...Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus born in Genoa Italy was the son of a skilled weaver. Columbus earned his chance when the king and queen of Spain agreed to finance his voyage to discover a new trade route connecting Spain with Asia. In 1492 He sailed across the Atlantic arriving instead in the Caribbean where he raped, killed, and enslaved innocent Natives. America’s memories are filled with symbols of adventure and bravery associated with Columbus, yet the facts behind the fiction have somehow been lost in a haze of patriotism. Columbus set out with three ships; the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria in search of Asia to find precious items such as gold and spices. Not realising that the Americas existed, Columbus first appeared in the Bahama Islands. When he first came in contact with the Arawak men and women, he entered into is log, “they would make fine servants… we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever they want” (pg 1). Columbus and his men coming from Spain had weapons that the Natives simply could not fight against, leaving them helpless and unable to fight they were mistreated and abused. Another example of Columbus abusing the natives is when he entered into his log, “as soon as I arrived… I took some of the natives by force” (pg 1). Columbus took some of the natives so that they might show him the land and where he might find gold, but instead of trying to communicate with these people he forcibly took them as slaves. “In...
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...Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 at Genoa. Genoa was a seaport that was on the Ligurian sea. His name was Cristoforo Colombo and that was translated into English as Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus had two brothers, which he was older than both. Christopher Columbus had little schooling just like most of the people during that age. Genoa was a busy seaport and Christopher Columbus learned much from the sailors. Christopher Columbus’s father was a poor weaver. Christopher Columbus worked with his father for a while, but his heart was set on sailing. (“Christopher Columbus.” The book of knowledge, 2000.) As soon as Christopher Columbus possibly could he went to sea. Christopher Columbus started with short fishing trips and worked his way up to longer trips with merchants that traded along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Christopher Columbus was intrigued by map making and geography, which he studied between trips. In Christopher Columbus’s twenties he made his first trip out of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. During that trip Christopher Columbus’s boat was attacked and was set on fire. The only way out was to swim; Christopher Columbus swam six miles back to shore by clinging to wreckage. (“Christopher Columbus.” The book of knowledge, 2000.) In 1476 Christopher Columbus move to Portugal. In Portugal he met Felipa Perestrello e Moniz. Felipa Perestrello e Moniz was the daughter of a respected, but relatively poor family. Shortly after they...
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...Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer; who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He was sailing, hoping to find a route to India to trade spices. He made four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492 – 1504. He figured, if he sails left of the world he can arrive to India faster. Firstly, Christopher Columbus sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. On this first trip, Christopher Columbus sailed on three ships. He sailed with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Each ship had a captain and 90 crew members. They set sail on August 3, 1492 from Palos, Spain. On October 11, 1492 they landed on the Caribbean Islands off Southeastern North America. They landed on a Island they called San Salvador. While exploring the Islands the met the Taino Indians. Most of them were captured by Columbus’ men for slavery. Christopher Columbus returned home to Spain on the Nina. Secondly, one the second trip ( September 25, 1493 – June 11, 1496), Christopher Columbus, traveled back with seventeen ships and twelve hundred to fifteen hundred men to find gold and capture the Indians; and make them slaves. They sailed around Hispaniola, and Southern Cuba. They found an Island, and named it Dominica; on November 3, 1493. On his third trip, ( May 30, 1498 – October 1500 ), Christopher Columbus sailed south, to Trinidad and Venezuela. He was the first European to set foot on the mainland of America; since the Vikings. On...
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...The Exploration of Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. He was the oldest of five children and the son of Domenico Colombo, a wool-comber and Susanna Fontanarossa. Columbus enjoyed the sea and spent much of his time as a child riding ships. Although he had little schooling he was a genius when it came to the sea. He later became a master navigator and admiral whose four transatlantic voyages opened the way for European exploration, exploitation, and colonization of the Americas. Columbus had a plan to prove the world was round and that there was a quick route to India. His goal was to find a route to the islands by sailing east in hopes of establishing a city for trade, seaports, and much more. Christopher Columbus departed on his first voyage on August 3, 1492. He departed from the port of Palos in southern Spain in command of three ships: the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. His crew was a group of men who he recruited from surrounding the towns of Lepe and Moguer. His flagship the Santa Maria had fifty-two men aboard while his other two ships held a maximum crew of eighteen men. Columbus reached the Bahamas on October 12 and proceeded toward Cuba on October 28. He continued eastward on the Santa Maria and Nina, arriving at Hispaniola on December 5. The flagship Santa Maria grounded on a reef Christmas Eve and sank the next day however Columbus used the remains of the ship to build a fort on shore which he named...
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...Christopher Columbus: The Original American Hero? Was Columbus a hero or a villain? Maybe it’s neither. Columbus was brave and daring, and did things that were important to world history. But he wasn’t heroic in the sense of displaying great moral qualities. Courage, while generally a good character trait, isn’t necessarily heroic or even highly honorable and praiseworthy unless it’s deployed in certain kinds of actions or causes. But he also wasn’t especially villainous in the sense of displaying particular evil qualities. His arrival in the Americas caused a great deal of death to American Indians, chiefly from disease. And it caused the subjugation and literal or virtual enslavement of the Indians. But this didn’t stem from Columbus’s being an unusually evil person. It stemmed from the brutality of the time, coupled with the contact between one culture that was much more powerful than another (and that carried many communicable diseases to which members of the other culture lacked resistance). I’m inclined to say that we shouldn’t celebrate Columbus Day, precisely because such national celebrations should be focused on honoring people who did things that were both especially important and especially honorable (such as veterans, President Washington, or Martin Luther King, Jr.) and not just on people who did things that were especially important. This might conceivably include not-necessarily-good people who did things that were unambiguously good. But European expansion...
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...Christopher Columbus and Modern World History For centuries, October 12th is the day of the year that all around the country citizens celebrate what the infamous Christopher Columbus had provided for future settlement when he landed in the Americas in 1492. On Columbus Day in 1898, the United States President, George W. Bush, had a simple opinion about Christopher Columbus that stated, “He set an example for us all by showing what monumental feats can be accomplished through perseverance and faith” (Robinson). Columbus is most well known for his discovery of the Americas but with this came so much more. From 1492 many accomplishments, discoveries, and plagues had left a mark in history. Following the discovery, the entire world had been influenced from the Columbian Exchange where a new trade route started between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. From the exchange, the chance to explore new cultures, foods and crops became a major opportunity. Though many people believe Columbus was a hero, there were some negative aspects about his voyages. Native American’s lifestyles changed drastically once the Spanish stepped foot on their territory. African and Native Americans were slaves that were forced to change their religion and culture. Also, the spread of diseases, no one thought existed, disrupted the population all over the world. Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure that impacted Modern World History. Many people debate if he is a hero or a villain. Whether people...
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...Christopher Columbus was born in Italy as the son of a weaver. He went to sea at the age of 14. He sailed for Portugal then he went to Spain to sail for the king and queen (Ferdinand II and Isabella). His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. The king and queen agreed to support this westward voyage to Asia as well as name him "admiral of the ocean seas" and governor of the lands he will discover. For his part, Columbus promised to spread the Christian faith to the people of the East and return with the gold, silver, and spices. He set sail on August 3rd of 1492 and on October 12th he landed on a Bahamian island that Columbus named San Salvador. He believed they had landed on the outlying islands of Asia. Thus making this trip the most successful failure to date. The Arawaks of the Bahama Islands were the natives that greeted Columbus when they finally landed Oct 12th of 1492. They much like the Indians on the mainland, who were remarkable for their hospitality and their belief in sharing. These were traits unappreciated by these new travelers from Renaissance Europe. The Arawaks lived in village communities and had developed agriculture of corn and yams. They could spin and weave, but they had no horses or work animals. They had no iron therefore no swords or pistols, but they did wear tiny gold ornaments in their ears. This led Columbus to take some of the Arawaks aboard ship as prisoners because he...
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...Christopher Columbus has been praised as a great man and a hero in some sorts to us all, while in reality; he is quite a controversial figure. What he accomplished is definitely significant and he should be praised for it but there are those who feel that he should be looked down upon for some of the things that he did while he discovered America. My personal opinion is that while I may not agree with some of the things that Columbus did and the way he treated the natives, he should still be praised for what he did By saying that I think Columbus should be praised for what he did I am not defending Columbus as a person. One thing that he did was stealing gold and silver from the areas he explored. To make matters worse the gold and silver that he stole did not benefit the Spanish economy, it only made the rich richer and the poor poorer. As if that weren’t t bad enough Columbus treated the Native Americans he ran into terribly. He enslaved and killed a number of natives and should be denounced for it. There is no excuse for the way he treated them. However, credit should be given where credit is due. Columbus made a mistake, a rather large one, but a mistake nevertheless. Although he shouldn’t has had such disregard for the natives, he did discover the New World and that is quite an accomplishment. While some may say that Columbus was not the first one to cross the Atlantic and that the Vikings had done it may years before, they are forgetting that when Columbus began colonization...
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...Some of the problems often seen in the portrayal of the Age of Exploration include the false portrayal of famed explorers like Christopher Columbus and the exclusion of the achievements of other cultures and races. To prove this falsification, we have this quote, “Most textbooks note the increase in international trade and commerce, and some relate the rise of nation-states under monarchies. Otherwise, they do a poor job of describing the changes in Europe that led to the Age of Exploration.” (35). According to this quote, the portrayal of the origins of Age of Exploration is poorly described in many textbooks. Often textbooks miss out on important information crucial to our education of the past. Another example would be the quote “When textbooks...
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...Christopher Columbus is one of the most widely renowned “explorers” throughout the world. For nearly 80 years, he has been celebrated through a holiday dedicated to him known as Christopher Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus was the first to set sail to the west across the Atlantic Ocean in order to find a new trade route to India. However, instead of finding the lands that he set out for, he discovered the already inhabited New World; with this discovery he brought death, disease, and destruction to the innocent natives that lived there. The natives were decimated and enslaved for gold, land, and workers by a man celebrated as a hero in society today for a failed exploration mission: Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was a man only interested in profit and used almost any means to get it. They treated the Indians as though they were “excrement on the public squares... thus depriving them of their lives and souls” (Document F). The lands were so rich and the natives so meek and patient that it was easy for Christopher Columbus to take advantage of them for his own selfish greed. Like the settlers, Columbus was there for one reason only:...
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...Chapter 1, Document 1, Christopher Columbus, Journal (1492) Christopher Columbus wrote the document. Christopher Columbus wanted to record his journey to America. The U.S. had yet to be found, but Christopher Columbus came and met with the natives there. Such encounter not only affected American history, but also had a great impact on the interaction between Europe and America. At first, we can see the imperialism at that time facilitated the discovery. To establish the colony, instead of using force, the Spanish were friendly by giving away cheap things such as glass beads and tried to preach the gospel to the natives. In return, natives innocently gave them parrots, gold which made the ambitious Spanish to come back again and again to...
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...the greatest, most powerful places that the world has ever seen. As Isrealmore Ayivor once said: “Every big castle was once started with a single block.” Many may wonder what was that single block that started the Americas. One of the most important ‘blocks’ in their discovery was Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the Americas had a interesting beginning, difficult, but rewarding journey, and lead to many significant events. The beginning of Christopher Columbus’ journey shows us that he is an incredibly stubborn explorer. From a young age, he was interested in how he could he could find a western route to Asia. He decided that he needed to discover if this route existed. He began his adventure by meeting with King John II and asked him to fund an excursion to try and discover these routes. He was denied but that did not stop him from trying his hardest to begin his journey. Next, he decided to ask King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to fund the excursion. He was denied multiple times. But luckily, after Spain conquered Granada, the King and Queen changed their mind. He began his journey on August 3, 1492 as he lead the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. For Christopher Columbus, leading these...
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...The book, A Young People’s of the History of the United States chapter 1, became an eye opener to me. I was somehow surprise to see how all my life I have portrayed Christopher Columbus as a hero. Throughout my life, my teachers have always mention the heroic part of Christopher Columbus, but neglected to mention other features about him that are not as great. For instance, the fact that he lied to the queen about being the first one to spot land and to see a lot of gold in that new land. In addition, he began exploiting Indians and using them as slaves. I feel as history is based on lies and on parts that best fit a nation/state. Although, I can understand why certain parts are omitted in elementary history books, it is still important for students to understand the full story....
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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...
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...Columbus betrayed the Native Americans more than once; therefore, he should be remembered as a villain rather than a hero. Throughout his voyages, Columbus continually made selfish decisions that only benefitted himself. He viewed the natives as “slaves” and knew that their loyalty would greatly benefit him (Doc 2). Christopher Columbus saw people differently and would try to find their weakness as soon as possible so that he could get information that could help him learn more about where he was (Doc 3). This would give him an advantage to knowing more about the location they were at and it would make it easier on himself and harder on the natives. If we look deeper, Columbus had no mercy and would do a lot of things, whether it be killing...
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