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Effects Of Colonization
Effects Of Colonization
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When Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas he had the plan to sail through the Indian river to get to Asia, but because you aren't able to sail through America to get to Asia he ended up in Hispaniola an island in the Caribbean. In my opinion, I think that Columbus set sail to Asia but ended up in Hispaniola In the beginning the Hispaniola were very kind to the Spaniard, but after a while the Spaniard started to take over their land and eventually killed most of the Hispaniola population and sold the rest as slaves. I say this because In document B (the letter) Christopher Columbus had said that “I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King...no one making any resistance. This shows that Christopher Columbus had taken over
Ripley Riegert Carrington Writing 7A March 7, 2023 DBQ You know the explorer Christopher Columbus right? Well he was one of the many explorers during this time period who set out to explore. Typically explorers set out for Gold, God, and or Glory. What we didn't know was that when they landed they treated the natives there terribly.
Although Christopher Columbus marked a turning point in history, he was not the hero he’s said to be. For one, he enslaved countless amounts of natives after his arrival in the “New World”. He believed they’d make good servants and put them to work finding gold for him. He also mutilated these enslaved people if they did not find enough gold for him. They were usually punished by the loss of a limb and, on occasion, by death.
Looking back at the interactions between Christopher Columbus and the Natives, in today’s time we could classify this as genocide. The actions of Columbus were outright nauseating. Authors often leave out all of the bloodshed that was a result of his brutal journey. Columbus nearly destroyed an entire population along with its culture, tradition, and religion. Columbus did anything in his power to find gold for personal gain and for the Queen and King destroying anything in his way.
In fourteen ninety two, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue to find the world of new. Though the History books have a preconceived idea that he was a benevolent adventurer, Bartolome De Las Casas proclaims Columbus’ interactions differently. De Las Casas described several events during Columbus’ encounter with the Native Americans. Columbus demoralized the Native Americans by regarding them as subhumans, disintegrated their families, and committed mass murders. What the textbooks fail to include are the immoralities that could possibly shed a new light on your perspective of Christopher Columbus.
For many years, people have debated over whether Christopher Columbus is a hero or a villain. Based on background research I have done, Columbus, to me, has proven to be a villain. Columbus forced the Indigenous people of America (Native Americans) to change their religion. He put them into slavery and abused them. They were also infected by the diseases that the Spaniards were immune to.
To many, Christopher Columbus was a very remarkable man of history. His many discoveries and conquests, despite all the hardships faced, have led others to believe that he is some sort of hero. But is that really what he is? A hero? In A people’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, he states, “To emphasize the heroism of Columbus and his successors as navigators and discoverers, and to deemphasize their genocide, is not a technical necessity, but an ideological choice”.
Author Ian W. Toll puts it in a quite interesting way in his book review of Laurence Bergreen’s The Four Voyages: “Christopher Columbus, rediscoverer of America, was a visionary explorer. He was a harbinger of genocide. He was a Christianizing messiah. He was a pitiless slave master. He was a lionhearted seaman, a rapacious plunderer, a masterly navigator, a Janus-faced schemer, a liberator of oppressed tribes, a delusional megalomaniac.
Christopher Columbus has been viewed as both a positive historical hero and someone who was selfish and brought harm and misfortune to the Indians to benefit the white men. When flipping through a history textbook or sitting through a high school history course Columbus is viewed as a hero who embarked on many expeditions that helped others as well as brought people together with an abundance of goods. God, glory, gold, government, and geography motivated Columbus on his voyages. Columbus discovered land that he believed to be the Indies, which is what led him to identifying the natives as Indians. The people Columbus met were welcoming to Columbus and his men although they didn’t have the spices that were originally expected and needed.
The quote from the text, “‘The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide.’... But there was no flaw, no dark side to the most outstanding and essential of all his qualities-his seamanship” (Zinn 6). This argues Zinn on how he says that historians did not focus on reality of what happened back then, but Samuel Morison did tell what was happening during that
As Arthur M. Schlesinger said in Columbus on Trial, European culture has "its share of monsters and atrocities" and that civilizations who had many conquests "did not show anything like concern for moral behavior and treatment of others" (Document 6). Ultimately, European explorers, conquistadors, and settlers from the Age of Exploration should not still be glorified and celebrated because they caused more harm than good, and tore apart others just to make a name for
Howard Zinn takes the perspective that Christopher Columbus is not the hero that many people perceive him to be. He views him as a cruel and greedy leader who went to the Americas causes death in his wake for his unquenchable search for gold. Columbus took advantage of the Native Americans because at first they were "so naive and so free with their possessions"() by forcing them to collect gold for him else face the punishment of death. While Columbus may or may have not been as heartless as he is made out to be, he is not truly the one to blame for the harsh treatment of the natives on the Caribbean Islands. Almost every other European (at that time) that could have been in his position would have undoubtedly done the same things as Columbus.
And that is why I am grateful to have learned many details that shine the light on the way that Christopher Columbus actually was like, a villain. I have my reasons for considering Columbus a villain. For example Because of him there is much less diversity in animals. And if that wasn’t bad enough he is also the reason why there are very few native americans left.
One of the readings for week three talked about the complete destruction of the Native American race because of Christopher Columbus. Many believe Christopher Columbus was a hero, and in a way they are right. However, our history books do not talk about him killing off an entire race because of his own greed. Columbus took the Arawak Indians hostage because he believed that they would lead him to gold. When that did not turn out as planned, Columbus decided to go on a slave raid and bring five hundred Indians back Spain.
Imagine a world where you were treated poorly because of the color of your skin. A world where the government is working against you. This is what was happening in South Africa before Nelson Mandela put it to a stop. He fought against many unequal things directed towards the non-whites and he was a civil rights leader. Because he fought against apartheid, put others first, and was determined to help non-whites, Mandela deserves the status of hero.