Columbus - Hero Or Villain?

1 Pages 315 Words

Christopher Columbus is known to many as the man who discovered the Americas. His accomplishment is even celebrated by Americans on the day referred to as Columbus Day. But this day is not a day of celebration for everyone. There are two powerful “myths” regarding Columbus that Fernandez-Armesto describes in his article, “Columbus – Hero or Villain.” Columbus’ discovery is a well known fact to many people, but there are some people who believe that Columbus was guilty of slavery and of genocide to the natives of the New World.
These two myths originated from what was left of documentation that was kept during Columbus’ time. It is believed by some that the natives were enslaved by Columbus once he reached the New World. An even bolder accusation against Columbus is that he committed genocide against the natives of the New World. But as it says in Fernando-Armesto’s article, these myths are false - as Columbus acknowledged the natives as ‘the wealth of the land’. A document written by Columbus to his first deputy stated that no harm would be done to the natives, nothing would be taken against their will, and the principle thing was that the natives must be taken care of.
Fernando-Armesto states in his article that, “Myths are versions of the past which people believe in for irrational motives--usually because they feel good or find their prejudices confirmed.” Because there is no solid proof that Columbus did not commit these acts of slavery and genocide against the natives, people still choose to believe that that is what actually happened. But in the end, it really does not matter if you perceive Columbus as a hero or a villain, because we do have irrefutable proof of one thing. In 1492, Columbus discovered the New World, and that’s all that really matters....