How Is Christopher Columbus A Hero

Today, Christopher Columbus is primarily viewed as an important historic figure

and a hero for his famous voyages in the 1400’s. However, many people to this day

still debate whether he should be known as a hero or a villain. In my opinion,

Christopher Columbus should not be considered a hero. A hero is somebody who

performs good deeds for the sake of others, and not for their own benefit.

Christopher Columbus just wanted to find gold and riches for himself and the

country of Spain. I believe he is a villain because he took full advantage of the

Arawak community. He treated the Arawak’s terribly using them as slaves and he

wiped out the entire community.

In October of 1492, when Christopher Columbus stepped foot on the Island

As their kind and nurturing nature, they traded everything

they owned. Christopher saw how naive this community was and instantly thought

just how great they would be as slaves. Although the Arawak’s outnumbered

Columbus and his men by a large amount, the Arawak’s believed in peace, and were

not at the same military level. They had never been exposed to weapons before; they

were not able to stand up for themselves, “I showed them a sword and they took it

by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance”. (1) Columbus’s main goal of this

voyage was to find gold; “It led Columbus to take some of them aboard his ship as

prisoners because he insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold.” (1) This

shows Columbus’s ignorance towards other people and his use of a militaristic

approach due to capturing innocent people. Columbus has not only caused problems

in his era but also to this day. Today Natives are still constantly struggling socially

because they have been overlooked for so long, some could argue beginning first

with Columbus and Colonization.

In September of 1493, when Columbus set sail for his second voyage, he became

much more aggressive towards the Arawak’s since he had already captured