...Most people know the name of Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was a Portuguese sailor who sailed for Spain. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (of Spain) sponsored his voyage. Some people think Columbus is an important hero because of his many discoveries. Especially, his discovery of the Americas in 1492. Others think he was a villain because he took advantage of people. Christopher Columbus is both a villain and a hero because he took credit for other people's discoveries, he killed many innocent people, and he brought knowledge back to Spain. Most people think that Christopher Columbus discovered America. But actually 500 years before he was even born Vikings discovered America. There crew of 35 vikings was led by Leif Erickson....
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...Christopher Columbus: “Hero or Villain?” While many schoolbooks present Christopher Columbus as the famous Italian explorer who discovered America, history has painted a much more complicated picture. For a long time people are arguing was Christopher Columbus actually a hero or a villain? Was the man from Genoa a brave explorer or greedy invader? A gifted navigator or reckless adventurer? The man who laid the foundation for that most glittering daughter of the Western heritage: America is definitely a hero. Christopher Columbus was one of the greatest sailors and explorers of all time; in present time and in the past he represents a hero for the people. “He had made great proficiency in geography, astronomy and drawing, as they were necessary...
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...even now, we were always taught that Christopher Columbus was America's hero. Many people believe that, but maybe it's time to step back and look at the facts. I believe that Christopher Columbus is a villain not a hero. I'm gonna give you my insight on why I don't believe Christopher Columbus was a hero to America. Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer discovering new land for the king and queen of spain. He got money from them to sail and find the water route from Asia to Europe. He accidently landed in America thinking it was a different country. He and they Indians were friendly with each other and so on so forth took America and claimed it to be his. “Half a millennium before Columbus “discovered” America, those Viking feet may have been the first European ones to ever have touched North American soil.” (http://www.history.com/). Before...
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...The Columbus Day Controversy Christopher Columbus has been recognized and praise as a hero since his suppose discovery of America. In which, Christopher Columbus was granted a holiday named Columbus Day after his legacy. To which, Columbus Day is a holiday celebrated on the second monday of October and is celebrated for the sole purpose that his exploration to the “New World” led to the discovery of America. Although many people today still celebrate Columbus Day it has caused great controversy throughout the nation and therefore should be exiled since it is an occasion to be mourned, he is a bad remodel to the American citizenry, and Columbus was a compulsive liar. To begin with, a issue to consider when removing Columbus Day is the fact...
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...Is Christopher Columbus a hero or a villain? Based on the documents I read, the info told me that Christopher Columbus was a hero. But I personally think that he was both. He did discover land, and traded with Indians but at the same time he did kill a lot of people, and he was not very kind to everyone. The documents that i read also showed that he was a villain and a hero, but in most of the documents it stated that he was more a hero than a villain. In document 1 the info tells me that Christopher Columbus was a hero. In his diary he was a hero because he was being nice to the native American. The native Americans came up to there boat in big canoes and brought balls of cotton, parrots, and javelins to trade with them. Most people would...
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...Many see Christopher Columbus as a hero, but were his actions all that good? In this essay there are two perspectives Columbus, Howard Zinn thinks that Columbus was not a hero and his actions actually hurt and killed people, while William J Connell and John Sebastiano say that Columbus was a hero and was a genius. Howard Zinn did not like Columbus and his actions at all, because Columbus enslaved and killed Indigenous people. Zinn writes in his book A Young People’s History of the United States, “Indians who did not give gold to the Spaniards had their hands cut off and bled to death.” Howard Zinn also quotes from Columbus’s ship’s log, “They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate [over-power] them and make them do whatever...
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...Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus is best known as the one who discovered America. Christopher wasn’t just an Italian explorer, he was also a navigator, and colonizer. His “discovery” was made when he wanted to try and find an alternative way to reach India and traveled west. When he had reached what Columbus thought was India, he found himself face-to-face with Native Americans who he then named “Indians.” Many would say without Columbus we wouldn’t have America, but maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. If Columbus had not “discovered” America, the Native American race might not have been so low. Technology probably would not be as advanced, such as in industrialization, therefore the Earth’s population could have been lower causing...
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...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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...fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” is the beginning of one of history's greatest fabrications. Columbus is portrayed today as a gentleman and an individual who brought prosperity to the new world. A hero is someone who possesses selflessness, humility, and integrity. Christopher Columbus was without a doubt a brave and talented explorer; however, the goal of his voyages were not to discover America or to prove that the world was round or to discover the New World. These theories were proven over 200 years ago by the philosopher Aristotle and the New World was first reached by Leif Erikson 500 years before Columbus. Columbus was only sailing in the interest of finding gold. He was a greedy dictator, exploiting...
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...Christopher Columbus is one of the most widely renowned “explorers” throughout the world. For nearly 80 years, he has been celebrated through a holiday dedicated to him known as Christopher Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus was the first to set sail to the west across the Atlantic Ocean in order to find a new trade route to India. However, instead of finding the lands that he set out for, he discovered the already inhabited New World; with this discovery he brought death, disease, and destruction to the innocent natives that lived there. The natives were decimated and enslaved for gold, land, and workers by a man celebrated as a hero in society today for a failed exploration mission: Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was a man only interested in profit and used almost any means to get it. They treated the Indians as though they were “excrement on the public squares... thus depriving them of their lives and souls” (Document F). The lands were so rich and the natives so meek and patient that it was easy for Christopher Columbus to take advantage of them for his own selfish greed. Like the settlers, Columbus was there for one reason only:...
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...Is Christopher Columbus A Hero Or A Villain? Christopher Columbus is a hero and a villain. Christopher Columbus is a hero because without him discovering the Dominican Republic he wouldn't have open the gateway for exploration into the new world. The gateway for exploration in the new world was great because it brought over many things that weren't native to this land. For example Cattle, Horses, Rats, Sugar, Wheat, and etc. This gateway was called the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange didn't just bring animals and food it also brought diseases such as smallpox, Influenza, Measles. These diseases almost wiped out the Native American population, but there was another reason their population diminished but we'll get into that later. Even though I don't want to admit it without Christopher Columbus the Triangular Trade might have never happened and that would've meant slaves wouldn't have been taking from Africa and brought to the United States and that means African American people...
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...Christopher Columbus is one of the most controversial figures in history. While his discovery was monumentally important in the development of America as we know it, it is my belief that Columbus himself was ultimately a villain. In the process of revolutionizing the Western World, Christopher Columbus established European control of the Americas through committing unjustifiable and unforgivable atrocities. Furthermore, he committed these atrocities not with noble intentions, but rather with selfish and avaricious motives. When determining whether Christopher Columbus was a hero or villain, it is important to know his intentions in discovering and conquering America. These intentions are revealed to us through our historical knowledge of Columbus’...
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...a holiday dedicated to one man: Christopher Columbus, a man perceived as a valiant hero credited for discovering America in 1492. Generations of Americans have passed down the belief that Columbus was an amazing explorer, but tend to overlook the horrific deeds that Columbus committed. Despite his monumental accomplishments, Columbus was a historical figure closer to Hitler than to Martin Luther King on the morality spectrum. Due to his use of slavery, treatment of Native American slaves, and the tricks he used to deceive others, Columbus was not a hero but rather a villain. To begin with, Christopher Columbus should be vilified for converting Native Americans...
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...A lot of great nations have rich history of their own, whether it is bad or it is good. The United States of America has great history and tradition, from the Revolutionary War to the occupation of Afghanistan. When people who write about history discuss that of the United States, they often consider how eminent this country is and the great deeds other people of that country have done. Historians who write about the history of America often write about how it has had a share of great heroes from Christopher Columbus, Woodrow Wilson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, etc.. Nevertheless, historians often seem to not remember to mention the real heroes of America like, for example, John Brown and the Native Americans. Much of the history that historians write about don't always show precision. Since many historians only write about one side of history, it only makes it worse by not revealing the factuality of history and creates an erroneous image of what really took place. Many of our nation's great leaders have been distinguished as individuals who have the best interest of the country and every action they take on behalf of the country befittingly. For instance, in the book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen, he writes, "Under [president] Wilson, the United States intervened in Latin America more often than at any other time in our history." (Loewen, 16). What reason did the United States have to start an intervention in countries that...
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...A hero is someone who is admired for their courage, has achieved outstanding accomplishments throughout their life or their noble qualities, such as honesty and loyalty. At an early age we were taught that Christopher Columbus was a hero, that he sailed across the Atlantic ocean and found a new world with people who were already living there. He was also considered a hero because he brought back some of the natives, and gold for the King and Queen of Spain, who sponsored his expeditions. The most prudent position for me is Columbus is not a hero, because he enslaved the natives, used violence against them, and murdered the ones who didn’t obey him. One argument that strongly supports my position on the issue of Christopher Columbus is not...
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