Christopher Columbus, Villain or Hero?
By Matt Chernaskey
In my opinion, I think that since Christopher Columbus did find America, and that everyone thought it was India, I think he is a villain. Even though discovering America was a great accomplishment. There are reasons why I think he is a villain.
Some people knew that America existed. The only people that knew about America was the Chinese, Japanese, and Portugal. It was no big deal for people anyway. Columbus was educated but not educated enough to know about the New World. When Queen Isabella granted his quest and set off west in 1492, the crew bumped in into the Caribbean, or the islands of Hispaniola ( present day Haiti and Dominican Republic) which proves that he didn't actually set on American soil. The surprise to them was that there were native people called the Tainos on this land. The Tainos were peaceful people and also giving as well. The Tainos were amazed at the bells that Christopher Columbus had. The Tainos traded the bells with their gold.
When Christopher Columbus found out that they had gold, he took the Tainos and crammed as many of them as he could on a ship. Christopher Columbus then took the Tainos for greed and power. They shipped them to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella for showing his findings. They auctioned the Tainos as slaves, naked through the streets and paraded through town. They were first sold in Spain in 1495. Not only did he bring the Taino people, he brought parrots and gold back from his adventures.
As Christopher Columbus told them that the gold was on the island of Hispanola, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sent four more voyages to Hispanoila. By then, they used the Tainos for gold mine. The island became a rampage. People torture, raped, and murdered the Tainos. They released dogs to kill the chief, since these people had no special weaponry. European diseases were spread to the Taino Indians which includes smallpox and measles. Today, more indigenous people wanted to abandon the holiday because of what Christopher Columbus did in 1492.
I think it there choice to celebrate. Even though, he did treat those people as slaves, it should be the people's choice on if they want to celebrate it or not. I prefer not to because of what Christopher Columbus did in 1492.
By Matt Chernaskey
In my opinion, I think that since Christopher Columbus did find America, and that everyone thought it was India, I think he is a villain. Even though discovering America was a great accomplishment. There are reasons why I think he is a villain.
Some people knew that America existed. The only people that knew about America was the Chinese, Japanese, and Portugal. It was no big deal for people anyway. Columbus was educated but not educated enough to know about the New World. When Queen Isabella granted his quest and set off west in 1492, the crew bumped in into the Caribbean, or the islands of Hispaniola ( present day Haiti and Dominican Republic) which proves that he didn't actually set on American soil. The surprise to them was that there were native people called the Tainos on this land. The Tainos were peaceful people and also giving as well. The Tainos were amazed at the bells that Christopher Columbus had. The Tainos traded the bells with their gold.
When Christopher Columbus found out that they had gold, he took the Tainos and crammed as many of them as he could on a ship. Christopher Columbus then took the Tainos for greed and power. They shipped them to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella for showing his findings. They auctioned the Tainos as slaves, naked through the streets and paraded through town. They were first sold in Spain in 1495. Not only did he bring the Taino people, he brought parrots and gold back from his adventures.
As Christopher Columbus told them that the gold was on the island of Hispanola, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sent four more voyages to Hispanoila. By then, they used the Tainos for gold mine. The island became a rampage. People torture, raped, and murdered the Tainos. They released dogs to kill the chief, since these people had no special weaponry. European diseases were spread to the Taino Indians which includes smallpox and measles. Today, more indigenous people wanted to abandon the holiday because of what Christopher Columbus did in 1492.
I think it there choice to celebrate. Even though, he did treat those people as slaves, it should be the people's choice on if they want to celebrate it or not. I prefer not to because of what Christopher Columbus did in 1492.