Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?

According to Merriam-Webster, a hero is “A person admired for achievement and noble qualities. One who shows great courage. The central figure in an event, period, or movement.” All of us can think of the saying we learned as children, “In 1942, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” One quick little poem on the great journey that he and his crew made on the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. Heralded as the hero who discovered the America’s and the Free World just like those definitions outline. We have a federal holiday in his remembrance and something that is very dear to us here at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio. Yet, if we take the time to do some research, and dig a little deeper than the words, and poems we learn a dark truth of our “hero.” Would a hero capture free individuals from their homes, away from their children, spouses, and families to turn them into slaves? Is a hero in your mind someone who according to some, is considered the first individual to start the slave trade in the Free World? Do heroes denounce the crown’s or any authority for their own selfish ego and pride? On the opposite end of the spectrum Merriam-Webster defines a villain as “A deliberate scoundrel or criminal. One blamed for a particular evil or difficulty.” Now we’re not here to tear down statues, or take away holidays, but if you take the time to find out who Christopher Columbus really was, your opinion would surely change just as ours has.