbus’s deeds, without mentioning the cruelties or by providing a “vague truth” instead of the “full truth.”
Winston Churchill once Stated, “History is Written by the Victors.” History is influenced upon the viewpoint of those who lived to tell. In this case, these individuals are the Spaniards who sailed with Columbus on his voyages and conquest’s. History is usually perceived the way an individual or group wants to perceive it. For example, in several textbooks, the natives were labeled as violent savages, even though many of the indigenous people have been recorded as being kind and friendly from sailors on Columbus’s ships. They approached the Spaniards with gifts or items to barter with, a claim even Christopher Columbus supports. Even though proved through recent discoveries, Modern Textbooks neglect to include the fact that Columbus was not the first explorer to discover the new world. There is massive amounts of evidence showing that Greenland and Iceland discovered North America 142-492 years prior to Columbus’s landing in the Caribbean. James W. Loewen states that these explorers discovered “Labrador, Baffin Land, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and possibly Cape Cod and Further south.”5 They are aware of this from Oral sagas confirmed by archaeology in Newfoundland. Also, upon arriving in Haiti, Columbus found the Arawaks “in possession of spear points made of “guanine.” The Indians said they got them from black traders who had come from the south and east. Guanine proved to be an alloy of gold, silver and copper, identical to the gold alloy preferred by West Africans, who also call it “Guanine.””5 There is large number of additional evidence that proves Columbus was not the first person to reach the new world. However, Still to this day, modern textbooks label Columbus as the “first person to reach the new world.”
Columbus arrival marked the beginning of a period of European exploration, conquest, and colonization that lasted for several centuries. However it also marked the “beginning of the end” for indigenous culture in North America. Columbus’s encounter with the Natives of Hispaniola was the first of many hardships the Native’s of North and South America would endure. Researchers have agreed that the total death toll of Native Americans reaches around 100 million from the time of Columbus' arrival to the end of the Indian Wars 400 years later. Some consider the actions committed against the Native’s by Columbus and his men to be on the verge of extermination of the Native Americans. His actions took its toll on the indigenous population of Hispaniola. When Columbus arrived at Hispaniola in 1492 “there were an estimated 8 million people living on the island.” “By 1496 the population had been cut nearly in half; three to four million natives had died in less than four years.”7 “By 1508 the population was less than one hundred thousand.”7 “By 1518 there were fewer than twenty thousand.”7 And “by 1535, the entire native population of Hispañiola was gone.”7 In only 43 years an entire culture had been eliminated, but this was only the beginning. Similar “depopulating” trends would soon follow suit the Northern Mainland. These trends were mostly fueled by the foreign diseases, such as smallpox, which were transported overseas on exploration ships from Europe. When the Europeans stepped upon North American soil, the indigenous populations were doomed.
Despite the person behind the name being less than fit for idolizing, Columbus Day does represents an idea much larger than Columbus himself.

Columbus day marks the start of a migration of culture, It signifies the beginning of the new world that is know today. Columbus's personality and moral wrongdoings do not change the fact the he bridged the gap between two worlds and started a universal culture. His name today represents the beginning of the age of exploration, where ideas flourished and curiosity bloomed. It is important not to look at this issue through 21st century approach. Many individuals simply identify columbus cruelties, such as his involvement in the slave trade or the bloody conquest of the indigenous people. This is a 21st century point of view. The fact is Columbus doings were quite normal for that time period. He wasn’t performing unheard of atrocities, and his actions weren't deviant to the culture norms of conquest and exploration. He was no different than any other explorer of his time period.

Columbus day needs to be renamed as it does not honor a single man, rather it recognizes a point in history that marks the beginning of a change in both culture and political structure. A change which which would shape the world

forever.
The truth is Christopher Columbus did not discover America, he was the first european to discover the Caribbean. In no way is this discovery insignificant, but Columbus never set foot on what is considered present day America. Columbus is neither a hero nor villain. His actions were so atrocious that no individual could ever consider him a hero. But at the same time, his actions are no different that any other Explorer funded by an Imperial Nation, therefore he can not be considered a villain. But the question isn’t whether he is a hero or a villain. It is what is Celebrated on columbus day, and if it should be celebrated. Columbus Day, does not celebrate the man it celebrates the spirit of exploration. Exploration of the new world lead to colonization that ultimately brought about the creation of this nation. This is why Columbus Day should be renamed to “Exploration Day.” It is wrong to honor Christopher Columbus with a National Holiday. His feats are no greater than any of the other explorers who discovered the new world years before him. This is why a National Holiday in honor of all the explorers who encountered the new would should established.