Christopher Columbus
Essay by review • February 20, 2011 • Essay • 573 Words (3 Pages) • 1,676 Views
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue." This childish rhyme refers to the
heroic efforts of the believed discoverer of the Americas. But who is Christopher
Columbus and how valiant were his discoveries? Was he a great hero, or was he
the world's largest zero? The answer to this radical question will astonish the
average American citizen. Christopher Columbus is a farce due to his hypocritical
out looks on religion, his approval of slavery, and the media's false depiction of
this so called hero.
Columbus is not a good and humble Christian man as the mass American
media portrays. Although Columbus preached the "good word" he very rarely
followed it. In his personal diaries Columbus predicted that the end of all
civilization was going to occur in 1650. Yet the Bible clearly states that the
second coming of the Lord could not be predicted for it comes like a thief in the
night. The 5th commandment obviously frowns upon the act of murder. Yet
Columbus and his fellow Spaniards often laid bets on which man could split a
Native American civilian in two. These moral values were also passed from his
generation to the next. The son of Columbus, Ferdinand, wrote a book entitled
"Indians and the Christians" intended to frighten the Native Americans. These are
not the values of a pure and holy man.
Secondly, Columbus also supported the enslavement of fellow human
beings. In fact, on October 12, 1942, Columbus wrote "...they are a people who
can be made free and converted to our Holy Faith. They ought to make good and
skilled servants." Is this a quote from an international hero? Due to the
enslavement of too many Native Americans Columbus put these innocent people
to work in mines and plantations located in the Caribbean which he and many
followers created. Aboard Columbus' slave ships hundreds died and were
thoughtlessly thrown into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. This is an act of pure
heartlessness and overwhelming ignorance.
Lastly, Columbus' unmarked reputation is not only false
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