Essay On Columbus Day

Columbus Day is a widely celebrated holiday around the world, and is a federal

holiday in the U.S. It falls on the second Monday in October in America. This day can

represent many things. To some it’s the representation of the discovery of the new world

by Christopher Columbus. To others, it’s the day to celebrate their heritage and their

lineage. Some people celebrate it because it’s a day off from work or school. Whether

it’s lineage, heritage, laziness, or pride, there’s a bunch of reasons to celebrate

Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and South Dakota, do not celebrate it at all. Why is

that? One of the lesser-known facts about Columbus’ journey is that he wasn’t exactly

“friends” with the native peoples. This sprouted into things

Had one not given his or her tribute,

which was either one hawk’s bell of gold or 25 pounds of cotton, he or she would have

his/her hands cut off and they were left for dead.

These rules put in place by Columbus inspired the Taíno people to revolt. These

revolts were sometimes successful, sometimes not. In the Taíno rebellion of 1511,

Agueybana II, nephew of former Taíno cacique (chief) Agueybana, had doubted the

Spaniards as gods (a belief they had since the Spaniard arrivals), so he lured a Spaniard

named Diego Salcedo to the bank of a river and drowned him. This approved

Agueybana’s beliefs, and essentially waged war against the Spaniards. Many cacique’s

would ally themselves to fight against the Spaniards. A Cuban cacique, Hatuey, had tried

to unite the Cuban natives (similar to Tecumseh’s idea) to get a numbers advantage over

the enemy. However, he was burned at the stake in 1512.

Another chief, Enriquillo, led a rebellion against the Spaniards. He led about

3,000 natives against what seemed a handful of Spanish. The Spanish, however, had not

only some natives on their side, but some of the more powerful natives. They