Christopher Columbus: Hero Or Villain?

Even though he is celebrated in the United States, Christopher Columbus should not be considered a hero. He took advantage of the generosity of the American natives he found. His greedy ambition had horrible results that most Americans do not even realize.

In his biography of Christopher Columbus, historian Felipe Fernandez- Armesto, wrote the true side to Columbus. Columbus had facers to himself both brilliant and evil., “Her had an implacable temperament which could never be satisfied and unremitting ambition which could never be assuaged.”(Fernandez Columbus) Columbus was a ruthless, rough conquistador who encountered the Indians and treated then with no respect whatsoever. Columbus did anything possible to conquer the world even if that meant behaving like a villain.

In the reading, “Christopher Columbus, Hero and Villain” written by Christine Gibson, Christopher Columbus is portrayed as a villain. Christopher Columbus is a villain because he is a rapist. According to the passage, “the once heroic explorer turned into a conqueror guilty of rape and genocide.” Currently, rape would be considered illegal and a disgusting crime to commit. Secondly, Christopher Columbus is a kidnapper. In the text it states, “he kidnapped some 500 natives to serve as slaves in the old world.” Many people would say kidnapping is a horrid offense. Christopher Columbus took over 500 natives away from their homes. This is not an example of a hero. Also, Christopher Columbus is a murderer. The text tells us, “Later he gave each

Reputation is something that no one can avoid its part of nature, society, and life. This was definitely true for Christopher Columbus. On October 12,1942 Columbus sailed the ocean blue and landed on the Caribbean’s which he thought at the time was Asia. There are a lot of people who argue on whether he was a true hero or a historic villain. Whatever you decide he was we can at least all can come to the conclusion that he was the one who opened the gates to many things. Explorers who wanted adventures, merchants who wanted to trade goods, and to the famous conquistadores who were the start of the Spanish Conquest of the Americas. During the Spanish Conquest, we see how a well-developed civilization of millions of people crumbles down to nothing. This tragedy happened due to the fact that the

Columbus's arrogance and exploitation regarding slavery began on his second voyage. Ferdinand and Isabella had ordered that the natives be treated kindly. In opposition to this order, Columbus began exporting slaves in great numbers in 1494. It was because he was not making any real profit elsewhere on the island that he decided to exploit the one source of income--people--he had in abundance (Fernandez-Armesto 107). When word reached him that the crown did not want him sending more slaves, Columbus ignored it. He was desperate to make his expeditions profitable enough for Ferdinand and Isabella's continued support. Evidently he was not reprimanded because thousands of Indians were exported. By the time they reached Spain, usually a third of them were dead. Bartolome de las Casas wrote that one Spaniard had told him they did not need a compass to find their way back to Spain; they could simply follow the bodies of floating Indians who had been tossed overboard when they died (17). It is horrible to consider that the exportation of these natives resulted

     Throughout all of our years that we are taught about world history, we are led to believe that Columbus was one of the greatest explorers of all time. In my mind there is no question about whether Christopher Columbus discovered America; of course he did, its Columbus! However, this is a highly debated issue and through writings by authors Jeffery Hart and James W. Loewen we will investigate the true importance of Columbus.

Christopher Columbus is not a hero and does not deserve a holiday honoring his name. He was not a good man or an honest one at that in fact he was quite greedy, which can be noticed through his works in discovering the Americas and the natives. Christopher Columbus was seeking two things: gold and glory, but along the way he adds slaves to the mix. “The Columbus Day holiday is the only national holiday that is overtly insulting to millions of Americans” (Petition to Abolish Columbus Day). Columbus Day is insulting to every American as well as the Indians. When Americans celebrate Columbus Day they are also celebrating what he did and that is insulting to the Indians. Columbus took slaves, used them for labor, impossible tasks,

On Aug. 3, 1492, Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa María, commanded by Columbus himself, the Pinta under Martín Pinzon, and the Nina under Vicente Yanez Pinzon. After stopping at the Canary Islands, he sailed due west from Sept. 6 until Oct. 7, when he changed his course to the southwest. On Oct. 10 a small rebellion was quelled, and on Oct. 12 he landed on a small island in the Bahamas. He took possessions for Spain and brought natives aboard, discovered other

The historical event that I selected is Christopher Columbus’ voyages to America because they acted as an inspiration to explorers, which shaped the future for the population of the New World. The controversy associated with Columbus is intriguing because he can be viewed as both a hero and a villain when considering the outcomes that resulted from his excursions. He uncovered the route to the Americas that would be used by explorers, merchants, and conquistadores even after his death, which allowed him to be credited for the discovery of the New World. However, his travels also link him with the violent conquests of the Americas by the Spanish. His voyages and his discoveries inspired explorers and made them hungry for the success that Columbus

Christopher Columbus is commonly known as the “discoverer” of the Americas. From a young age students are taught all the wonderful things he did for our land and how well he interacted with the Natives. Although the truth is disregarded and as students grow, they come to learn that Columbus was not a hero in fact. Columbus came close to causing a genocide of the Native Americans, and basically began the “white power” movement that America is forced to deal with today. The truth of what Christopher Columbus did makes him no better than Hitler, yet America still praises him as an important figure in our history. The actions of Columbus has impacted all Americans lives since the 1400’s when he first landed on American soil. Although it did make America into the super power it is today, the structure within the borders will never be equal because of his abuse of power back then. Christopher Columbus is not the hero American students are taught from a young age and does not deserve any of the praise or recognition that we as American citizens continue to give him on a daily basis.

All my life, I have been hearing about Christopher Columbus. Since little, first, my family talking about him, then in school learning about him. I really thought he was a hero. The way they teach you about him in grammar school or middle school makes you think he really is a hero. But later on, doing research on him, looking for what he really did, where did he came from etc. I realize that he is not a hero. There are many reasons why people think he is good as well there are many reasons why they think he is bad. Personally I think Columbus is a villain, he did a lot of bad things that most people don’t know a bout. However if they know them, it would make them think a little bit deeper if Columbus is the Hero

Columbus decided that he should start converting Indians to Christianity on his third voyage. He also had his authority of governing taken away by the crown. So when he went to the colony the new governor arrest him and sent him back to Spain. Columbus had a fourth voyage. He was assigned the task of finding a sea route to Asia. He believed that with his new knowledge of the Indies, he could find the Asian continent. Columbus failed once again. All of Columbus’ documents show us that he failed at his tasks but brought Europeans to the Americas.

Christopher Columbus was turned down by Portugal. The went to Spain to ask the King and Queen to support his voyage. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to pay for his voyage to spread wealth and Christianity. On August 1492, he left Spain for Asia. After a few weeks past by Columbuses men began to get scared that they were lost. On October 12, one of Culombuses men saw land. Columbus thought that he had reached the Indies. Christopher Columbus and his men explored the island and Columbus started to call the native people who lived there "Taino", but soon called them Indiands because he thought he was in the Indies. On March 1493, Columbus and his men arrived back to Spain. Columbus died in Spain in 1506, still insisting that he had reached

Christopher Columbus found America in 1492. He also led his three ships, The Nina, The Pinta, and The Santa Maria, out of the Spanish Harbor. On August 3rd, 1492, his goal was to sail west until he got to Asia, because he didn’t know that America existed. He was sailing to Asia where the riches of gold, pearls, and spice was there. When Columbus came back to Spain, he wrote a letter telling about his discoveries to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. They helped him with his trip. He wrote the letter in Spanish and sent it to Rome, where the Romans printed it in Latin. Christopher Columbus lived from 1451-1506. We chose Christopher Columbus because he founded America.

School taught us about the infamous Christopher Columbus who was known as the hero who found the Americas in 1492, but is that the truth? Is Columbus really the hero that grade school portrayed him to be? Columbus was not. Columbus was a greedy man who destroyed an entire race of people with genocide just so only he could benefit and become a man of money and power.