by Naomi H., 6th grader
Was Christopher Columbus a true hero or a plain mean villain? He was not the explorer everyone thought he was. He was a lost explorer who didn’t discover America. Columbus was also very cruel to Native Americans. He did many unethical things to them. He even paved the way for the slave trade. Because of all the bad things he had done, there should also be no Columbus Day.
Columbus was not the first to discover America:
Columbus is known as the discoverer of America. Lots of people still think he sailed the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 and discovered America. But the truth is that he did not. In examining the reputation of Columbus, Jack Weatherford writes,
“Columbus never set foot on our continent, nor did he open it to European trade. Scandinavian Vikings already had settlements here in the eleventh century, and British fisherman 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 England’s King Henry VII and became known by his anglicized name, John Cabot. Cabot arrived in 1497 and claimed North America for the English sovereign while Columbus was still searching for India in the Caribbean.”
According to Weatherford, Columbus was planning to find a western route to Asia, specifically China and India. But he went the wrong way and landed in the Caribbean. He points out that Columbus was not the discoverer of “America.” (I put America in quotes for a reason as you will see below.) He was not even the second explorer to go to “America”; the Vikings were the first to land in North America. A British fisherman also probably landed there before Columbus. He also states that John Cabot was the first European explorer to fully document his trip to North America. Columbus did not land in America; he landed in the Caribbean. Weatherford argues,
“Christopher Columbus’ reputation has not survived the scrutiny of history, and today we know that he was no more the discoverer of America than Pocahontas was the discoverer of Great Britain. Natives had built great civilizations with many millions of people long before Columbus wondered lost into the Caribbean.”
He is saying that Columbus’ beliefs have not escaped historians’ observation. Columbus was just one of the first people to discover a land where other people already lived for thousands of years. He does not deserve any credit. He has also done very unethical things while he was in the Caribbean as I show below.
Columbus was cruel to native populations:
Columbus was not only given attention that he should not have; he was also very cruel to Native Americans. Richard Kavesh wrote an article in the Native American Times, titled, “Columbus: great explorer or greedy conqueror?” in which he said, “Every man and woman, every boy or girl of fourteen or older had to collect gold for the Spaniards.” He also wrote, “Whoever was caught without a token was killed by having his or her hands cut off. Indians who tried to flee into the mountains were hunted down with dogs and killed, to set an example for the others.” Now you probably have more negative thoughts about Columbus but it gets even worse. Kavesh further makes the following observation:
“As bold and visionary an explorer Columbus was, he never landed in America and he didn’t discover any new lands at all. The island where Columbus landed had been inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years before his arrival. Columbus was a brutal conquistador. He claimed the Caribbean and Central American regions for the Spanish crown and his henchmen killed tortured, exploited, raped and enslaved thousands of Taino Indians.”
Columbus was a slave trader and exploiter:
Kavesh also pointed out that Columbus introduced slavery to the Caribbean. and he killed or exploited one third of the Indian population. Columbus indeed was unethical, cruel, brutal. I could just keep listing adjectives to describe him. Columbus did even more things to the Native Americans. A video from youtube.com called “Is Columbus a Hero or a Villain?” says that “Columbus set the stage for the slave trade.” I bet you agree with me that Columbus was a villain more than a hero now.
Columbus was also a slave trader. Jack Weatherford said he (Columbus) enslaved 1,200 Taino Indians and shipped them to Spain..After he enslaved natives he exploited some of them to plantations. He also paved the way for the slave trade from Africa because a lot of natives were killed and died of disease. After they were gone people captured stronger people from Africa and they became slaves.
I hope that I have proven to you that Columbus had been a villain after all. He didn’t discover America, he was cruel to the natives and he paved the way to the slave trade. That leaves you thinking why do we honor this explorer? Why do we celebrate Columbus Day? Everyone should find out the nasty truth of Columbus. He was a true villain.
Works Cited:
“Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus” by Jack Weatherford.
”Columbus: Great explorer or Greedy Conqueror” by Richard Kavesh; from Native American Times.
I like what you said, although I somewhat disagree with it. Columbus did do some bad things. However, he was adventurous and daring and he was willing to sail with the theory that the world was round.
I really liked how you used some things that other people claimed to be true about Columbus