Christopher Columbus: A True Hero

“The US honors 2 people with holidays bearing their names. Martin Luther King Jr, who gave his life combatting the legacy of slavery, and Christopher Columbus, who initiated it in the first place. (Yewell, Dodge, DeSirey 11)”. Christopher Columbus, often known as a brave adventurer, was actually a perpetrator of genocide. Columbus Day should not be celebrated because of the horrendous behavior Columbus showed off, between the atrocities committed against the Natives and the greed he possessed shows that he is not in fact a hero, but instead a villain.

Christopher Columbus was born on October 31, in about 1450 to a weaver and a housewife to a moderately rich family. Columbus knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a higher education

However, Columbus neither sailed to America nor discovered anything. In fact, Columbus actually found Hispaniola, now called Haiti, where the Taino Natives lived. In the first day Columbus was in the “New World” he enslaved six Natives to help him kill other Natives. His returning to Spain was exciting and he was considered a true hero. He brought back gold, spices, pineapple, and Native slaves. The second journey set sail not long after his return, in 1493. There were about 17 ships in all, taking a slightly different route to the “New World”. In fact, he actually go to a new island which he ended up naming Dominica. He and his men explored different islands around there, then he allegedly rescued two boys. There is no formal proof of that rescue taking place. Then, Columbus went to Juana (now called Cuba), Jamaica, and then finally back to Hispaniola. This time, when Columbus got back to Spain there was a very toned down celebration for him. It would only get worse. The third voyage was just to find the Cape Verde islands, by the king of Portugal’s request. There were six ships. Three went to the West Indies (Hispaniola, Juana, Jamaica, other islands) and three went to Porto Santo, Madeira, and then the Cape Verde islands. His men returned to Hispaniola to find that the Spanish settlers in the colonies were deeply unhappy with the living conditions and the island. When Columbus came back, he was arrested for “mismanagement of the colonies”. After being released, there was a very small fourth expedition. There was no hype, no findings, and no celebration for Columbus. In Spain’s eyes, Columbus really did go from hero to zero. People did end up finding out how he