Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Columbus Essay

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LE
Mr. Lee
Dual US History
28 August 2014 Christopher Columbus is best known for being the first person to discover America but what most people don’t know is that he didn’t discover America first and wasn’t as kind as people portrayed him to be. The actual first European to discover America was a Viking, Leif Ericson, he founded a Norse village nearly 500 years before Columbus even set sail. Columbus also showed his immatureness when on board his ship a sailor named Rodrigo was the first to sight the land ahead but Columbus took credit for it and received 10,000 maravedis for life. The tides turned a little on him though when this newly discovered land ended up being an island in the Bahamas and not the Indies like Columbus expected.
When Columbus set foot on the new land he met the Arawaks, who were natives on the island and had never seen anything like these Europeans before. The Arawaks were amazed by them and acted with hospitality by giving the Europeans many of their goods. Although Columbus was thankful for their kindness he was too caught up in thinking about their well-built features and perfect fit for a slave. Like he said in his journal, “They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Columbus used the natives as slaves to guide him to the gold he told his king and queen he would bring back home. He also used the natives as a way to persuade the king and queen to send more funding and boats in

Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Columbus Essay

Christopher Columbus is best known for being the first person to discover America but what most people don’t know is that he didn’t discover America first and wasn’t as kind as people portrayed him to be. The actual first European to discover America was a Viking, Leif Ericson, he founded a Norse village nearly 500 years before Columbus even set sail. Columbus also showed his immatureness when on board his ship a sailor named Rodrigo was the first to sight the land ahead but Columbus took credit…

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I’m on the side with changing Columbus day to Indigenous peoples day. Indigenous peoples day is celebrates Native Americans and challenges the idea that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. Columbus day honors Christopher Columbus and his arrival in the Americas in 1492. Native Americans lived here as long as anyone could remember. Columbus Day has been criticized for celebrating the discovery of a place that was already inhabited and because Columbus himself is considered responsible for…

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An Undeserved Celebration Columbus convinced Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to finance his voyage in search of a western route to India. About two months into his voyage, he landed in the Bahamas where he met the Arawak Indians. There are several common misconceptions about Columbus due to the way that schools portray him. He was not nearly as great of a man as many people think. Columbus Day should not be a national holiday, because Columbus did not discover America. He was a cruel man who killed…

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