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Christopher Columbus Thesis

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Thesis: Christopher Columbus enslaved Indians for gold and labor, and brought them to Spain to sell and created a mass genocide, killing thousands of Indians.

Christopher Columbus was made out to be a hero by some. He was an excellent sailor, found gold in new lands, and had a superb faith in god. But was he really such a good guy?
Christopher Columbus was not always a truthful person. A sailor by the name of Rodrigo saw the moon shining on white sand, an island in the Bahamas. The first man to see land was to get a yearly pension of 10,000 maravedis for life, but Rodrigo did not get this. Christopher claims he saw land the evening before, and claimed the reward. He also took the Indians as slaves, and in his report to the Majesties claimed …show more content…
He enslaved the Indians, and made them lead him to the gold. He only wanted the gold, because the Queen made a deal with Columbus, saying if he brought back gold and spices, she would give him ten percent of the profit, governorship over new found lands, and the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea. Not only did he enslave the Indians to find gold, but kept them as slaves to send to the Majesties. He was then given seventeen ships and more than 1,200 men for his second expedition. In 1495, Columbus and his men went on a slave raid, rounding up 15 hundred Indians, and put them in pens guarded by dogs and Spaniards. Then proceeded to pick five hundred of the best Indians to load onto …show more content…
Not only did he enslave them and force them to find gold for him, he also brought disease that Indians were not immune to. This was a mass genocide for the Indians. Taking the Indians by slave also killed them off. He gave them an impossible task; to collect gold when the only gold around were bits of dust from the streams. They tried to leave, were hunted down with dogs, and killed. When the Spaniards took prisoners, they hanged or burned them. Mass Indian suicides began. The infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. After two years of this cycle, half of the 250,000 Indians were dead.
In conclusion, Christopher Columbus was not a hero, but a villain. From lying to get rewards for his benefit, to the mass Indian genocide, he was an atrocious man. Many people defend him, claiming he is heroic, but I see nothing heroic in murdering and enslaving humans for one man’s benefit. Christopher only took the expedition to get rewards for

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