Today, Christopher Columbus is primarily viewed as an important historic figure
and a hero for his famous voyages in the 1400’s. However, many people to this day
still debate whether he should be known as a hero or a villain. In my opinion,
Christopher Columbus should not be considered a hero. A hero is somebody who
performs good deeds for the sake of others, and not for their own benefit.
Christopher Columbus just wanted to find gold and riches for himself and the
country of Spain. I believe he is a villain because he took full advantage of the
Arawak community. He treated the Arawak’s terribly using them as slaves and he
wiped out the entire community.
In October of 1492, when Christopher Columbus stepped foot on the Island
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As their kind and nurturing nature, they traded everything
they owned. Christopher saw how naive this community was and instantly thought
just how great they would be as slaves. Although the Arawak’s outnumbered
Columbus and his men by a large amount, the Arawak’s believed in peace, and were
not at the same military level. They had never been exposed to weapons before; they
were not able to stand up for themselves, “I showed them a sword and they took it
by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance”. (1) Columbus’s main goal of this
voyage was to find gold; “It led Columbus to take some of them aboard his ship as
prisoners because he insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold.” (1) This
shows Columbus’s ignorance towards other people and his use of a militaristic
approach due to capturing innocent people. Columbus has not only caused problems
in his era but also to this day. Today Natives are still constantly struggling socially
because they have been overlooked for so long, some could argue beginning first
with Columbus and Colonization.
In September of 1493, when Columbus set sail for his second voyage, he became
much more aggressive towards the Arawak’s since he had already captured