Abstract: Describes and backs up both the villain and hero claim for Columbus. It includes a dialogue between the two images and compares and contrasts them.
Quote: “It is commonly said that the traditional Columbus myth – which awards him personal credit for anything good that ever came out of America since 1492 – 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.”
Explanation: Much of the credit given to Columbus in unfair, as people were just looking for a hero to use as a figurehead.
Quote: “The imposition of forced labour and of unrealistic levels of tribute were disastrous policies, which diverted manpower from food-growing and intensified the ‘culture-shock’ under which indigenous society reeled and tottered, though Columbus claimed they were expedients to which he was driven by economic necessity.”
Explanation: Columbus had harsh labor policies and only thought about the monetary value and not the necessity of growing food
Quote: “Demonstrably false was the second element in Columbus’ self-made myth: his image of tenacity in adversity – a sort of Mein Kampf version of his life, in which he waged a long, lone and unremitting struggle against the ignorance and derision of contemporaries…. Yet almost all the evidence which underlies it comes straight out of Columbus’ own propaganda, according to which he was isolated, ignored, victimised and persecuted, usually for the numinous span of ‘seven’ years; then, after fulfilling his destiny, to the great profit of his detractors he was returned to a wilderness of contumely and neglect, unrewarded by the standard of his deserts, in a renewed trial of faith.”
Explanation: As demonstrated here, Columbus is literally being compared to Adolf Hitler, in the sense that he was degraded, and struggled and then eventually rose to a demagogue level of power. He even used propaganda to spread the message of what he accomplished to all of Europe. This conqueror is no hero.
Citation:
Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. “Columbus-Hero or Villain?” History Today, vol 42, May 1992, pp. 4-9. EBSCOhost, http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hft&AN=503098310&site=ehost-live.
Connor Gregory and Ethan Lerman