Looking back at the interactions between Christopher Columbus and the Natives, in today’s time we could classify this as genocide. The actions of Columbus were outright nauseating. Authors often leave out all of the bloodshed that was a result of his brutal journey. Columbus nearly destroyed an entire population along with its culture, tradition, and religion. Columbus did anything in his power to find gold for personal gain and for the Queen and King destroying anything in his way. Christopher Columbus almost wiped out an entire civilization on his own. He killed off the Native Americans, searching for gold. Columbus was very greedy. He would do anything in his power just to get his hands on gold. This was for many reasons. Obviously Columbus was in search for gold for personal gain. Another reason was he needed it to give to the Queen and King otherwise they would not fund his trip. In search for this gold he would kill, rape, and torture the Natives. He would some of the Natives as slaves for himself, and would ship out other slaves to Spain to work there. Another issue was that Columbus would punish these slaves if they did not find him the gold he was looking for. The issue was that he was sending these …show more content…
When Columbus first arrived, they greeted them with open arms. The Natives were right there when the Europeans sailed in, treating them like royalty. Columbus did not waste any time. He went right ahead on his warpath, torturing the Natives left and right. The actions of Columbus were repulsive. The Europeans invaded the Natives land, and then punished them. What was the thought process behind this? Instead of working together with the Natives, he completely took charge and forced them to do all of his work. Maybe if he treated the Natives with respect and honor, they would go ahead and willingly help Columbus out. Columbus did not even take the chance, and went right to torturing
Another horrible thing he did was force them into slavery. 3 million native americans perished through the torture along with war. Last he took their land and turned it into colonies. So Columbus basically took the indians land and ran them all the back to the west side of the country. Also the war killed 3 million population which was about 7% of their whole population and he could’ve handle meeting
In my opinion I feel as if the backlash occurred because of the prior events that the Native American population has encountered, they did not agree with Christopher Columbus because they were in a sense comfortable in their trades, survival, and land that they worked hard for. With that being said, the Indians have a negative view of Christopher Columbus and do not see the good in what he was doing. I am a celebrator of Columbus as I have also been taught in school of how courageous he was despite the hardships that were going on in the world at this time. However, until I read up on this I did not realize that Christopher Columbus in a sense invaded the Native Americans land I believe Christopher Columbus open the doors to many things through
Christopher Columbus was an invader because he forced religion to them, enslaved them, and slaughter them. To begin with, Columbus forced the Native Americans to worship Christianity. He wanted to spread Christianity to the New World (“Columbus Controversy”). Many historians claim that Christopher Columbus was a great missioner and a leader ship while others thought he was an amoral.
He enforced unfair slavery and harsh commands onto the Taino tribes. He forced adults above the age of fourteen to mine for gold. This mining was so harsh that many died from exhaustion. Columbus penalized many innocent people because of their religion, he was on a mission to spread Christianity. One day a Spaniard went through the hills terrorizing the Indians and stealing their food.
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.
The source, Christopher Columbus’s Journal, is a personal written account by Columbus of his time sailing to the New World and exploring it. Columbus's original Journals were lost. The original copies were sent to the King and Queen, however the parts that are left are from Bartoleme de Las Cases, one of the first men to come to the New World. He did not agree with Christopher Columbus’s way of treating the Indians, so it is certainly possible that the remaining parts may be tweaked to make Columbus look bad in the eyes of the people. (The Expansion of Europe and Rise of the Atlantic World, Enter Christopher Columbus)
Christopher Columbus Hero or Villain? Was Christopher Columbus a Old World hero or a New World Villain? I feel that Christopher Columbus is a Villain because of how he mistreated the Native Peoples of the New World. Even though Columbus brought great wealth to Europe, there were millions of deaths caused by diseases Columbus brought with him to the New World, and he also brought back diseases to the Old World along with treasures exclusively from New World. I feel that Columbus helped begin the Americas, but he did not need to take as many lives to do so, making him a Villain.
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.
Another horrible thing he did was force them into slavery. 3 million Native Americans perished through the torture along with war. Last he took their land and turned it into colonies. So Columbus basically took the Indians land and ran them all the back to the west side of the country. Also the war killed 3 million people, which was about 7% of their whole population and he could’ve handled meeting
Some say Christopher Columbus was a hero because he was the explorer that discovered America. In reality, Christopher Columbus had an incredibly negative impact on the world because he enslaved the Native Americans, didn’t help the kind Natives when they got infected by diseases that the Spaniards had brought to America, and killed off most of the Native American population. The tactics he chose to use were violent and destructive by the standards back then and now. First, Columbus treated the Native Americans like uncivilized people by enslaving them and forcing them to work for him although they greeted him and his crew peacefully. ” They could make fine servants,”(document 2) he wrote in his journal,”I took them by force.
Christopher Columbus was a thief. The “discoverer” of the New World was not just a mere pickpocket or purse snatcher. Columbus stole land, people, and rights from the innocent. These actions harmed for hundreds of years beyond his lifetime. Therefore, by definition, Columbus is guilty of crimes against humanity.
. . he concluded his report by asking for a little help from their Majesties, and in return he would bring them from his next voyage ‘as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask’" (Zinn). Therefore, although Columbus is credited for the founding of America, Zinn proves his heroic actions can be hindered by his violence towards the Awracks; however, when Columbus is mentioned in history, he is often given a positive and heroic characteristic. However, Columbus and the Europeans committed a lot of genocide when conquering the Native American land.
Howard Zinn takes the perspective that Christopher Columbus is not the hero that many people perceive him to be. He views him as a cruel and greedy leader who went to the Americas causes death in his wake for his unquenchable search for gold. Columbus took advantage of the Native Americans because at first they were "so naive and so free with their possessions"() by forcing them to collect gold for him else face the punishment of death. While Columbus may or may have not been as heartless as he is made out to be, he is not truly the one to blame for the harsh treatment of the natives on the Caribbean Islands. Almost every other European (at that time) that could have been in his position would have undoubtedly done the same things as Columbus.
The day Christopher Columbus step foot in the Americas, he began to manipulate the natives he saw. While they saw him as a potential friend, Columbus saw them as fine slaves that could lead him to what he really wanted - gold. When he found out how naive and friendly they were being with him, he started to take advantage of that fact. He forced them to show him where the treasure was, for his own selfish reasons.
“Gold is a treasure, and he who possesses it does all he wishes to in this world, and succeeds in helping souls into paradise.” Christopher Columbus is seen as more of an icon or symbol than a man when we talk about his daring journey to find a new pathway to the countries that had silk and spices that the Spaniards wanted. When we talk about Columbus, we only ever really talk about how he discovered America and claimed the land mass as Spain’s. We never touch on important questions about the man like how did Columbus actually treat the natives of the land, is our portrayal of him misleading and do textbooks and other pieces of literature agree on his character?