Should we be honoring Christopher Columbus? We are teaching our children and celebrating Columbus Day because he discovered America. As a child I associated Christopher Columbus as a hero due to only remembering what at that time was thought to be important part of his history. How can we celebrate Columbus Day when some historians state he did not discover a lost or unknown land because the Indians were flourishing in America for millions of years? Millions of Native Americans built great civilizations prior to Columbus arriving in America.
The History channel stated “There are three main sources of controversy involving Columbus’ interactions with indigenous people he labeled “Indians”: the use of violence and slavery, the forced conversion of native peoples to Christianity, and the introduction of a host of new diseases that would have dramatic long-term effects on native people in the Americas.”
As a child I was not taught about how Christopher Columbus treated the Indians. I didn’t realize that religion was such a big issue during that time period and that the Indians were basically forced to convert to Christianity. How Columbus forced Indians into slavery. The unrealistic tasks Columbus gave to the Indians of obtaining a certain quantity of gold when he knew such amount of gold didn’t exist. If the Indians didn’t find gold then they were forced into slave labor or their hands were cut off or they bled to death. The Columbus Exchange created wide spread transfers of people, plants, animals, diseases, and cultures that was an overwhelming benefit. It also brought new diseases to the world and caused the death of millions of Indians.
As Howard Zinn stated in A People’s History of the United States, “One can lie outright about the past. Or one can omit facts which might lead to unacceptable conclusions. To state the facts, however, and then to bury them in a mass of other information is to say to the reader with a certain infectious calm: yes, mass murder took place, but it’s not that important – it should weigh very little in our final judgments; it should affect very little what we do in the world. Basically, some historians will state that Columbus committed genocide but they won’t go into detail because it wasn’t that big of deal. Maybe if we don’t talk about it in detail or mention the millions of deaths to the Indians then Columbus’ so called heroic actions matters more. How can anyone condone forcing Indians into slavery and the genocide that was brought upon them? After reading Zinn’s book and other related references below, I want to be taught all aspects of the history of Christopher Columbus. I think as a child and an adult we should be taught the truth and not different variations of the truth. We should be able to form our own opinions on the facts and not someone’s version of the truth.
As Jack Weatherford stated in “Examining the reputation of Christopher Columbus”, “In January we commemorate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr, who struggled to lift the blinders of racial prejudice and to cut the remaining bonds of slavery in America. In October, we honor Christopher Columbus, who opened the Atlantic slave trade and launched one of the greatest waves of genocide known in history.” Martin Luther King Jr and Christopher Columbus are the only two men that we honor with Federal Holidays. How can we honor two different men with two opposite agendas? Christopher Columbus created slavery while Martin Luther King Jr was trying to create an equal world.
References:
- Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States.
Abridged Teaching Edition. New York, 1980.
- “Pre-Columbian Hispaniola – Arawak/Taino Indians”.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/100.html
- “Columbus Controversy”.
- “Christopher Columbus”.
- Jack Weatherford, “Examining the reputation of Christopher Columbus”.
