Pros And Cons Of Columbus

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To discovery who Columbus really was is surprising as almost everything about him has become a universal lie, but the actual truth is not surprising when compared to similar historical events, although horrible. Columbus first treated the natives with cruelty, and saw nothing past the gold in their ears, and their giving nature. Even Columbus’ accomplishments and everything he is famed for is a lie, which is why we should not continue celebrating Columbus.
The first discovery of Columbus’ New World was in the Bahamas where Arawaks exuded hospitality towards the foreign Spaniards; they even swam out to the boats with gifts(Zinn, 3). Immediately Columbus, being a businessman who owed the king and queen a large debt, appraised the indians like cattle- “well-built, with good bodies...They would make
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This does not mean that we should still honor this pseudo Columbus today, as none of his accomplishments were his own. Columbus was not a revolutionary thinker, but according to Mann, Columbus instead made incorrect claims on the earth’s size and shape.(19) He did start “The Columbian Exchange”(Mann, 7) which brought goods to different parts of the world, but he also brought invasive fauna\flora to places that could disrupt the natural ecosystems. Most notably was the increase in fire ants after planting sweet crops; “The hordes of ants swarmed through houses, blackening roofs ‘as if they had been sprayed with charcoal dust,’.”(Mann, 13) Finally, and most importantly, the Americas, Canada, was first found by the Vikings.(Mann, 4) The main differences between Columbus and the Vikings is that the Vikings were indeed explorers who intended on finding new lands, and that Columbus was a representative of a competitive and imperialists European