...Columbus: Hero or Villain As children we learned that Christopher Columbus was a hero, the discoverer of America. Was he? Perhaps he found a land that had not yet been discovered by Europeans, and bought about trades we know of today, but is that enough to be deemed a hero? He has been acknowledged as the man who discovered the world was round, yet “the Greeks knew, five hundred years before Christ, that the world is a sphere”. (Koning 29) So why was he continually credited for discoveries others made before him? To learn about the real Columbus we must look at all accounts regarding his travels, his contributions and most importantly his downfalls. Many people believed Christopher Columbus to have had good intentions, yet in fact, he was deceitful, murderous, and an enslaver of the people inhabiting the so called New World. Christopher Columbus was born Cristoforo Colombo to a merchant and his wife in Genoa. He was a seaman and a chart maker, but he enjoyed being at sea the most. He married and had a son. When his first wife died, he had another son with a mistress. He was looking for funding to set sail on the Atlantic. The year was 1492 when Columbus was finally ready to sail in search of new lands. He had tried several times to get funding for his voyages and it wasn’t until early in 1492 that he received all that he wanted and needed to prepare for his voyage. Despite the uncertainty they felt regarding Columbus achieving his goal of traveling west and finding new...
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...Inspired by the discovery of a sea route to Asia by the Portuguese, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain sponsored Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ voyage to discover a new route to Asia. Although a new route to foreign lands were discovered by Columbus, it wasn’t Asia, yet islands between the coast of today’s North and South America. One of the larger islands he “discovered”, Hispaniola, Columbus reported to the king and queen that this land was suitable for colonization (Callison). On the northern coast of the island in what is now Puerto Plata he founded La Isabella 1493, and later in 1494 Concepcion de la Vega was founded (Foner). He composed a historical document known today as the “Letter from Christopher Columbus to King and Queen of Spain”. Enclosed in this letter were recommendations on how Hispaniola should be governed, an emphasis on the logistics of its discovered gold, and also the order of shipment into Hispaniola and neighbor islands. In the opening of the letter Christopher Columbus composed for the King and Queen of Spain he makes it clear that he would speak freely about his recommendations to the crown on how business should be conducted in current and future discoveries of new worlds, which sets the tone that he was very sure of himself and everything he was about to suggest in this letter. Columbus was confident in the colonization of Hispaniola so much that he suggested to the crown that an amount of 2000 colonizers because he believed the island...
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...Columbus: The founder or the Tyrant? In 1942, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, at least that’s how some people see it. Christopher Columbus is said to be the man responsible for discovering America and proving the world to be round. Columbus day was not considered a national holiday until 1937put into effect by Franklin D. Roosevelt, largely due to the controversy of his travels to the new world. He was said to be a tyrant to the indigenous people of what he thought was America. Not only did he cause problems with the people he never actually landed in the states, instead he actually landed in what is known today as the Bahamas. Not everyone, even whole states, in America observes Columbus day as a holiday. It was never even celebrated at all...
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...Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus born in Genoa Italy was the son of a skilled weaver. Columbus earned his chance when the king and queen of Spain agreed to finance his voyage to discover a new trade route connecting Spain with Asia. In 1492 He sailed across the Atlantic arriving instead in the Caribbean where he raped, killed, and enslaved innocent Natives. America’s memories are filled with symbols of adventure and bravery associated with Columbus, yet the facts behind the fiction have somehow been lost in a haze of patriotism. Columbus set out with three ships; the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria in search of Asia to find precious items such as gold and spices. Not realising that the Americas existed, Columbus first appeared in the Bahama Islands. When he first came in contact with the Arawak men and women, he entered into is log, “they would make fine servants… we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever they want” (pg 1). Columbus and his men coming from Spain had weapons that the Natives simply could not fight against, leaving them helpless and unable to fight they were mistreated and abused. Another example of Columbus abusing the natives is when he entered into his log, “as soon as I arrived… I took some of the natives by force” (pg 1). Columbus took some of the natives so that they might show him the land and where he might find gold, but instead of trying to communicate with these people he forcibly took them as slaves. “In...
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...Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 at Genoa. Genoa was a seaport that was on the Ligurian sea. His name was Cristoforo Colombo and that was translated into English as Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus had two brothers, which he was older than both. Christopher Columbus had little schooling just like most of the people during that age. Genoa was a busy seaport and Christopher Columbus learned much from the sailors. Christopher Columbus’s father was a poor weaver. Christopher Columbus worked with his father for a while, but his heart was set on sailing. (“Christopher Columbus.” The book of knowledge, 2000.) As soon as Christopher Columbus possibly could he went to sea. Christopher Columbus started with short fishing trips and worked his way up to longer trips with merchants that traded along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Christopher Columbus was intrigued by map making and geography, which he studied between trips. In Christopher Columbus’s twenties he made his first trip out of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. During that trip Christopher Columbus’s boat was attacked and was set on fire. The only way out was to swim; Christopher Columbus swam six miles back to shore by clinging to wreckage. (“Christopher Columbus.” The book of knowledge, 2000.) In 1476 Christopher Columbus move to Portugal. In Portugal he met Felipa Perestrello e Moniz. Felipa Perestrello e Moniz was the daughter of a respected, but relatively poor family. Shortly after they...
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...The United States only honors two men with federal holidays bearing their names, Martin Luther King Jr., and Christopher Columbus. When we celebrate Columbus Day, we are honoring a man who helped spark a holocaust situation of the people of America and the Atlantic slave trade. Furthermore, Columbus never set foot on the land we call the United States, nor was the first explorer to reach the "new world". Columbus's arrival in the new world was proceeded by the explorer Leif Ericson and others. The true discoverers of the land Columbus encountered are the ancestors of the native people who were living there when he arrived. Unfortunately, the public education system of the United States has failed to teach the entire truth about Christopher Columbus. All they know about is how the three ships sailed across the ocean blue. Little do they know about the mass murder, mass rape, enslavement, torture and the spread of Christianity using their swords. Columbus Day shouldn't be worth celebrating or having parades for. Columbus's "discovery" led directly to torturing and killing innocent souls on the island of Hispaniola. Initially, Bartolome de Las Casas states about the Europeans, "they behaved with such temerity and shamelessness that the most powerful ruler of his island had to see his own wife raped by a Christian officer" (Bartolome de Las Casas). In other words, the Europeans had no feelings towards the Natives and treated them like they owned them, which no one deserves...
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...Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer; who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He was sailing, hoping to find a route to India to trade spices. He made four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492 – 1504. He figured, if he sails left of the world he can arrive to India faster. Firstly, Christopher Columbus sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. On this first trip, Christopher Columbus sailed on three ships. He sailed with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Each ship had a captain and 90 crew members. They set sail on August 3, 1492 from Palos, Spain. On October 11, 1492 they landed on the Caribbean Islands off Southeastern North America. They landed on a Island they called San Salvador. While exploring the Islands the met the Taino Indians. Most of them were captured by Columbus’ men for slavery. Christopher Columbus returned home to Spain on the Nina. Secondly, one the second trip ( September 25, 1493 – June 11, 1496), Christopher Columbus, traveled back with seventeen ships and twelve hundred to fifteen hundred men to find gold and capture the Indians; and make them slaves. They sailed around Hispaniola, and Southern Cuba. They found an Island, and named it Dominica; on November 3, 1493. On his third trip, ( May 30, 1498 – October 1500 ), Christopher Columbus sailed south, to Trinidad and Venezuela. He was the first European to set foot on the mainland of America; since the Vikings. On...
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...Christopher Radisich Professor Kuo History 301 TuTh 9:30-11:00 Columbus Day Nearly every elementary school student is aware of the name Christopher Columbus and probably that he discovered America. Unfortunately for history aficionados and people who research their history will be disappointed to find out that the famous Christopher Columbus explorer of the sea was an avaricious, human trafficking, tight fisted person. With the knowledge of Christopher Columbus terrorizing violence, greedy, and racism one could not help but too question why their is a day to recognize this man for discovering America or anything for that manner. Their must have been a reason why a day was implemented into American society to honor Columbus. On July 21, 1892 President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation establishing the new holiday “Discovery Day” and even praised Columbus as a “pioneer of progress and enlightenment” but this political strategy had little to do with Columbus or discovery america. Although Christopher Columbus had not been a historical figure to reverie or respect, he was utilized as a symbol by Catholic Immigrants to find common ground among the vast majority of the American people and President Harrison saw their growing population as an untapped voting resource in the Midwest and Eastern cities. At the end of the 19th century, a large influx of immigrant, from different cultures came to American soil and were faced with extreme prejudice and discrimination. A large...
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...The first gallant adventurers of the New World were daring Spaniards. Fueled by the desire of adventure and riches, Spanish explorers and conquistadors spread throughout the newly discovered Americas like wildfire. It all started in 1492 when the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria shattered through the glass gateway of the Atlantic, which had previously isolated two worlds of people, cultures, and ideas. Christopher Columbus, a Portuguese sailor with a dream of finding an alternate route to India, came to the King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. After finishing their Reconquista of Spain from the Moors, the couple heard him. They shared Columbus’s vision so greatly, that they rejected the advice of their own geographers. Columbus’s three vessels anchored on the shores of an island...
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...The Exploration of Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. He was the oldest of five children and the son of Domenico Colombo, a wool-comber and Susanna Fontanarossa. Columbus enjoyed the sea and spent much of his time as a child riding ships. Although he had little schooling he was a genius when it came to the sea. He later became a master navigator and admiral whose four transatlantic voyages opened the way for European exploration, exploitation, and colonization of the Americas. Columbus had a plan to prove the world was round and that there was a quick route to India. His goal was to find a route to the islands by sailing east in hopes of establishing a city for trade, seaports, and much more. Christopher Columbus departed on his first voyage on August 3, 1492. He departed from the port of Palos in southern Spain in command of three ships: the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. His crew was a group of men who he recruited from surrounding the towns of Lepe and Moguer. His flagship the Santa Maria had fifty-two men aboard while his other two ships held a maximum crew of eighteen men. Columbus reached the Bahamas on October 12 and proceeded toward Cuba on October 28. He continued eastward on the Santa Maria and Nina, arriving at Hispaniola on December 5. The flagship Santa Maria grounded on a reef Christmas Eve and sank the next day however Columbus used the remains of the ship to build a fort on shore which he named...
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...Christopher Columbus: The Original American Hero? Was Columbus a hero or a villain? Maybe it’s neither. Columbus was brave and daring, and did things that were important to world history. But he wasn’t heroic in the sense of displaying great moral qualities. Courage, while generally a good character trait, isn’t necessarily heroic or even highly honorable and praiseworthy unless it’s deployed in certain kinds of actions or causes. But he also wasn’t especially villainous in the sense of displaying particular evil qualities. His arrival in the Americas caused a great deal of death to American Indians, chiefly from disease. And it caused the subjugation and literal or virtual enslavement of the Indians. But this didn’t stem from Columbus’s being an unusually evil person. It stemmed from the brutality of the time, coupled with the contact between one culture that was much more powerful than another (and that carried many communicable diseases to which members of the other culture lacked resistance). I’m inclined to say that we shouldn’t celebrate Columbus Day, precisely because such national celebrations should be focused on honoring people who did things that were both especially important and especially honorable (such as veterans, President Washington, or Martin Luther King, Jr.) and not just on people who did things that were especially important. This might conceivably include not-necessarily-good people who did things that were unambiguously good. But European expansion...
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...Jozy Martinez Mr. R Art History October 21,2014 Christopher Columbus Throughout history both men and women have brought changes all over this world, whether it was through revolution, discoveries, or simple changes in the way of life. One of these important people is Christopher Columbus. About five hundred years ago, the world was known to be flat, this was until Columbus came along. His main goal was to find a new way to get to Asia, instead he had discovered something even bigger than a new trade route, he discovered a whole new world. Although this might seem as though he was viewed as someone who helped benefit the world (a hero), Christopher Columbus can also be classified as a terrorist due to the way he treated the natives he found on his journey and how he took control of their natural resources. Christopher Columbus, the son of a poor wool merchant, was born in 1451 in Genoa (Italy). Columbus had worked for his father in his early years until he was a teenager. He had gotten a job on a merchant ship that traded their goods at various ports in the Mediterranean Sea. Between his voyages he studied both cartography (mapmaking) and geography. In the 1470’s, Columbus had travelled and live in Portugal. This was the greatest European seafaring center of the age, which meant that it was the center for explorers. During his stay in Portugal he studied mathematics, astronomy and navigation. Together with all his mastered skills he began to...
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...Christopher Columbus who is a controversial figure in history is glorified as the brave man who discovered America. Columbus had many different motives as he started his mission. One motive that he had was profit, he thought that he could buy spices at the low point of their origin and then take them back with him and sell them for a greater price in Europe. Another motive that Columbus had was religion, he hoped to bring Catholicism to the natives and where ever he ended up. Columbus believed that religion should be the base in every person’s life. As a country Spain also wanted to purse Catholicism as a missionary religion because it was important to convert others. Columbus saw himself as a divine agent on a mission. His main motive was to find a westward route from Spain to the Indies since the eastward passage was controlled by Portugal. As he was on his first voyage, “The Enterprise of the Indies” he wanted to find a direct ocean trading route to Asia. He valued many things in his life such as wealth and the power that came with it, but the main one was the Catholicism that he wanted to bring to everyone that he met and everywhere he went. Christopher Columbus met many different and interesting natives and he said that each one portrayed different types of skills. He mentioned that some natives were not as good of sailors as the others were. Columbus’ descriptions of the natives portrayed them as inferior to Europeans, some might even say savage. He said that the natives...
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...Christopher Columbus was born in Italy as the son of a weaver. He went to sea at the age of 14. He sailed for Portugal then he went to Spain to sail for the king and queen (Ferdinand II and Isabella). His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. The king and queen agreed to support this westward voyage to Asia as well as name him "admiral of the ocean seas" and governor of the lands he will discover. For his part, Columbus promised to spread the Christian faith to the people of the East and return with the gold, silver, and spices. He set sail on August 3rd of 1492 and on October 12th he landed on a Bahamian island that Columbus named San Salvador. He believed they had landed on the outlying islands of Asia. Thus making this trip the most successful failure to date. The Arawaks of the Bahama Islands were the natives that greeted Columbus when they finally landed Oct 12th of 1492. They much like the Indians on the mainland, who were remarkable for their hospitality and their belief in sharing. These were traits unappreciated by these new travelers from Renaissance Europe. The Arawaks lived in village communities and had developed agriculture of corn and yams. They could spin and weave, but they had no horses or work animals. They had no iron therefore no swords or pistols, but they did wear tiny gold ornaments in their ears. This led Columbus to take some of the Arawaks aboard ship as prisoners because he...
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...major accomplishment; it resulted in only a few blunders and it was impressive that Columbus was able to even make it back to Spain, let alone with two ships still somewhat intact. This speaks largely to the character of Columbus, it no doubt took someone with charisma, strong leadership, confidence, and steely determination to carry out the task he set himself on. The second greatest accomplishment that Columbus is responsible for is the foundation of Santo Domingo, a new city suitable for waterfront commerce and less harsh than other settlements Columbus had tried to start. Previously to the foundation of Santo Domingo, Columbus had brought 1,500 settlers to the original colony from his first voyage consisting...
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