Research Paper on "Christopher Columbus - Hero or Villain?"

Research Paper 4 pages (1446 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Indeed, a coverage of the Spanish conquest by History.com says it quite succinctly when they say that "as histories have continued to learn and write more about the real life of Christopher Columbus, controversy has arisen over the validity of honoring the explorer as a hero." Indeed, History.com explains that Columbus' one and true mission was to "find riches and conquer new lands." Columbus and his men truly felt that the people already present in the Americas were "obstacles" to them going precisely that. There were three things in particular that Columbus knowingly or unknowingly did that make him a villain in the eyes of many. The first thing was that he intentionally and knowingly enslaved the people that were present in the encountered in the Americas. Second, he knowingly and intentionally propagated the tactic of forcibly converting the people of the area to Christianity rather than allowing them to honor and follow their own faiths, provided they had any. Lastly, there were a lot of diseases and sicknesses that were known and spread around Europe and between Europeans that were not the least bit present in the Americas (History). A more modern-day example would be Ebola. The current strains of the Ebola virus are mostly contained to West Africa. However, there have been some isolated cases that have made it to the United States (and other places) and it has created a frenzy when it has happened (CDC). One should bear in mind that the time of Columbus was more than five centuries ago and well before the modern medicine we know of today. As such, the indigenous people of the Americas were forcibly converted to Christianity, were forced into slavery and were exposed to illnesses that their bodies had no inherent way of fighting due to lack of antibodies and such against those viruses (History).

As if the enslavement and forcible religious conversions are not bad enough, the indigenous people were exposed to direct and very violent brutality at the hands of the conquering force that arrived with Columbus. Columbus himself was part of this nasty process. On his first day on new land, he found six indigenous people standing around and he basically confiscated them to be his servants. Columbus also personally enacted a series of policies that involved forced labor that always seemed to involve the natives doing all the hard work for the profits of the expedition and the Spanish crown. The effects rendered on the Indians were devastating. As an example, there about a quarter million Taino Indians present when Columbus landed. Through abuse in the Americas as well as many of the Taino being put on ships and sent back to Spain to be sold as slaves, only a couple hundred Taino were left just sixty years after Columbus arrived. In other words, the population figures for the Taino went from about a quarter million in 1492 to about two to three hundred by 1550, not even three generations later. Something else that Columbus did was in reaction to an Indian revolt on the island of Hispaniola in what is now the Dominican Republic. When the revolt happened, it was stomped out with brutal force in the form of killing a lot of native Indians (History)

Conclusion

Even if the Spanish crown technically empowered Columbus to do what he did for a time, there was some backlash eventually. His behavior was not looked upon fondly by many in Spain and this is precisely why he was deposed from much of his prestige between this third and fourth voyages to Spain, as mentioned in passing before. He was actually forcibly detained during his third voyage and returned to Spain, although he was eventually released. He did make a fourth voyage after he lost a lot of his power. Just like Columbus fell out of favor with Spain, the people of today should learn his history but not be awestruck or impressed by it (History).

Works Cited

BBC. 'BBC - History - Christopher Columbus'. Bbc.co.uk. N.p., 2015. Web. 23 July 2015.

CDC. '2014 Ebola Outbreak In West Africa| Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever | CDC'. CDC.gov. N.p., 2015. Web. 23 July 2015.

History. 'Columbus Controversy - Exploration - HISTORY.Com'. HISTORY.com.… READ MORE

How to Reference "Christopher Columbus - Hero or Villain?" Research Paper in a Bibliography

Related Research Papers:

Christopher Columbus -- a Hero? Research Paper

Christopher Columbus -- a Hero? Or Not.

The legacy of Christopher Columbus -- in many people's minds -- entails bravery, heroism, courage and resolve. But does this man really deserve… read more

Research Paper 5 pages (1577 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: World History

---

Columbus' Two Letters Regarding His Voyages Term Paper

Columbus Letters

THE LETTERS of COLUMBUS on HIS VOYAGES

Between 1492 and 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote two important letters pertaining to what he had discovered in the "New World" and… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (698 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA Topic: Latin America / Mexico / Caribbean

---

Heroes Hercules Term Paper

As a result of the pain caused by the blood he kills himself. Similar is the case with Jason who cheated on his wife Medea because he got bored of… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (2080 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Mythology / Folklore / Science Fiction

---

Columbus in Retrospect What's Your Gut Reaction Book Report

Columbus in Retrospect

What's your gut reaction to the reading?

My gut reaction to the reading is that it confirms the other literature detailing the brutality with which Western "explorers"… read more

Book Report 2 pages (545 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Latin America / Mexico / Caribbean

---

Hero Has the Ability to Face Adverse Essay

Hero has the ability to face adverse situations without any fear. They put the well-being of others before their own well-being. They do not necessarily have to be physically strong… read more

Essay 15 pages (4555 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>