Blog #9: Columbus

Blog #9: Columbus


After receiving funds from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492. He was searching for India, and was trying to find a route to help bring back goods to Spain. However, 33 days after leaving, instead of finding a path to India, Columbus reached land in America- the New World. After making landfall, he influenced both the natives as well as his mother country. He was both a villain and a hero, but a villain to a greater extent than a hero.
                           
Christopher Columbus was much more of a villain than a hero. This mainly is because of his treatment of the natives, who he named Indians. His initial reaction after seeing them for the first time was to make them slaves. Columbus himself even wrote that “They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” He would force them to obtain the amount of wealth he had promised the Spanish government he had found, and if they couldn’t, they were brutally murdered. They were mutilated, burned, bled out, hung, or fed to dogs by the Spaniards. Columbus implemented the Encomienda system, and was so cruel to natives that he even forced them to carry the Spanish on their backs, making them feel incredibly low. Also, how Columbus treated the Arawaks (natives of where he landed) led to the abuse of many other native tribes by European conquerors in the future. This mistreatment and murdering of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans demonstrates how, to a greater extent, Columbus was a villain.

On the other hand, Christopher Columbus was also a hero. ­He landed in America in 1492, and established a connection between the New World and the Old World that has been incredibly influential every since. The Columbian Exchange was even named after Columbus, and allowed for the exchange of crops, goods, and animals for centuries to come. This connection has allowed for the development of many nations, including America. It is undeniable that without Christopher Columbus, America would not be where it is today. However, although Columbus was a hero in that he established a link across the Atlantic, it was to a much lesser an extent than he was a villain.



 Image result for columbus
Christopher Columbus




 Image result for lewis and clark
Lewis and Clark (synthesis):
Lewis and Clark set out in 1804 to explore the Louisiana Purchase, recently acquired from France. This was similar to Columbus as they were exploring for the head of their country (Jefferson). However, Lewis and Clark had good relations with the natives they encountered, unlike Columbus, and most likely would not have survived without them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LAD/Blog #2: Peter Zenger

Image
LAD/Blog #2: Peter Zenger #1: Who was Peter Zenger? John Peter Zenger was the printer of the New-York Weekly Journal, the Province's first independent newspaper. He was one of just a few skilled printers of that area during his time. He printed some controversial material regarding Governor William Cosby in the 1730s, and, as a result, was charged with seditious libel. #2:What was the controversy over his charges? There was a lot of controversy over Zenger's charges. The most difficult part was that the truth of the statements that he printed didn't matter, and, he didn't even write those statements. The Cosby administration decided to take action against him because without him, they thought, the paper would not have been printed. However, he was not the person who crafted those statements; therefore it was controversial that he went to court. If the jury found Zenger responsible for the libelous material, Judges De Lancey and Philipse (allies of Cosby) would
Read more

LAD/Blog #35: Home was a Horse Stall

Image
LAD 35: Home was a Horse Stall The story of Sox and her family, especially during WWII, is extremely sad and heart-wrenching. On February 19, 1942, FDR passed Executive Order 9066, establishing military areas across the West Coast, and limiting activities in them, as well as later the Civilian Exclusion Order No. 27, which said that “all persons of Japanese ancestry” were not allowed on the West Coast. One of the first parts of the story that was tough to read was when the news came about Pearl Harbor, and it said that Yumi’s “native country was now the enemy.” It was hard to see how Japanese Americans were forced to stay away from certain shops, and were discriminated against- the “land of the free” wasn’t really that. Another part that was shocking was reading about the conditions these innocent people were forced to live in- dirty horse stalls with bathrooms far away, and without the great majority of their belongings. It was terrible to see how these people were treated, just bec
Read more

LAD/Blog #38: Truman Doctrine

Image
LAD #38: Truman Doctrine On March 12th, 1947, President Harry Truman announced what is known as the Truman Doctrine. Following WWII and the rise of the USSR as a global superpower, America became worried about the spread of communism, and adopted a policy of “containment” in regards to it. Truman issued the Truman Doctrine to address this, regarding the regions of Greece and Turkey. He begins by saying how Greece has sent an “urgent appeal for financial and economic assistance.” He says that Greece doesn’t have very many natural resources, and had a really hard time during WWII. He says that now, Greece doesn’t have enough funds to rebuild and finance imports to help themselves. He also said that Greece was being threatened by communists, and couldn’t defend themselves- they needed our help, and had nobody else to turn to (Britain had helped them, but couldn’t any longer). He said that we had to preserve democracy there, and everywhere. He then spoke about Turkey, and said they were in
Read more