“In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He had three ships and left from Spain; He sailed through sunshine, wind, and rain.” A very famous nursery rhyme memorized by many. Columbus received the title for “discovering” the New World, which at first he did not intend. His acts of helping the homeland were barbaric. As time progressed, most of Columbus’s men were against his ideologies. Numerous unsuspecting people were killed under his watch, yet a holiday is still celebrated in his honor. Christopher Columbus was an exploiter, not an explorer. Columbus Day should not be celebrated as a national holiday as Columbus was not the first to discover the Americas, enslaved and manipulated the Natives for his own cause, and …show more content…
Columbus was hungry for gold, as he wanted to bring it back to Spain. Columbus sailed back to Spain after one of his three ships crashed in Hispaniola. He brought back many things to show the Spanish king and queen including natives he had kidnapped. He did not bring back enough gold so he went back to the land had “discovered”. When he arrived, he heard that a local chief had tons of gold on his land. The chief was angered by the Arrogance of Columbus and his men. Soon after a fight broke out. Columbus beheaded three of the chief’s captains in public. This action disturbed both the Natives and the Spanish. When there was no more gold to mine, Columbus suggested for starting a slave trade. He seized over 500 natives and sent them to Spain. Those who were not captured were forced to pay tributes of gold to the Spanish. Those who couldn’t find enough were brutally punished. A year after Columbus’s arrival 50,000 natives died. Columbus showed no mercy. Lastly, we should not honor a criminal. Columbus 's repulsive actions made him enemies within his own colony and as well as in Europe. This lead to a rebellion in 1498. Soon after, the king and queen sent a royal investigator to evaluate the situation. Columbus was found guilty of numerous crimes against the native and the Spanish. He was arrested and sent back to Spain and was no longer in charge of his colony. Columbus remained in jail for about six weeks until King Ferdinand ordered his release. He died in 1506 at the age of 54. A man with a guilty conscience should not be