Christopher Columbus: A Villain

When I was younger I was told the Christopher Columbus was a hero. And when I was a child I didn’t know better so I believed it. Because adults would never lie to me, right? Well they didn’t exactly lie they just kept me away from the major details. Like how Christopher Columbus in a way is the reason why slavery began in the Americas.

Christopher Columbus is a man who is known in society simultaneously as a hero and a villain of his time. What if the world had to pick only one, what would it be? Many new studies and scholars believe that Columbus was the villain of his story not a hero as past information would lead us to believe. Past documents were all written from the Europe’s point of view, this would lead to extremely biased documents because Europe was the side to profit unlike the Native

What would your reaction be when you’re asked to describe Christopher Columbus and people who committed genocides throughout history? The “discovery” of the Dominican Republic may have been a just a stop to explore its beauty, he described the native Taíno people as very peaceful and generous with the Europeans and saw that the Taíno had gold jewelry. When Columbus left to go back to Spain he ordered his men to collect their gold. Not long after the settlers began fighting each other killing one another. They deeply went against the Taínos traditions by raping their family members and forcing both men and women to work as their slaves.

Christopher Columbus did not treat the natives like Spaniards. Christopher columbus is believed to be an american hero on behalf of him discovering America and brought gold to Spain. Even today people are grateful for his founding of America so present day he has been given his own day. I don’t believe he is a hero to America, here is why we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want is what he said he would think nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades. Many people have died in the hands of Columbus over 3 million native people died from 1494 to 1508.

Was Christopher Columbus a hero or a villain? Not everyone will agree on this topic because everyone has a different point of view in the way he discovered the New World. Most people would say that he is a hero. We celebrate each year on the second Monday of every October of when he discovered the New World. Myself, I find Christopher Columbus to be a villain.

Do you trust your history book to tell you everything? Maybe you shouldn’t just rely on one source. Some textbooks only skim the surface. One instance of this would be the story of Christopher Columbus. Recent evidence shows that Columbus abused his power and quite possibly should not be celebrated.

1. Zinn had stated that many historians have so far heavily relied on biased views that are influenced by ideological choices on what to present and emphasize in portraying history. However Zinn is not to ‘accuse, judge, condemn Columbus’, but to question against the ‘easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress.’ In other words, Zinn is challenging the prevalent, stereotypical story telling of the American history by demoting the exaggerated heroism, and telling it from the victims and the lessor’s perspective. 2.

People have very different opinions on Christopher Columbus. My opinion is he was a very greedy man, the only thing he cared about was money. He would do anything possible to get it, even if he was already rich he would want more and more. Some things he did was took 10% of any riches in a land he might discover. Also, he didn't care whose flag he was sailing under, he only cared about getting the money.

Indeed, from their first arrival in the New World, the European explorers treated the native people, and the slaves that they brought, as barbarous heathens, incapable of higher thought or civilized behavior. For example, Christopher Columbus’s letter to the King of Spain from his first voyage intricately shows these original encounters. In this letter, he carefully describes the people of the island, pointing out that they “all go naked, men and women, as their mothers bore them” and that they “are very marvelously timorous.” He then adds that he “gave them a thousand handsome good things, which [he] had brought, in order that they might conceive affection for us and, more than that, might become Christians and be inclined to the love and service of Your Highness.” Though he is not describing forced religious conversion, he is undoubtedly showing how the Europeans treated people with religions that were different from their own.

Great Post! I believe Columbus could have worked alongside the natives rather than trying to enslave them especially when they were so avid in welcoming him. For example, today the U.S. is seen as a nation that takes what it wants (i.e. the scourge of the world), however, if we take the time to understand others and their traditions we might find ourselves alongside those we are working with to be happier people. Therefore, if Columbus could have understood this notion, he might have had more supportive individuals who welcomed his religion and

Payton Johnson Mrs. Crawford U.S History 04 October 2017 Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain? In the essay, we will talk about Christopher Columbus. Many people make the discussion about whether he is a hero or a villain. Some people say he is a hero, but others say he is a villain.