The Controversy of Christopher Columbus

April 04, 2019

The Controversy of Christopher Columbus

Columbus Day has been a federal holiday since 1937. It celebrates Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas in 1942. However, this holiday is a controversy. Christopher Columbus was not the great man many people believed him to be. There is a myth, which many young students were taught (including myself), that Christopher Columbus discovered America. This is incorrect. There were many Native Americans living there before Columbus arrived. Another myth was that Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit this "New World." This is, once again, false because the Vikings beat him to it in the 11th century.

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Originally, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain to find Asia because of rumors that gold was there. Instead, he landed in the Carribean, but still believed it was Asia. When arriving at the islands, Columbus named the Native Americans "Indians" because he thought he was in India.

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The arrival of Christopher Columbus was a very bad encounter for the Native Americans. Columbus believed these Indians were the inferior race and should be held as slaves. When talking about the Native Americans,

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Christopher stated, "These people are very unskilled in arms... with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished." Even on his first day on the island, Columbus ordered 6 natives to be captured because he believed they would be good servants. Columbus and his men also brought disease, stole resources, and ultimately obliterated many indigenous island tribes. This was all for the purpose of claiming this area as a "New World." Native Americans suffered deeply from this "New World." Columbus waged slavery, violence, and Christianity upon the Native Americans. He forced labor on the native Americans. They were put to work to make a profit for Columbus. Some of this labor included searching for gold or working on a plantation. Columbus also sent Indians from Hispaniola to Spain to be sold. Many of them died on the voyage. Also, Columbus would cruelly kill the indigenous people and then ordered their dismembered bodies to be shown in the streets.

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Many people know Columbus as the brave explorer who transformed the New World. On the other hand, many people know the other side of Columbus. The Columbus who mistreated and ultimately devastated the Native American population. Some of these people choose to celebrate Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day. This is a way to honor the people whose lives and cultures were brutally taken away.