- Cortada, James W. “Who Was Christopher Columbus?” Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance Et Réforme2 (1974): 99-102. Web. < http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/stable/43464886 >
Excerpts: “Literally thousands of articles and several important volumes have appeared on Columbus as a result of this controversy. Italians wanted to claim Columbus as one of their own in order to take credit for his achievement.” In the past few decades, Christopher Columbus’s true origins were questioned by scholars as several sources found evidence of uncorrelated facts. Salvador de Madariaga added his view saying that Columbus was a Jewish Italian raised in Genoa while the original version of his origin was of Spanish decent.
Abstract: This journal argues about the origins of Christopher Columbus based on claims and views of various scholars. Columbus’s origins might not be such a hot topic to talk about but this journal goes on to discuss the importance of these facts because the country of Columbus’s origin would be more than happy to take pride of his achievements. This journal mainly talks about Columbus’s early life and his background. Considering Italy and Spain are fighting over pride of Columbus, the two nations must have seen Christopher Columbus as a hero and has claimed a great ‘achievement’.
Source is helpful for:
- retrieving and reviewing background information about the life and voyage of Christopher Columbus.
- understanding the reasons why Columbus set out to ‘discover’ the New World and how this became possible.
Argument: This article does not argue whether Christopher Columbus was a villain or a hero, but rather it argues about his origins and who or which country should take pride of his ‘achievements’ – Spain or Italy?
- Kasum, Eric. “Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 03 Oct. 2016.< http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html > is
Excerpts: “Columbus was so impressed with the hard work of these gentle islanders, that he immediately sized their land for Spain and enslaved them to work his brutal gold mines. Within two years, 125,000 (half of the population) of the original natives of the island were dead.” This statement shows how Christopher Columbus took advantage of the friendly, gentle, and hardworking islanders and forcing them into slavery. “Shockingly, Columbus supervised the selling of native girls into sexual slavery. Young girls of the ages 9 to 10 were the most desired by his men.” This statement implicates that Columbus approved the sexual slavery of young girls of Native America.
Abstract: This website questions the ‘deeds’ of Christopher Columbus by stating unrevealed facts of how Columbus first docked into Native American shores and how he treated the natives. It also states other horrible acts that Columbus allegedly led during his ‘discovery’ of America. It then goes on to question why Americans are celebrating a holiday that commemorates a so called ‘hero’ when really he is quite the opposite.
Source is helpful for:
- providing skepticism about Columbus being a ‘hero’ as what was taught in schools across the United States.
- gaining insight about the other side of Christopher Columbus’s story of heroism from a scholarly perspective and also from a citizen of America’s point of view.
Argument: This article from Huffington Post argues about the celebration of Columbus day. The article’s main highlights are the true story of slavery and cruelty of Columbus towards the Native Americans, and thus the article goes on to critic the relevance of celebrating a ‘heroism’ when really it is a day of atrocious acts of violence.
3. “Christopher Columbus: The Untold Story.” Christopher Columbus: The Untold Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2016. < http://www.understandingprejudice.org/nativeiq/columbus.htm >
Excerpts: “Yet Columbus himself was more forthcoming about how he should be remembered. In a letter penned a few years before his death, Columbus wrote, “I ought to be judged as a captain who for such a long time up to this day has borne arms without laying them aside for an hour.”
Abstract: This website article is based on a skeptical view of the heroism of Christopher Columbus by highlighting the “untold story” of Columbus. The article is writing with just enough skepticism but there is evidence in biases towards the ‘villain’ side of Columbus. Each segment of of the points made or claimed in this article is accompanied by cited sources that the writer based his or hers opinions. Plus, the points made in this article are closely related to Christopher Columbus’s original translated diary of his first to his fourth voyage.
Source is helpful for:
- gaining insight about the “untold story” of Christopher Columbus.
- thought provoking about what we know or have learnt in school about Columbus.
- gaining insight from a scholarly point of view with cited sources for further exploration of the subject.
Argument: This article’s argument is focused on the ‘villainous’ side of Christopher Columbus, stating specific points regarding the actions Columbus took against the Native Americans when he came to the American shores. The arguments in this article are backed up with reliable source that have been cited or hyperlinked, plus it is considerably not too biased on addressing the issue.