The Influence Of Christopher Columbus

In the article by Howard Zinn, "Columbus, the Indian, and Human progress" hidden and real information about Columbus ' exploration of Americas was revealed. All the history textbooks we used in school present Columbus as a great hero, but this article has revealed and exposed the real intentions of Columbus’s Voyage. After reading this article, the very first thing that got my attention is; Columbus wanted gold and wealth, and not exploring or getting information about the new world. The information Columbus wanted most when he reached the Indies, was how to gain access to the gold. Secondly, I was surprised when I found out that, Rodrigo was the first person that discovered the island in the Bahamas. Because people weren’t told the actual truth, the credit and reward was given to Columbus. The

First, I found it interesting to know that Columbus was not the first person who actually found the "new world"; people from different continents had reached Americas many times before him. The second interesting thing was, several textbooks claim Europe was becoming richer and that the new wealth led to more trade. But actually, historian Angus Calder pointed out "Europe was smaller and poorer in the fifteenth country than it had been in the thirteenth". The third thing I found interesting was, not even a single text book mentioned arms as a cause of European world domination, even though it was. The fourth thing I found interesting was out of twelve book surveyed only two mention the possibility of African or Phoenician exploration. The text book supplies no relevant information and claims. Students are not getting valid information about history. The last thing I found interesting was for a long time text books hide from people the role that people of color have played in exploration. Text books simply celebrate Columbus, rather than teach both side of his