Columbus Blog #8

Should Christopher Columbus be considered a hero or villain?

Well... there are two sides to every pancake, but I choose the side where he is a villain. He did do some great things, but the path he took to get there was horrible. Christopher Columbus was a lying, self absorbed, gold seeking traitor. To start off the list of things he did wrong, the first man to see the sight of land was supposed to get a yearly pension of 10,000 maravedis for life, but the man who was first never got his money, Christopher Columbus did. He said he was the first man to see the new land and he lied for the money. Then, when he arrived back from his first voyage he exaggerated his reports and promises to the crown for more money to voyage back again. Then when he went back he started rounding up the natives to use as slaves, he would even take women and children. With these slaves he would send them on gold hunts and if they didn't find any they would have their hand cut off and be left to bleed to death. This then started mass suicide among the natives because they did not want to be taken by the Spaniards. This man caused such a fear in the natives, more then half died, through murder suicide or mutilation. A quote from the reading about the enslavement and killings ""The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide."" Columbus truly had no respect for the natives culture and what they could teach them, he only had an interest in what he could take from them. He also wasn't even from Spain, he just was representing them, not even his own home country (bad Italian). He really should be considered a villain in history, not a hero. What is presented to society is a day off of work because it was the day this land was found, but what really people are unknowingly celebrating is slavery, cruelty, and death. I don't think people really want to celebrate that Christopher Columbus, that is a memory best kept away.