Columbus Revisited- Hero or Zero?
Columbus Day is observed all over America on October 12th every year, celebrating Christopher Columbus and his discoveries, most notably that of America. But is Columbus actually a hero? To many, he caused lots of problems, and the cost was higher than the gain. Columbus is a zero, not a hero.
Columbus was not a hero because, first of all, he treated the Native Americans very badly. He tricked them, forced them to convert to Christianity, and more. Columbus knew what he was doing was wrong, and didn't bother to stop it. According to an entry in his journal dated October 13, 1492, "One seaman gave three Portuguese ceitis (not even worth a penny) for 25 pounds of spun cotton. [Columbus] probably should have forbidden this exchange, but [he] wanted to take the cotton to Your Highnesses, and it seems to be in abundance." One big event was when
…show more content…
According to Tech Insider, “Of the estimated 250,000 natives in Hispaniola, Columbus' first stop in the Americas in 1492, new infectious diseases wiped out a staggering 236,000 indigenous people by 1517 — nearly 95% of their population.” The Native Americans weren’t used to these diseases, so they had little to no immunity. Because they had no immunity to these new diseases, the Indians were dying very quickly. Some of these diseases were the measles, influenza, scarlet fever, and smallpox. Smallpox was especially devastating to the Native American population, and it killed many Indians. Christopher Columbus was not a hero, and hurt more than he helped. Although his voyages helped pave the way for more discoveries, Columbus could have went about much more respectfully and he could have been more considerate of the Native Americans already living in lands he “explored.” Therefore, I find Columbus to be a