Why Christopher Columbus Isn't the Person He's Presented to Be
The topic of Christopher Colombus, and whether his discovering of America was good or bad, is widely debated between people because of how many different opinions there are on this topic. Some people argue that Christopher Columbus was a great explorer, discovered America, and colonized it, paving the way for America as we know it today. But others argue that Christopher Columbus wasn’t the first person to discover America, colonize it, and that the rape and slaughter and torturing of all of the Native Americans wasn’t necessary. This piece of writing talks about how Christopher Columbus wasn’t the first person to discover America, colonize it, and that the rape and slaughter and torturing of all of the Native Americans wasn’t necessary. One reason why Christopher isn’t the hero that he’s supposed to be, is because there were already people in Canada and some parts of America.
Scandinavian Vikings and fisherman had already discovered America. In the article, “Examining the reputation of Christopher Columbus”, by : Jack Weatherford, the author states, “Scandinavian Vikings already had settlements here in the eleventh century, and the British probably fished the shores of Canada for decades. Before Columbus, the First European explorer to thoroughly document his visit to North America was the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto, who sailed for the England’s King Henry the 7th, and became the known by his anglicized name, John Cabot.” From this evidence you can see that Christopher Columbus wasn’t the first person to discover and put the first settlements on the New World. Furthermore why Christopher isn’t the hero that he’s supposed to be, is because Christopher Columbus didn’t have to treat the Native Americans so poorly. By the way Christopher Columbus was just looking for gold, land, to bring wealth to his country, and to himself.
There surely should have been some compromise to all of the destruction that he has done. The article, “Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus”, by Jack Weatherford, the author states, “He seized 1,200 Taino Indians from the island of Hispaniola, crammed as many onto his ships as would fit and sent them to Spain, where they were paraded naked through the streets of Seville and sold as slaves in 1495. Columbus tore children from their parents, husbands from wives. On board Columbus’ slave ships, hundreds died; the sailors tossed the Indian bodies into the Atlantic. Since Columbus captured more Indian slaves than he could transport to Spain in his small ships, he put them to work in mines and plantations which he, his family and followers created throughout the Caribbean.
His marauding band hunted Indians for sport and profit – beating, raping, torturing, killing, and then using the Indian bodies as food for their hunting dogs. Within four years of Columbus’ arrival on Hispaniola, his men had killed or exported one-third of the original Indian population of 300,000. Within another 50 years, the Taino people had been made extinct – the first casualties of the holocaust of American Indians. The plantation owners then turned to the American mainland and to Africa for new slaves to follow the tragic path of the Taino.” You can now see the true ways of Christopher Columbus, and that what he did wasn’t necessary for what he had wanted in the first place.
But it’s true, Christopher Columbus encouraged, and set the way for other explorers. He also made tons of other groundbreaking voyages with some many great discoveries. The first adventure that he made, he discovered the Bahamas, The second adventure he had a grand fleet that discovered much more of the Caribbean, and had made a permanent colony in the New World. The website, “Carnival,” states, “17 assorted vessels and over 1200 men made up “The Grand Fleet” in an attempt to establish a permanent Spanish colony. His destination was La Navidad, off the north coast of Haiti, where, during his first voyage he had left 39 men in a fortress built from the wreckage of the Santa Maria.
“. The third adventure that Columbus made, he discovered down south towards South America, and he supplied colonists in the New World with supplies, and the fourth adventure that Columbus made, he visited the colony to see what was happening. The website, “Carnival”, states, “the fleet split into two squadrons: three ships to sail directly for Hispaniola with supplies for the colonists, and the other three to explore further south.”. This evidence suggests the good things that Columbus did.
But the truth is, is that Christopher Columbus really didn’t want the best for Spain. The website, “Bio,” states that, “Christopher Columbus stood to gain significant wealth and power from his voyage, terms he negotiated with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. His contract with the monarchs, called The Capitulations of Santa Fe, named Columbus the admiral, viceroy, and governor of any land he discovered. It also stated that Columbus could keep 10 percent of any “merchandise, whether pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices and other objects” that he “acquired” within the new territory. Columbus may indeed have had noble intentions when he sailed west, but his agreement with Spain suggests his intentions were far from selfless.
“. This evidence from “Bio” suggests that Columbus didn’t want the best for Spain, and the citizens of Spain. He was just selfish, and really just wanted the jewels, and rewards of the New World. The topic of Christopher is widely debated. But evidence shows that he did something bad when he discovered America, and how the killings, and rape of the indians were not necessary, and how he didn’t discover America.
And that how he supposedly Paved the way for other explorers, and encouraged explorers to explore, doesn’t account for the killing, rape, and segregation of all of the Native Americans. If Christopher Columbus really did want the best for the people of the Old World, then why did he have all of those requests from king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella? And why did Christopher Columbus have to create the first ever genocide?
