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Compare Christopher Columbus And The History Of Colonization

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Columbus and the History of Colonization
Everyone has heard the phrase, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” We were taught that Christopher Columbus was a great and courageous man who sailed across the ocean looking for the Indies, and instead came across the Americas. Therefore, Columbus was credited with the discovery of the New World. We celebrate Columbus Day, read his journal accounts, and some speak highly in his honor. Yet, are we missing something here? When one reads only one side of the story, we miss important information; information that can totally change one’s outlook on Columbus’ story. The truth is that after Columbus made his discovery and observed the natives, he considered the Taino people as innocents who were kind and sweet people that he thought would be easy to manipulate; however, that did not stop his quest for fortune …show more content…

The native communities thrived on kin, politics, and culture to sustain the peace. They also relied on trading and creating alliances (Burnett et al., 2017). However, after ravishing the lands and bringing disease to the natives, Columbus, still looking for that wealth, noted that the natives wore gold ornaments and he set his men to find the source of the gold (Burnett et al., 2017). Columbus and his men enslaved, tortured, and wiped out an entire group of natives. They put them under dangerous work conditions and families were separated from each other. Columbus had promised the King and Queen of Spain gold and slaves (Burnett et al.); therefore, the natives that were spared were captured and thrown onto ships, where they would contract diseases, have nothing to eat, and possibly die before ever reaching Spain. At this point, it is very clear that the story we grew up hearing, is not quite as heroic as it seemed. While it may have been a huge step forward for the rest of the world, Columbus’

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Additionally, Christopher Columbus enslaved and mistreated the natives. Not only did Christopher Columbus change the culture of the natives but actually tortured them. Columbus used the natives for his own use. “Throughout his years in the Americas, Columbus forced natives to work for the sake of profits. Later, he sent thousands of Taino “Indians” to Spain to be sold, and many of them died during the journey.”

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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.

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Throughout many historical interpretations of the explorer, Christopher Columbus, many included his voyage of seeking for a new route from Europe to the land of the riches, Asia. Although Columbus never set foot in Asia, he had traveled west and discovered the New World, and led many influential impacts. From Columbus’s exploration, it created several questionings along with controversies, debating whether people should celebrate Columbus Day. Nevertheless, Columbus Day should not be a national holiday, because the honor presented by the holiday does not suit many of Columbus’s despicable actions. Columbus had received the wrong title for his journey, his discovery lead to massive amounts of murders, and his greed for valuables and fame was also part of Columbus’s

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There were serval small indicators to show that Columbus and his men felt far superior to the Natives. Early on when discussing the Natives Columbus says that they “all go naked, men and women, as their mothers bore them, except that some women cover one place only with the leaf of a plant or with a net of cotton which they make for that” (Perkins, 28). This was a way of saying that if Natives did not any have the means to cover themselves there no no way they were going to be able to stop an invasion. He then backs this up with saying “they have no iron or steel or weapons, nor are they capable of using them” (Perkins, 28). The goes on to say the only weapons they have are arms of canes which they fix a sharp little stick (Perkins, 28).

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In the 1500’s Christopher Columbus discovered a new world. However, there were Native Americans who already lived there. Christopher Columbus and his people were welcomed with hospitality; with food, water, and gifts. Instead of being appreciative, the Native Americans were seen as salves. Native Americans wanted to help and exchange information, but instead they were treated with cruelty.

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In October of 1492, Christopher Columbus and Europeans arrived in the Americas after a long and hopeless journey. Europeans and Spaniards raided and ruined Native American culture, when they arrived in the New Land. Christopher Columbus was determined to gain fame and find gold, when he arrived in the New Land. Therefore, the Europeans and/or Spanish conquistadors mad Native Americans suffer through ways of sickness, population, and physical abuse/torture. Native Americans suffered through sickness gained from Europeans and Spaniards.

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“Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress”, chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States”, written by professor and historian Howard Zinn, concentrates on a different perspective of major events in American history. It begins with the native Bahamian tribe of Arawaks welcoming the Spanish to their shores with gifts and kindness, only then for the reader to be disturbed by a log from Columbus himself – “They willingly traded everything they owned… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” (Zinn pg.1) In the work, Zinn continues explaining the unnecessary evils Columbus and his men committed unto the unsuspecting natives.

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Columbus is quoted saying that the natives were “exceedingly straightforward and trustworthy and most liberal with all that they have” along with being “readily submissive”. As said before the natives were also more than willing to trade their gold for whatever simple tools the Europeans were willing to offer them. The Spanish did not return the hospitality however, forcing the local natives to work for them and capturing many more along the Caribbean to make them slaves. The population of the natives in the Caribbean began to rapidly decline in the years following the Europeans arrival. Many of them died battling the Spanish in attempts of getting the intruders to leave, while many others could not handle the work the Europeans were forcing upon them.

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Him and his Spanish counterparts slaughtered men, women, and children alike. They would decapitate the innocent, burn humans alive, and beat young children to death (Las Casas).  When Columbus originally encountered the natives, he recounted that they were a  peaceful, generous, and loving peoples (Columbus). Yet he still chose to participate in this torture. Columbus also never actually stepped foot onto North America.

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Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, began imperialism for Spain. He discovered a new world for Spain, and therefore he opened a door for close to three hundred and fifty years of imperialism. The reign of Spanish Imperialism began with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella funding Columbus’s trip to Asia. The point of the voyage was to find an all-water route to Asia, which held many treasures such as spices and gold. Instead, he found a whole new world, Guanahani, known today as San Salvador.

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Holidays around the world are celebrated to remember and commemorate certain times in history, and to keep those dates important. For quite some time, Columbus Day has been a questionable holiday. Some people say it should be a holiday because we are acknowledging the fact that he discovered the Americas. In contrast, others disagree because of the ways he treated the original inhabitants of the places he discovered. This paper will argue that Columbus Day should not be a holiday because he exploited, murdered, and enslaved many natives throughout his journeys.

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They mistreated them by forcing them to become Christians and other things. They wanted them to become Christians and follow them unconditionally, therefore they acted in ways that they could've avoided. This is shown when document 3 states “I left them bound up and rode away and had the harquebus fired, and we fought so hard that in two hours more than three thousand men were killed”. This quote shows how they killed many of the natives when they could have just traded with them. If the explorers had handled things differently maybe they would have gotten richer than they

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Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare has often been defined by it’s over excessive displays of violence, mutilation, and death. Throughout the years since this play’s inception, the play has lauded and scrutinized for the frighteningly determined convictions behind the minds of the Titus Andronicus’s brutal and gory story arc. Even today, it is doubtful that many people can recall a piece that so accurately depicts the butchering of the human form better than this work by Shakespeare. Thus, it is of utmost importance in this work to learn the psychoanalytic perspective with which the main characters -- especially the title character, Titus Andronicus -- view and carry out their actions. It is curious to examine the motives of the man who

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According to Christopher Columbus, the Taino people of the Caribbean Islands that he encountered “were much delighted, and became wonderfully attached to us” (Journal, page 6). The Taino people were fascinated with Christopher Columbus and his

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Columbus’ main interests were the three G’s: God, glory, and gold, and this was extremely apparent throughout the writings of his journal. On October 14th, he said that the Indians had no knowledge of fighting, and had previously

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