Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Columbus Essay

Submitted By 80618
Words: 345
Pages: 2
Open Document
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
Show More

Related Documents: Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Columbus Essay

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…

Words 341 - Pages 2

Columbus: Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Direct Order Essay

Honors 12 September 2012 The Evil Villain It is pretty obvious no matter which side you are on that Columbus is a bad man. I never knew that having about 15 million people dead/killed because of your voyage for gold is okay. It’s not. Columbus was under direct order from the king but that doesn’t matter he could have easily only done that and avoid all contact with the indigenous population. Columbus could have easily just left the natives alone or sneak around them, I understand curiosity but if…

Words 347 - Pages 2

Essay on Columbus: Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and European Explorers

In the chapter “Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress”, Howard Zinn, the author, shows how the European explorers’ discovery of the Americas affected the natives of the newly found land. Despite the hospitality the natives came forward with, the Europeans killed them and erased their civilization. In some cases, the decline in the number of natives did not physically involve the Europeans at all. Although the explorers had variety of impact on the indigenous people, they all left similar significant…

Words 482 - Pages 2

Essay on Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Christopher Columbus

we have done in Christopher Columbus . And what he did to get the honor that we give him but he dose not deserve . My example is when he sailed from Spain to north American and killed all the Indians in is search for gold . If the Indians say they don't have gold at we they should not get killed for it .In 1492 the sail to the Bahama's a sailor named Rodrigo spotted the moon light shinning on land and said “It was an Island in the Caribbean sea”.But Christopher Columbus claimed he saw it the night…

Words 351 - Pages 2

Columbus Day Research Paper

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…

Words 654 - Pages 3

Columbus Day Benefits

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…

Words 140 - Pages 1

Should We Celebrate Columbus Day

celebrate Columbus Day or Indigenous People’s Day?” I think that we should celebrate Columbus day because: Going back to when Christopher Colombus was alive he was the first person to sail from Europe, to America. One example of this is in the article on NewsEla titled: “PRO/CON: Should we celebrate Christopher Columbus?” “Columbus Was the first person to sail from Europe to America. He reached America in 1492.” This is one of the main reasons that we should keep on celebrating Columbus day. Another…

Words 256 - Pages 2

Should We Celebrate Columbus Day Research Paper

Should we Celebrate Columbus Day? The United States celebrates Columbus Day as the day that Christopher Columbus ‘Discovered’ America, in 1492, and the holiday can be traced back to the 18th century (History.com Editors, 2024). However, there were already Native Americans living in America before Christopher Columbus came. Not only did Christopher Columbus ‘discover’ America, but he and his crew forced the Native Americans already living there into slavery, and ruined their way of life. Additionally…

Words 339 - Pages 2

Does Christopher Columbus Deserve To Have A Holiday?

Does Christopher Columbus really deserve to have a holiday? The only other holiday that belongs to a person is Martin Luther KIng Jr. Truthfully, Columbus wasn't the guy to discover America. It was really Leif Ericson. He actually discovered america 400 years before Columbus! While Columbus was on his voyage he encountered indigenous people. Columbus thought of the indigenous people as obstacles in his way. His way to solve this was to practically slaughter them. The population dropped outrageously…

Words 252 - Pages 2

Why We Should Celebrate Columbus Day

for the glory of God.” once stated Columbus. (Columbus). Columbus Day has been celebrated in the United States since 1937. October 12, 1942 is the day that is celebrated every year because of the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. Columbus is a man worthy of honoring because his discovery lead to the founding of the United States of America which is the worlds greatest nation. Although many say that we should not have a day to celebrate just Columbus, he is an important historical figure…

Words 569 - Pages 3