The story of Christopher Columbus is told to every elementary student. Christopher Columbus sailed over the ocean and discovered America in the year 1492. The kids are told that he is a heroic figure. Columbus has an American holiday in his honor that is held on the 2nd Monday of every October to celebrate the anniversary. Columbus was a native of Genoa in 1451. This is what we now call Northwestern Italy. In Spain, he convinced Spain’s monarchy to finance an expedition to discover a new trading route to Asia (what Europeans at the time called Indies). In 1492, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean with three ships: Santa Maria, Pinta, Nina. He settled on an island near the Bahamas today. In the period 1492-1504, he made four voyages to South America and Caribbean. Columbus has been widely credited with helping to lay the foundations for European colonization. In school, children don’t get to learn about all the terrible acts that Columbus committed during his voyages. Christopher Columbus is not a heroic figure. Columbus was not the first European traveler to the New World.
Columbus’ first voyage was to seek a new, safe route from Europe to China, India and Japan. But he failed to do so. At the end 15th century, traveling from Europe to Asia was a very difficult task. The abundance of silk, gold and spices in Asia attracted many Europeans. There were many hostile armies on the way, and it was an arduous journey. Portuguese had solved this issue by using sea. The Portuguese sailed along the west African coast and around Cape of Good Hope. Columbus wanted a faster, safer way to Asia. So he sailed west across Atlantic Ocean. Columbus was able to land on a mysterious island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador. He thought he had reached an island off the coast of China but in fact he had landed on South America. Columbus called his native people “Indians”, as he thought he reached Indies. Columbus and the men travelled to Cuba and Hispaniola for several months. Hispaniola and Cuba were viewed as Japan by Columbus. Columbus returned to Spain in 1513 after establishing Villa de la Navidad on the island of Haiti. Columbus returned to the Americas on three other occasions, but never realized that his ship had gone in the opposite direction. Christopher Columbus is often credited with being the first European to land in America. However, Leif Erikson, an explorer from Norway, was the one who actually landed there. Leif Erikson of the Norse is considered the first European who reached North America. He did so around 500 years prior to Columbus. Leif Erikson is not known for his exact details, but historians do believe that he grew up in Greenland and was raised by Icelanders around 970 A.D. Erikson left Greenland for Norway in around 1000 A.D. Olaf I of Tryggvason converts him to Christianity. Olaf gave him the task of spreading Christianity in Greenland. Erikson lived according to one account. On the way back from Greenland his ships drifted and landed on the coasts in North America at a place named Vinland. A second account claims that Erikson learned of Vinland through Bjarni Hejlfsson. This seamen is believed to have been the first European who saw the east coast. This account implies that Erikson intentionally sailed into North America. Erikson first landed in Helluland, a barren, icy area which he named. Baffin Island today is thought to have been this region. Then he went on to another region called Markland. This is thought to be central Labrador in Canada today. Erikson returned to Greenland after building houses in Vinland. Over the years, there has been much debate about Vinland’s exact location. Helge Andersen and Anne Stine were the Norwegian explorers who discovered remnants of Viking settlements in Canada’s northernmost province of Newfoundland during the 1960s. The excavations made what was once a largely fictional story into reality after a period of time. The Vikings are the first Europeans who set foot on the New World.
Christopher Columbus’ treatment of indigenous people he met on his journeys is one of the most controversial aspects of his life. Columbus first landed in the Bahamas on an Arawak-inhabited island. Columbus’ crew was greeted by gifts the first time they landed. The Arawaks welcomed the Europeans with open arms. He mistakenly interpreted their generosity as weakness or ignorance, and took some natives into his army to gain information about the country. Columbus promised Spain, in return to fund his journeys, that he’d bring back spices and gold. He received ten per cent of profits as well as the governorship and noble title of the new land. He tried to get rich by using natives. Columbus took prisoners of the Arawaks who wore gold earrings in their ears. They would then take the gold to the gold source. After sailing from Hispaniola to Cuba, Columbus discovered gold in rivers. He was also given a gold-plated mask by the local chief. Columbus was led to believe, incorrectly, that there were gold fields in the New World. He continued to use natives to search for gold during his entire journey. Many of the natives who were with him on his first voyage died during the trip. Columbus’s sailors, who stayed behind at Villa de la Navidad in Spain, used children and women for sexual exploitation and as slaves. Columbus’ next voyage was to find gold and more slaves. He ordered all Haitians over 14 to collect gold every 3 months. The copper tokens that were put around the necks of those who collected gold were provided. Natives without tokens were usually left to bleed until death. The Europeans took natives as slaves after they realized that there was no gold left to be found. The natives had to work so hard they eventually died. Columbus forced the natives into Christianity. Columbus’ expeditions to New World brought diseases such as measles and smallpox to the natives. These diseases were already familiar to Europeans, who had developed immunity. The Europeans may not have intended it, but the diseases decimated indigenous populations.
Columbus remains a popular hero even though his controversy is more widely publicized. The Americas were discovered by Columbus accidentally, which allowed Europe new land to be settled and expanded. It is true that other European explorers could have reached the Americas sooner than Columbus because of the technological advances in Europe at the time. Colonization of America had terrible consequences for natives who lived there for years before Columbus arrived. Columbus’ biggest achievement was to start the Columbian exchange. The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of people, goods, livestock, ideas, and diseases between the New World and Europe. This exchange had many positive outcomes. This exchange helped to improve the economy and agriculture of people around the world by introducing new livestock and foods. Also, new technologies and ideas were spread across the globe. This helped advance society. Columbian Exchange also brought about negative effects. In order to produce the new foods that were being developed, slave labor was needed in greater numbers. Both the New World people and Europeans contracted diseases.
Christopher Columbus wasn’t the hero children think he was. Columbus’ voyages were funded by Spain to find a new route to Asia. However, he never did. He falsely claimed to have succeeded and told the Spanish court so. Columbus didn’t even discover Americas in Europe as is commonly believed. Leif Erikson is credited with being the first Norseman to land in America, five centuries earlier than Columbus. In the 20th century, evidence was found that proved the Vikings were first Europeans who reached the New World. His moral character is the last thing to disprove Columbus’s heroism. During his journeys, he was cruel to the natives he encountered. He brutally captured many natives. Forced them to convert. Cut off their limbs if they could not locate the gold. Introduced a wide range of deadly diseases. Christopher Columbus is not considered a hero in school. By learning about his negative acts, students will be able to view him differently. Our understanding will be improved.
