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Was Christopher Columbus a Hero or Villain?

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Columbus Day churns up a stormy sea of controversy every year: Was Christopher Columbus a gifted navigator or reckless adventurer?

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NewsELA article

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The Transform Columbus Day Alliance minces no words in its distaste for the Columbus Day holiday.

"The Columbus legacy is steeped in blood, violence and death," the organization says on its website.

"The Transform Columbus Day Alliance actively rejects the celebration of Christopher Columbus and his legacy of domination, oppression and colonialism.

"We also reject historical misconceptions regarding Columbus and his 'discovery' of the Americas."

Susan Taylor, a University of Houston-Victoria lecturer in history, said history shows flaws in many stories about Columbus.

"Most of the stories that people in the U.S. know about Columbus (and are still taught in our elementary schools) aren't historically accurate," she said.

"For example, the story about how people in the Middle Ages thought that the world was flat and that Columbus would sail off the edge if he went west across the Atlantic, that's not at all true."

People in the Middle Ages believed that the earth was spherical, she said, and knew its circumference within 1 percent of its actual size, thanks to the Greek philosopher Eratosthenes.

"There are also issues with Columbus' own accounts of his exploration; he wasn't always honest about what he was doing and what he found," Taylor said.

And he was a slave trader.

Columbus and his men enslaved many native inhabitants of the West Indies and subjected them to extreme violence and brutality, according to the History.com website.

"Columbus' own logs and letters are also controversial because in his first description of the indigenous peoples he met in the Caribbean, he wrote that they would be easy to conquer and subjugate and would make good servants," said Taylor.

"Some people believe that we should celebrate the beginning of that contact, while others believe that we should keep in mind that it also meant the beginning of conflict between Europeans and Native Americans."

Carlos Garcia Jr., of Victoria, who works in quality control at a pipe-fitting company, agrees with Taylor's points.

"If more people would dig into his history, they probably wouldn't celebrate it," he said.

"It's more important to some than to others."

Victoria electrician Elissa Emmons says there are others more deserving of the recognition.

"I don't think Columbus should have a holiday," she said.

"There are more important people who should be recognized, like Amerigo Vespucci. America is named after him."

Vespucci was another Italian explorer who took part in early voyages to the New World.
PRO: Columbus Day meaningful to Italian-Americans
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CON: Columbus' legacy 'steeped in blood, violence and death' - Victoria Advocate

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The Transform Columbus Day Alliance minces no words in its distaste for the Columbus Day holiday. "The Columbus legacy is steeped in blood, violence and death," the organization says on its website. "The Transform Columbus Day Alliance actively rejects the celebration of Christopher Columbus and his legacy of domination, oppression and colonialism.

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For Americans of Italian heritage, there is no doubt Christopher Columbus should be honored with a national holiday.

"As the biggest and oldest national organization for people of Italian heritage, the Sons of Italy in America strongly supports celebrating the federal holiday of Columbus Day for several reasons," said Dona De Sanctis, director of communications for the organization.

"First, the day commemorates the remarkable achievement of a skilled 15th-century Italian sea captain whose voyages opened permanent communication between Europe and the Americas," she said.

"Second, Columbus Day is the only holiday that recognizes the contributions, achievements and sacrifices of this nation's estimated 26 million men and women of Italian descent, the fifth largest ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau."

San Francisco claims the nation's oldest continuously existing celebration, with the Italian-American community's annual Columbus Day parade that started in 1868, while New York City boasts the largest, according to the Columbus Citizens Foundation.

Historian Bill Foster, of Cuero, also believes honoring Columbus is acceptable but emphasizes what his exploration did for bringing the world a little closer together.

"It should remind us that Native Americans were here first; that's the right thing to do, historically," Foster said. "We 'met' because of Columbus. Columbus closed the gap.

"It can be celebrated, but we need to look at it in a larger perspective - West meets East. We can all use more education on that."

De Sanctis added that Columbus' efforts should be recognized for another reason, similar to Foster's reasoning.

"Columbus matters for a third and even more important reason," she said.

"After him came millions of other Europeans who brought their art, music, science, medicine, philosophy, law and religious principles to America.

"Columbus matters because Greek democracy, Roman law, Judeo-Christian ethics and the tenet that all men are created equal are European contributions that helped create the nation we live in today."

Jessica Ham, a skating car hop from Edna, agrees.

"I think Columbus should be honored with a holiday," said Ham, whose birthday falls on Columbus Day this year.

"Sure, he went the wrong way, but some of my greatest achievements came from my mistakes."
CON: Columbus' legacy 'steeped in blood, violence and death'
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PRO: Columbus Day meaningful to Italian-Americans - Victoria Advocate

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For Americans of Italian heritage, there is no doubt Christopher Columbus should be honored with a national holiday. "As the biggest and oldest national organization for people of Italian heritage, the Sons of Italy in America strongly supports celebrating the federal holiday of Columbus Day for several reasons," said Dona De Sanctis, director of communications for the organization.

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Happy Bartolomé Day.

Sources:

All of the information in this essay came from A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, and Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen, both of which uses primary sources such as eyewitness accounts, journal entries, and letters from Christopher Columbus himself.

A very important note about Bartolomé de las Casas and the African slave trade

This issue keeps coming up and, despite my footnotes, I keep seeing commentary about it so I'm going to address it here.
Initially, Bartolomé de las Casas advocated the use of African slaves instead of native labor. In the first few years after he renounced his land and title, his initial cause was to end the suffering of the natives, rather than seeking an end to the institution of slavery itself, and so this became his deplorable rationale for the endorsement of African slavery. Bartolomé de las Casas eventually retracted those views, however, and came to see all forms of slavery as being equally wrong. In The History of the Indies published in 1527, he wrote the following:

I soon repented and judged myself guilty of ignorance. I came to realize that black slavery was as unjust as Indian slavery...
and I was not sure that my ignorance and good faith would secure me in the eyes of God.

I know that the discovery of the New World means a lot of different things to a lot of different cultures. I like the sound of Bartolomé Day. If you don't like that, call it Indigenous People's Day. Or perhaps Chris-Columbus-was-a-turd Day. I'd even settle for just calling it MONDAY.

But please, oh please

do not call it Columbus Day.

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Christopher Columbus was awful (but this other guy was not) - The Oatmeal

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Happy Bartolomé Day. Sources: All of the information in this essay came from A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, and Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen, both of which uses primary sources such as eyewitness accounts, journal entries, and letters from Christopher Columbus himself.

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Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, and Columbus Day 2023 occurs on Monday, October 9. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century, but did not become a federal holiday until 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus' achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. But throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have proposed since the 1970s including Indigenous People's Day, now celebrated in many U.S. states and cities.

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian-born explorer who set sail in August 1492, bound for Asia with backing from the Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella aboard the ships the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.

Columbus intended to chart a western sea route to China, India and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. Instead, on October 12, 1492, he landed in the Bahamas, becoming the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings established colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland during the 10th century.

Later that October, Columbus sighted Cuba and believed it was mainland China; in December the expedition found Hispaniola, which he thought might be Japan. There, he established Spain's first colony in the Americas with 39 of his men.

In March 1493, Columbus returned to Spain in triumph, bearing gold, spices and "Indian" captives. The explorer crossed the Atlantic several more times before his death in 1506.

Did you know? Contrary to popular belief, most educated Europeans in Columbus' day understood that the world was round, but they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed. As a result, Columbus and his contemporaries assumed that only the Atlantic lay between Europe and the riches of the East Indies.

Columbus Day in the United States

The first Columbus Day celebration took place in 1792, when New York's Columbian Order-better known as Tammany Hall -held an event to commemorate the historic landing's 300th anniversary. Taking pride in Columbus' birthplace and faith, Italian and Catholic communities in various parts of the country began organizing annual religious ceremonies and parades in his honor.

In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage with patriotic festivities, writing, "On that day let the people, so far as possible, cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discoverer and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life."

HISTORY Vault: Columbus: The Lost Voyage

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Columbus Day a national holiday, largely as a result of intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, an influential Catholic fraternal organization.

Columbus Day is observed on the second Monday of October. While Columbus Day is a federal government holiday meaning all federal offices are closed, not all states grant it as a day off from work.

Columbus Day Alternatives

Controversy over Columbus Day dates back to the 19th century, when anti-immigrant groups in the United States rejected the holiday because of its association with Catholicism.

In recent decades, Native Americans and other groups have protested the celebration of an event that resulted in the colonization of the Americas, the beginnings of the transatlantic slave trade and the deaths of millions from murder and disease.

European settlers brought a host of infectious diseases, including smallpox and influenza that decimated indigenous populations. Warfare between Native Americans and European colonists claimed many lives as well.

Indigenous People's Day

The image of Christopher Columbus as an intrepid hero has also been called into question. Upon arriving in the Bahamas, the explorer and his men forced the native peoples they found there into slavery. Later, while serving as the governor of Hispaniola, he allegedly imposed barbaric forms of punishment, including torture.

In many Latin American nations, the anniversary of Columbus' landing has traditionally been observed as the Dìa de la Raza ("Day of the Race"), a celebration of Hispanic culture's diverse roots. In 2002, Venezuela renamed the holiday Dìa de la Resistencia Indìgena ("Day of Indigenous Resistance") to recognize native peoples and their experience.

Several U.S. cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with alternative days of remembrance. States including Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon commemorate Indigenous People's Day, as well as cities like Denver, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

When Is Columbus Day?

Columbus Day was originally observed every October 12, but was changed to the second Monday in October beginning in 1971.

In some parts of the United States, Columbus Day has evolved into a celebration of Italian-American heritage. Local groups host parades and street fairs featuring colorful costumes, music and Italian food. In places that use the day to honor indigenous peoples, activities include pow-wows, traditional dance events and lessons about Native American culture.

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Columbus Day 2023 - Facts, Celebrations & Controversy

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Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, and Columbus Day 2023 occurs on Monday, October 9. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century, but did not become a federal holiday until 1937.

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More than 500 years after he "discovered" the New World-kicking off centuries of exploration and colonization of the Americas- Christopher Columbus is honored with a federal holiday on the second Monday of every October. However, as historians have continued to dig into the life of Christopher Columbus, controversy has arisen over continuing to honor the Italian explorer as a hero.
READ MORE: How Christopher Columbus' Legend Grew-And Then Drew Fire
Columbus Saw Indigenous Americans as Obstacles

Like many European explorers, Christopher Columbus encountered Indigenous people throughout his voyages. There are three main sources of controversy involving his interactions with the Indigenous people he labeled "Indians": the use of violence and slavery, the forced conversion of native peoples to Christianity and the introduction of a host of new diseases that would have dramatic long-term effects on native people in the Americas.

In an era in which the international slave trade was starting to grow, Columbus and his men enslaved many native inhabitants of the West Indies and subjected them to extreme violence and brutality. On his famous first voyage in 1492, Columbus landed on an unknown Caribbean island after an arduous three-month journey.

On his first day in the New World, he ordered six of the natives to be seized, writing in his journal that he believed they would be good servants. Throughout his years in the New World, Columbus enacted policies of forced labor in which natives were put to work for the sake of profits. Later, Columbus sent thousands of peaceful Taino "Indians" from the island of Hispaniola to Spain to be sold. Many died en route.

Those left behind were forced to search for gold in mines and work on plantations. Within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been 250,000 Taino were left on their island.

As governor and viceroy of the Indies, Columbus imposed iron discipline on what is now the Caribbean country of Dominican Republic, according to documents discovered by Spanish historians in 2005. In response to native unrest and revolt, Columbus ordered a brutal crackdown in which many natives were killed; in an attempt to deter further rebellion, Columbus ordered their dismembered bodies to be paraded through the streets.
READ MORE: Did Colonists Give Infected Blankets to Native Americans as Biological Warfare?
Disease and the Age of Exploration

In addition to the controversy over enslavement and violent rule, the " Age of Exploration " that Columbus helped lead had the additional consequence of bringing new diseases to the New World which would, over time, devastate the native populations of many New World islands and communities.

In the broader sense, historians have used the phrase " Columbian exchange " to describe the exchange of plants, animals and goods between the East and West that his voyages sparked. Though the effects were widespread and cannot all be dismissed as negative, critics of Columbus have asserted that the worst aspects of this exchange added up to biological warfare.

Eventually, his methods and actions caught up with Columbus. A number of settlers lobbied against him at the Spanish court, accusing Columbus of mismanagement. In 1500, the king and queen sent in a royal administrator, who detained Columbus and his brothers and had them shipped home. Although Columbus regained his freedom and made a fourth and final voyage to the New World, he had lost his governorship and much of his prestige.

This historical record has cast Columbus' legacy under a cloud of controversy. Protests at Columbus Day parades, efforts to eliminate him from classroom curricula and calls for changing the federal holiday have all followed. Beginning in 1991, dozens of cities and several states began adopting Indigenous Peoples' Day, a holiday that celebrates the history and contributions of Native Americans-rather than Columbus.
READ MORE: Should America Take Down Monuments That Romanticize Conquistadors?

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More than 500 years after he "discovered" the New World-kicking off centuries of exploration and colonization of the Americas- Christopher Columbus is honored with a federal holiday on the second Monday of every October. However, as historians have continued to dig into the life of Christopher Columbus, controversy has arisen over continuing to honor the Italian explorer as a hero.