Christopher Columbus, Hero or Villain
Abstract: This article explains how opinions of Columbus have changed over time and gives examples of how and why this happened. It describes the early childhood narrative taught across the nation and how that perception has changed over time. It gives examples of both good and bad things Columbus did, highlighting most of the bad and discrediting the good things.
Quote: “Although he had never reached the North American continent, nor indeed understood what it was he had come upon, the phrase “Columbus discovered America” increasingly merged the landing in the Bahamas in 1492 with the birth of the United States itself (Koch 1996).”
Explanation: People in the United States give Columbus too much credit. He never even stepped foot in what is today the United States.
Quote: “For example, the National Council of Churches, which includes 36 denominations with more than 50 million members, passed a lengthy resolution in 1990 that included, among other similar statements: “For the indigenous people of the Caribbean islands, Christopher Columbus’s invasion marked the beginning of slavery and their eventual genocide.””
Explanation: Many churches are trying to distance themselves from the evil things he did to the natives.
Quote: “Our first major finding was that 85 percent of this national sample gave Simple Traditional answers (category 2) that basically described Columbus as the “discoverer of America.” Only 6 percent were more laudatory and gave Heroic responses; at the other extreme, fewer than 4 percent characterized Columbus in the Villainous terms”
Explanation: Many people associate him with discovering America and don’t necessarily see him as a hero or villain.
Quote: “Christopher Columbus deserves condemnation for having brought slavery, disease, and death to America’s indigenous peoples”
Explanation: It is objectively true that Christopher Columbus orchestrated the arrival of slavery and disease to the Americas. How do we still live in a world that idolizes a person who committed these atrocities? People in America today often times don’t even have to go into work on Columbus day so we can revel and bask in his glory. They glory of killing innocent people who only lived in the land that the Europeans wanted for trading.
Citation:
Howard Schuman, Barry Schwartz, Hannah D’Arcy; Elite Revisionists and Popular Beliefs: Christopher Columbus, Hero or Villain?, Public Opinion Quarterly, Volume 69, Issue 1, 1 January 2005, Pages 2–29, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfi001
Connor Gregory and Ethan Lerman