Pros And Cons Of Christopher Columbus
In the United States and many other countries, Christopher Columbus is taught and known as a hero. But it is not entirely clear why. The only real achievement he had in life was that he was the first European to have “discovered” America and thus started the Age of Exploration. However, the discovery was at best accidental and his so-called achievement should be viewed in the context of the horrendous atrocities Columbus committed against the native Americans. If a true hero calls for a person of virtues worthy of admiration, Columbus is by no means a hero in the true sense of the word.
Throughout the U.S. history, Christopher Columbus has been credited with “discovering” America. Based on this point, a whole narrative has been created regarding
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It is not like no one lived in America. There was a whole population who had lived in America for a very long time. So if anyone discovered America, it would have been these natives. Also, technically Columbus was not even the first European to discover America. Historians note that it was actually the Vikings who were the first Europeans to land on …show more content…
When Columbus arrived in America, he was treated with peace and kindness from the natives who even gave him food for free. What did Columbus do in return? Not only did he call the natives savages, but he and his crew whipped, stole from, raped and enslaved the people who were being nice to them. These are not the qualities of a hero that we want to emulate.
Fifth, while it is true that Columbus and his crew were greatly outnumbered against the natives, it was not necessarily his leadership or military skills that prevailed against the larger contingent of natives. The Europeans carried germs to which they were immune, but to which the natives were not and a great number of the natives died from the diseases that these germs caused. It will be one thing if Columbus won battles against the greater number of natives against all odds, but if diseases did most of the job for him, it is difficult to find heroic virtues in Columbus’ victories.
Lastly, the Age of Exploration that Columbus apparently started was a good thing for the Europeans who became rich by exploiting the natives, but was not a good thing for the natives who suffered the European invasion. To the natives, the Age of Exploration was the age of exploitation and imperialism under which they had to suffer for a very long
Christopher Columbus Hero Or Villain Research Paper
602 Words | 3 PagesColumbus never really discovered America, in 1492, the Native Americans
Was Christopher Columbus A Villain?
894 Words | 4 PagesHe was brave and courageous C2 Accomplished every goal on every voyage D2 sailed damned seas A1: When christopher columbus discovered the land and found out that they were uncivilized people he quickly started to abuse them. The natives gave them food, water, and a place to live on their land. But sadly columbus and his crew still took advantage of them. B1: Once columbus found out he could take advantage of the natives he started forcing them to fix his problems.
Why Is Christopher Columbus Bad
645 Words | 3 PagesChristopher Columbus is a Villain The definition of a villain is someone who hurts other people for no good, and their main goal is to thrill themselves and not care for anyone else. Christopher Columbus's story has two sides, one being the children's tale and rhyme of how Christopher Columbus “discovered” America, and the other showing why he was no hero to our country. During his first voyage in 1492, his crewman had an exhausting trip on there way to find the East Indies. Then when him and 1300 crewman arrive in the Caribbean to find gold in 1493 is when the children's tale ends, and he starts to kill people and cut their hands off.
Examples Of Christopher Columbus A Hero
720 Words | 3 PagesTo many, Christopher Columbus was a very remarkable man of history. His many discoveries and conquests, despite all the hardships faced, have led others to believe that he is some sort of hero. But is that really what he is? A hero? In A people’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, he states, “To emphasize the heroism of Columbus and his successors as navigators and discoverers, and to deemphasize their genocide, is not a technical necessity, but an ideological choice”.
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523 Words | 3 PagesAs most know he is the the man that “discovered” America, but is he truly deserving of the honor of this title? When we were younger we were told that he “discovered America” but that is not true. We’re taught about his name, and the name of his ships. What we probably were not taught was the descriptive things Columbus himself wrote in his journal. We were told he met the “Indians” but we weren’t taught he killed more than he even met.
Why Is Columbus A Hero
128 Words | 1 PagesI agree that his accidental discovery ultimately led to the massacre of countless Natives. Although, he might be considered a hero for 'discovering ' the New World. However, there were several who came before him and inhabited the land, such as the Natives. Thus, the impossibility of discovering something that had already been in place. For this reason, I would not consider Columbus a hero.
Pros And Cons Of Columbus
1969 Words | 8 PagesAs a child learns US history, they will undoubtedly hear the rhyme of Christopher Colombus, "In 1492, he sailed the ocean blue. " This little jingle will nurse them to maintain an adequate memory of the man who supposedly “founded America.” It has long been a tradition in American history to exalt Christopher Columbus as a heroic figure. There are more than 6,000 towns and cities in the US named after Columbus, and as of 2021, there were 149 public monuments to him in the US according to the non-profit organization, Monument Lab. A man who is so heavily praised in America must have done exemplary things, right?
Christopher Columbus: Heroic Or Hero?
1334 Words | 6 PagesFor over 80 years we have glorified, heroized, and celebrated Christopher Columbus for accomplishments that he never accomplished. While at the same time we have forgotten the things that he actually did do, some of which were not very heroic nor ethical. So why, on every second Monday in October, do we miss school and work just to remember a man who wasn’t who we think he was? The answer is simple, we shouldn’t be. So let's all board the Boat of Answers, then hoist our Flag of Truth, and finally set sail to find out who the real Christopher Columbus was.
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219 Words | 1 PagesI think that Christopher Columbus is a very good hero and that he his a good reason that we are here. He is the reason that the U.S. is also here today and if it wasn’t for him we may not even be alive today. He also did very bad things like killing Native Americans and exploiting their gold. A reason that I think that he is a good hero because he was a very religious person.
Christopher Columbus's Negative Impact On The World
503 Words | 3 PagesSome 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.
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Christopher Columbus Discovered America Essay
261 Words | 2 PagesChristopher Columbus was never the first person to discover the Americas. Against popular belief, he was not the first European explorer to find this continent. This credit supposedly goes to the Norse Vikings, originally from Scandinavia, who explored but did not inhabit the land. Along with that, Columbus never actually “discovered” North America, but Central and South America, along with islands in the Caribbean. This discovery helped inspire the Age of Exploration.
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