Posts

Statements:

I want to raise up an idea at this point, sometimes, when consider both side of a question, we’d better compare the pros and cons of it. Moreover, some historic change would come with violence, and those are unavoidable at some points, also simultaneously those benefits outweigh huge negative impacts. Such person as Christopher Columbus, such person as the first emperor of China in Qin Dynasty. Yin Zheng was described as a tyrant in history books, taking the lives of people and holding blood in his hands. But, if take a look in the opposite perspective, he unified currency, language, etiquette and music by his own. Based on the unified society, China became one of the largest and strongest nation among the world. Christopher Columbus killed some natives when he was at his voyages, but we need to look at the positive event that he has done. For example, he opened the gate of international business, and being an inspirational public figure.

The Columbian Exchange was the result of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to discover the new world. The European population benefitted a lot from all of the things that were discovered in the Americas but the New World underwent the majority of the positive effects as a developing area of the world. Through international trade, the Old World provided crops such as wheat, rice, barely and more.  Before Columbus and his crew set foot on the soil of the Americas, the natives had never heard of or seen any of these crops that we now use in our daily diets.  The New World had crops such as potatoes, maize, fish and turkey, all of which had never been tasted or seen by a European settler.  Similarly, the old world had cows, sheep, horse and goats while the New World had llamas, dogs and alpaca. Clearly after the Columbian Exchange, both the Old and New Worlds had all of the animals and crops that they did not have before (http://columbianexchange.org/). With all of this trade occurring, ecosystems began to diversify and expand.  Through the newly established international trade routes, the new and old worlds created relationships with one another that most likely would not have happened without the discoveries of Columbus and his team. This period of time opened doors that triggered colonization and better communication between nations across the globe (http://cdaworldhistory.wikidot.com/the-columbian-exchange-and-global-trade).  The world would be a completely different place if Columbus did not set sail in 1492 and accidentally find the Americas. His encounters were the catalysts that jumpstarted and groomed the world so that it could develop and prosper into the society and cultural that we live in today.

Counter/Rebuttal:

• Slave
  • Typical of that time (He was not the first)
  • Founding fathers were guilty of this
  • Not exclusive to just bad people
• Jailed
  • He was responsible for other people’s actions
  • Past leaders have been jailed- MLK, Ghandi
• Crew hated him
  • Journals
  • He wasn’t one of them
  • Jealous
  • Sailors were power hungry
  • Lots of pressure
• Brought Disease
  • Not avoidable
  • No idea what to expect when they arrived  
  • Went both ways, Indians gave Europeans sphyillis which killed 5 million in Europe
• Native americans/Vikings?
  • He opened America to rest of the world
  • Trade route
• Legacy
  • Benefits outweigh the costs
• Columbus day
  • Doesn’t have to do with argument
  • He’s not a villain

Charlotte Vine, Zach Bradford

Christopher Columbus Leadership Bravery

1. Cooke, Charles C. W. “Celebrating Columbus, Brave and Bright.” National Review. National Review, 8 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.

Excerpt: “This, like most political correctness, is a grievous mistake. As the historian William J. Connell argues, Columbus may not have been the first of the voyagers to discover America, but he was undoubtedly the most important. “His arrival,” Connell explains, “marks where we as a country and a hemisphere began our identity.” Unlike previous landings, Columbus’s mattered. It was the first to lead to a permanent settlement and the first enduring landing from a civilization that boasted modern ideas such as a belief in science, reason, individual achievement, and Christianity. Ultimately, Columbus’s story serves as the introduction to a story of immeasurable historical importance. To dismiss celebration of the man because he didn’t make it to America first would be akin to declaring that we must scorn Isaac Newton’s contribution to science because he wasn’t actually hit by an apple.”

Statement: First of all, Columbus’ leadership is responsible for the first permanent settlement and first lasting civilization with modern ideas and beliefs. Columbus and his crew brought beliefs in science, reason, individual achievement, and Christianity to this part of the world for the first time. Columbus’ leadership paved the way for a “New World”. As the historian William J Connell of Seton Hall University says, “His arrival marks where we as a country and a hemisphere began our identity”.

2. Weiner, Eric, and Russell Freedman. “Coming to America: Who Was First?” NPR. NPR, 08 Oct. 2007. Web. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15040888>.

Excerpt: “None of the sailors had ever been so long away from the sight of land, and as the days passed, they grew increasingly restless and fearful. The Ocean Sea was known also as the Sea of Darkness. … And if the Earth was flat, as many of the men believed, then they might fall off the edge of the world and plunge into that fiery abyss where the sun sets in the west.”

Statement: Columbus was brave for going on a voyage never done before. His crew was afraid, however he was determined to sail on. His bravery showed when insisted the crew continue even though they wanted to throw him overboard. If Columbus turned around, they never would have opened up the Americas to Europe.

Many tales and stories came to mind when we pondered the definition of a hero and a villain. To classify Christopher Columbus into one of those categories is difficult given the history. To firmly declare him a villain, to us, is simply unfair given the circumstances. To explore and find a new world such as he did would lead to many new experiences and decisions, and obviously high tension. While we are sure Columbus had seen and read about violent historical events, morals during that time were not significant and not developed. To face this new world with pressure from the wealthy, powerful country of Spain, Columbus was willing to do what was necessary to keep up the expansion of European culture to the new territory. While their measures were unmoral and deadly, to their status quo they were getting a job done, it’s somewhat ugly to say but it’s how our government and society came to be. We can talk hypotheticals and say the new world would have still been found and it could have been settled peacefully but this is history and what happened has happened. But to label Columbus a villain and slain his bravery and heroism for his exploration efforts isn’t correct. A villain performs acts of violence and destruction based off of pure hatred. This situation, while not completely peaceful, was not out of hate, but rather a lack of morality and sympathy to others different than their own.

Impact on Science

Sources:

“The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia.” Google Books. Ed. Silvio A. Bedini. Simon & Schuster Inc., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Quotes:

• “During the voyages of Columbus in the last decade of the fifteenth century, science was still traditionally medieval but, because of the humanist quest for original classical treatises and the introduction of printing, the groundwork had been laid for the great changes in science that would occur in the next two centuries.”

Abstract:

• Science had not advanced much throughout the 15^th century
• Columbus’ voyages helped set the framework for changes in science over the next two centuries
• Columbus started the idea of pursuing original discoveries of either physical things or original ideas and theories, which is what led to the scientific developments across the Earth.

“The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia.” Google Books. Ed. Silvio A. Bedini. Simon & Schuster Inc., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Quotes:

• “They worried that it was impossible to sail across the torrid zone at the equator, that only the northern hemisphere was inhabitable, and that the circumference of the earth was so great as to require three years to sail across the Atlantic.”

Abstract:

• Columbus proving the Earth is round and not flat is a myth
• Columbus’ journey helped prove scientifical facts
  • It helped determine the actual size of the Earth
  • The Southern hemisphere and other parts of the world were indeed habitable
  • There were more places that were now thought possible to sail to

Source 1:

“Biographical Sketch of Christopher Columbus.” The Belfast Monthly Magazine, vol. 7, no. 40, 1811, pp. 381–390., www.jstor.org/stable/30072936

About the source:

The Belfast Monthly Magazine is a publication from the nineteenth century. I found this source on JSTOR. This biographical sketch paints Columbus in a pretty positive light. It’s about 10 pages and it’s primarily focused on the Columbus’ notorious years in the late 15th century.

What I used it for:

There was a couple quotes on pg. 384 that discussed about the poor condition of the ships that Columbus was employed. There were also a couple passages on pg.385 that talked about some of the difficulties of their travels like a mutinous crew. I would supply some excerpts here but its not a document you can copy text from.

Source 2:

Myint, B. “Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 05 Oct. 2016. Web. 02 Apr. 2017. <http://www.biography.com/news/christopher-columbus-day-facts>

About the source:

This is a pretty good article published on a respected site. I thought it adequately defends both sides of the debate. Most of the information on the site is shared knowledge and it doesn’t bring a ton of valuable insight/information; it’s a good refresher and a place to jump off from.

What I used it for: 

I mainly used this source for its last paragraph. It brought up a pretty nice argument for him being a hero: “In what has become known as the Columbian Exchange, Columbus’ voyages enabled the exchange of plants, animals, cultures, ideas (and, yes, disease) between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Once the Europeans were able to reach nearly all parts of the globe, a new modern age would begin, transforming the world forever.”

By: Alli Pollack

Columbus is a Hero:

Economic Impact on the World Economy

1. Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. “The Columbian exchange: A history of disease, food, and ideas.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives2 (2010): 163-188.

Excerpt:

“First, it introduced previously unknown species to the Old World. Many of these species—like potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, and cassava (also known as manioc)—resulted in caloric and nutritional improvements over previously existing staples. Second, the discovery of the Americas provided the Old World with vast quantities of relatively unpopulated land well suited for the cultivation of certain crops that were in high demand in Old World markets. “

Abstract:

After Columbus accidentally introduced the world to the untapped resources and overall opportunity of the Americas and western hemisphere in general, the overall world economy grew and become stronger. Columbus’s heroic journey to find new resources opened the door to strengthening international relationships and broadening trade to a global level.

2. Findlay, Ronalad, and Kevin O’Rourke. “Mr. Columbus’s Economic Bombshell.” BBC Historyd.: 41-43. BBC History. May 2006. Web. 04 Apr. 2017. <http://www.tcd.ie/Economics/staff/orourkek/BBC%20History.pdf>.

Excerpt:

From 1500 to 1800, there was a steadily increasing silver flow from Latin America to not only Europe, where it led to widespread price inflation, but to Asia as well, either directly (via the Philippines) or indirectly (via Europe, which used the silver to pay for imports of Chinese goods such as silk and ceramics, Indian cotton textiles and Indonesian spices).

 Abstract:

The journey made by Columbus jump started the entire world economy and further encouraged other governments and economies to become interested in the resources available in America. This was the start of today’s current large scale globalization.

3. Beding, Silvio A., ed. The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia. Springer, 2016.

Excerpt:

“Both European trade and population expanded considerably in the countries after Columbus sailed, and the governments rose that could to the resources of their people and use them to pursue national goals. Among t hose goals were new sources of food and trade goods to enhance their countries’ wealth.”

Abstract:

Although Columbus’s encounter with the natives ended in violence and the destruction of almost all of the native people, it too resulted in a growing interest in America, thus in the long time increasing the population as more and more people settled there.