Christopher Columbus And The Columbus

“As the classroom rhyme goes, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492…” states that you sailed to America but doesn’t say what he did after he got there. “ But there is more to the story of the explorer” but many people don’t know it. Many things that happened involving Columbus’s story is not told and some people never get know. The historical records has cast Columbus into the shadow of enormous

     The Indians thought Columbus and his men had come down from Heaven...[and] when           Columbus and the sailors went back to their ships, the Indians followed...Over five           hundred wanted to go; they thought they would reach Heaven in this way.

In elementary school students are taught that Christopher Columbus is some godly hero who discovered that the earth was round and a shorter route to “Asia”. They even have a day dedicated to him. Typically, children are gullible and just believe what they are taught, rather than actually researching and learning the history on their own. As a child one’s brain is not developed enough to possess a sense of moral discernment. Also, children are not taught any other version of the story. However, as one grows and matures and learns more about Christopher Columbus, one can see a darker side of him. According to research, he took advantage of the kindness of many indigenous land

Most children in the United States, grow up with the stories of the brave and heroic Christopher Columbus, who risked his life to connect the western and eastern hemispheres. There is even a day dedicated to his "good work" and "heroism". But the stories don't explore the whole truth. Since his discoveries led to the founding of America, history turns a blind eye to his immoral actions and the consequence of his deeds. Christopher Columbus is a villain because he enslaved, wiped out and manipulated the populations of the Native Americans in the Indies.

At dawn the next day, Columbus sailed to the other side of the island, and saw two or three villages. He ended his description of them with these words:

After many centuries, a lot of controversy still surrounds Christopher Columbus. He remains to be a strange figure in history regarded as a famous explorer and a great mariner who made many discoveries in his days. Other people still regard him as a visionary and a national hero while others chose to remember him as a brutal and greedy person who used the rest of the humanity for his own selfish gains. Despite the fact that there have been protests in his being honored through a holiday referred to as the Columbus Day, he still deserves recognition and acknowledgement as a historical figure performed a great role in the making of the modern world.

On Columbus Day students across the nation will learn how Columbus discovered the New World and about his fantastic travels to the New World. Children will learn poems, stories, songs and rhymes about his travels and about himself as well on this day. When introduced to Columbus as a young student he is portrayed as a respectful gentleman and as a hero, when in reality he is a selfish man who takes advantage of lesser people and schools should be teaching their students about who Columbus really was.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who received credit for the discovery of the Americas in 1492. His goal was to discover another route to India instead, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Hispaniola which is present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Although, historians argue he did not technically discover the Americas, he opened trade routes between the Old World and the New World. He influenced later explorers and impacted the development of the Columbian Exchange. The historians present their attitudes towards the consequences and outcomes of Christopher Columbus and his discovery. They also state their argument on his controversial legacy about whether Christopher Columbus should be perceived as a hero or a villain.

During the 1400’s, a physical connection was made between Europe and the Native Americans by Christopher Columbus. Today, he is looked upon as a hero for discovering the land that the United States of America currently occupies. Beneath the glorified image of Columbus, there lies something much darker that people often overlook. Although Columbus began the migration of Europeans to America, he did not discover it first. In addition, the new formed connection between the Europeans and the Americas paved way for the genocide of many of the indigenous people.

Christopher Columbus was sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel of Spain in 1492 to find an alternate trade route to Asia. The Reconquista was just wrapping up in Spain, and in hopes to continue the movement, the King and Queen encouraged Columbus to spread Christianity once he made landfall. Their goals for his voyage were similar to many at the time: find riches, spread faith, and claim any unconquered lands. Columbus was successful in all three, however, there is much controversy in the measures Columbus took to do so. Although Christopher Columbus caused the death of many indigenous people and ecological succession, his ultimate goal was to carry out the requests of the Spanish government, therefore he should not be found guilty because

He used their kindness, which he saw as strange and naive, for his own advantage. Zinn says, "all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death" (Zinn 4). This explains another way that Columbus treated the natives: as slaves. He did not care about their hospitality towards him, and how they graciously greeted him and brought him gifts. My next important theme discussed about Columbus is that he never would have actually made it to Asia. Zinn writes, "Columbus would never have made it to Asia, which was thousands of miles farther away than he had calculated, imagining a smaller world. He would have been doomed by that great expanse of sea." (Zinn) He, like many others during this time, imagined that the world was much smaller than it actually is. He turned out to be lucky; he came across Cuba and Hispaniola - the Americas. The first thing Howard Zinn explains is the picture that is painted of

Columbus is a very influential figure in history. Because of his determination, two very different worlds met, and neither would leave the same. When Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean in early August, 1492, he brought with him many foreign ideas and concepts, as well as new crops and animals that flourished in the new world. Columbus was able to spread christianity throughout the new world, both through force and through chance. He was also able to increase Spanish influence throughout the Americas, or what he thought were the Indies. His contribution to Europe, and Spain in particular, helped make them the leaders of their time. Christopher Columbus represents many good things about humanity. He represents bravery, idealism, and pride, which are all qualities we appreciate in humans. If he had not had the determination

It is disheartening that the Arawak tribe which received Columbus and his crew with open hearts could be subjugated to mere slaves. Also evident in his writing, “the Indians are so naïve…” This further exposed who he really was, a tyrant who capitalized on the warmth and affection shown upon his arrival for monetary want.

When I read Alexie's poem “Postcards to Columbus”, I could feel his bitterness toward Christopher Columbus. I even tend to think that Alexie wishes he had an opportunity to speak to Columbus and express his feelings toward him for his wrong or unrealistic discovery. Since Alexie could not get him, he decided to express his feeling in a sarcastic and patronizing way. Although I used to see Christopher Columbus as a hero, this poem changed my mind.

Although Columbus did find his way to the Americas, it was not North America he discovered. In fact, he never stepped foot in the United States during his four expeditions. Columbus actually made landfall on various islands located in what is now known as the Bahamas, which had hundreds of thousands of Native American inhabitants that already made the land their own for hundreds of years prior to his ‘discovery’. His various expeditions were supposed to be about spreading Christianity and finding a direct trade route to Asia; however, in the end, the results strayed far from that reality. When he first arrived in these Bahamian islands, he took note of the natives in his journal stating, “All of them alike are of good-sized stature and carry themselves well… ... They should be good and intelligent servants, for I see that they say very