Christopher Columbus Research Paper

Words: 1250
Pages: 5

The Truth about Christopher Columbus On the 12th of October in 1492, an Italian and possibly Jewish explorer made a contract with the Spanish king and queen. In this contract, the businessman promised to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to find a new trade route to Asia (Carle 107). However, instead of finding the East Indies, the captain and his 90 men found the islands of the Bahamas. When this man and his crew returned to Spain, they were named heroes. This hero, who was the first European in 600 years to set foot on the Americas, as well as the man who would kick off the Age of Discovery, was Admiral Christopher Columbus (Carle 108). Over 500 years later, the once heroic and divine father of exploration is now hailed as a murderer and a brute. Any attempt at dignifying …show more content…
Charles Barron, who serves as an assemblyman on the New York City Council, explains how, “it’s absolutely essential that we recognize the contributions that indigenous people have made to our society, both in recent and distant memory” (Shabazz 36). The Indigenous people of the Americas, like the Tano, have made innumerable sacrifices and changes to their culture to get to where they are today, and a holiday to commemorate that is the least that can be done. These arguments make good points, but it is important to understand that “Columbus Day” is not just a day off from school that highlights a man’s accomplishments five hundred years ago. The “Columbus Day” is about the basic principle of human nature to explore and learn about the world around them. If everyone condemns Columbus for exploring, then what incentivizes other future learners to explore if the explorers before them are heavily looked down upon? Additionally, “Columbus Day” was one of the first U.S. holidays when it was created by former president Benjamin Harrison in 1892 (Biden