Cristopher Columbus: Villain?
1.) Faceless39. “The Truth About Christopher Columbus.” Owlcation, Owlcation, 8 Oct. 2016, owlcation.com/humanities/Christopher-Columbus.
Observations: “Christopher Columbus was not the first to discover the Americas, nor was he the first to realize that the earth is round. He was the first, however, in other exploits, namely genocide and the transatlantic slave trade”. Many people hold the belief that Columbus was the original founder of the Americas, however the article states, “The Afro-Phoenicians are described as having sailed from Egypt to the coast of Mexico as early as 750 B.C. “. Also, once Columbus had taken over and enslaved the islanders, he became very upset he could not find the precious gold he was in search of. Due to this, “every three months, each Haitian over 14 years of age would be required to pay Columbus with either 25 pounds in cotton or a large “hawk’s bell” of gold dust. “Those who did not pay had both of their hands chopped off”. Columbus stated, “Gold is a treasure, and he who possesses it does all he wishes to in this world, and succeeds in helping souls into paradise”. He was incredibly greedy.
Abstract: This website explains the oppression that Columbus put on the indigenous people and what he made the people do in order to survive.
2) Kasum, Eric. “Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Oct. 2010, www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html.
Observations: “Columbus was so impressed with the hard work of these gentle islanders, that he immediately seized their land for Spain and enslaved them to work in his brutal gold mines. Within only two years, 125,000 (half of the population) of the original natives on the island were dead.” Columbus took advantage of the hospitality the islanders treated him with, and in return made them slaves and took their territory. He also supervised the sexual slavery of young girls, specifically ages 9 and 10. In his log, he stated, “A hundred castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand.”
Abstract: This website talks about the lesser known atrocity of sex slavery that Columbus undertook.
3) “Christopher Columbus Evil?” Twodayslate, 28 Sept. 2008, twodayslate.wordpress.com/2007/03/04/christopher-columbus-evil/.
Observations: “Columbus was very greedy; he voyaged for three things, “Gold, Glory and God”. In his search for gold he killed many people and almost wiped out an entire civilization by himself. He did this for many reasons. One of course was for personal gain and the other was for Spain. If he did not get gold for Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand they would not finance Columbus’ trip.” Columbus did whatever he had to do in order to pay the King and Queen back, and not be in debt. This costed the lives of many innocent Natives for Columbus’ own selfish reasons. The slaves that did not die on the way to Spain were forced to work on plantations, mines, and other unsafe working conditions. It is obvious that Columbus was extremely self-centered and did not hold any compassion towards innocent others.
Abstract: This source shows the motives behind the atrocities he committed.
4) “Top 5 Atrocities Committed by Christopher Columbus.” Rapid City Journal Media Group, 10 Oct. 2016, rapidcityjournal.com/photos/top-atrocities-committed-by-christopher-columbus/collection_76ebb2b8-f63d-11e3-a137-001a4bcf887a.html#2.
Observations: “They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” “Columbus had two goals in the Caribbean: to find gold and slaves. Columbus returned home and came back to the Caribbean with 17 ships and 1200 men. He went from Island to Island taking Indians as captives.” Columbus had Indians collect a certain amount of gold and if they did not have that amount, their hands were severed. “The Arawaks fed poison to the infants in order to save them from the Spanish. In two years, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead and 1550, there were only 500 remaining.”
Abstract: This website shows the true atrocities that Columbus and his men committed to the Indians of the Caribbean. Specifically, the indigenous of Haiti, the Arawak.
5) Fernandez-Armesto, F. “Columbus–Hero or Villain?.” History Today, vol. 42, no. 5, May 1992, p. 4. EBSCOhost, proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9205183670&site=ehost-live.
Observations:
“originated in the War of Independence, when the founding fathers, in search of an American hero, pitched on the Genoese weaver as the improbable progenitor of all-American virtues. Joel Barlow’s poem, The Vision of Columbus, appeared in 1787. Columbus remained a model for nineteenth-century Americans, engaged in a project for taming their own wilderness.”
Abstract:
This source speaks on how Columbus and those after him used the media and other types of propaganda to portray himself as a hero.