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For this nation's over 5 million American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian citizens, Columbus' voyages to the so-called New World inaugurated a long history of exploitation, enslavement, eradication, and erasure (and he himself initiated and sanctioned such actions). As I said in the beginning of this piece, Columbus did not discover what would become North America. When it comes to celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day, I want to make sure we do justice to indigenous folks. It not only invalidates the legitimacy of the natives people claim to their land but also projects the notion that the natives arent people at all. Specify your topic, deadline, number of pages and other requirements. The Knights of Columbus lobbied state legislatures to legalize the holiday. Washington, D.C., has joined hundreds of U.S. cities in seven states in replacing Columbus Day with a day to celebrate Native Americans. Yes, this guy didnt commit genocide. Unfortunately, many irksome doings lay deep under the surface. One of the best parts of our humanity is that sense of discovery. 1. If you still think Columbus Day is something worth celebrating, here are five other reasons why it isnt: After studying a handful of his favorite books, including the journals of Marco Polo, Columbus became convinced that it was possible to sail directly west to reach the Indies, as China, Japan and India were then known as in Europe. We shouldn't be wasting our time on holidays that won't even. I dont think its ever too young. Most of us can remember the day when Americans still seemed to like Christopher Columbus. Like Andrew Jackson, Christopher Columbus is a historical figure who is celebrated as a mythical hero. Columbus never even came to this country! Market data provided by Factset. Then, two things happened: either Chaos or Gaia created the universe as we know it, or Ouranos and Tethys gave birth to the first beings. But our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy; small wonder," -Bartolome Las Casas, 1527. As awareness has grown about the catastrophic effect his discovery had on Americas indigenous populations, it has increasingly been viewed as a disaster rather than triumph, and rightly so. In a letter that has been preserved among his personal historical records, Columbus wrote that God inspired him to make a deal with his Spanish crew and stake his life on it. When I got to high school and learned the truth about Columbus I felt betrayed. If we need a national holiday for the second Monday in October, lets at least honor an AMERICAN who hasnt been shown to be the prime mover in the torture/death/destruction of so many people. Then they would sail away together to claim their riches. He wrote in his log: They brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things they willingly traded everything they owned They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They would make fine servants With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.. Pre-Columbian civilizations from Mexico to Peru were nearly all responsible for brutal violence on a large scale long before Columbus arrived on the shores of the New World including human sacrifices, even of children, sometimes by tearing out the victims still-beating heart.. This new day was first adopted in Berkeley, California in 1992. Hoping to bring fresh perspectives to topics like race & politics, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0. He is an inspiration to many young people. uknow@gse.harvard.edu A new intersectional publication, geared towards voices, values, and identities! This movement sees Columbus as a symbol of destruction, and thus not to be celebrated. Ancient Origins 2013 - 2023Disclaimer- Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy -Submissions - We Give Back - Contact us. So, there you have it; five reasons not to celebrate Columbus Day this year (or any other year). Why We Do Not Celebrate Columbus Day. Just bear in mind that the verb "colonize" and the terms "colony", and "colonial" derive from Columbus ("Colon", in Spanish spelling). Hire a verified expert to write you a 100% Plagiarism-Free paper. However, his other two ships on his first voyage were the Santa Clara and the Gallega. James Loewens Lies My Teacher Told Me, and his shorter Lies My Teacher Told Me about Christopher Columbus, critique how textbooks have covered Columbus. What were his actual contributions? Those are important questions we want to ask as citizens. I think history teachers have a responsibility to prepare students to comment critically and participate critically in the discourse about who we are honoring, who we are celebrating, and how we are doing it. Be careful, this sample is accessible to everyone. As part of this plan, Spaniards aimed to convert native peoples to Christianity. Every Columbus Day I am forcibly reminded of my hatred for Christopher Columbus. Had he have given up, the world would be drastically different today. Lets stop idolizing people in history who dont deserve it. We asked Eric Shed, a veteran history teacher who now directs the Harvard Teacher Fellows Program, to share perspectives on the changing currents around Columbus Day and the challenges of learning and teaching history, as distinct from celebrating it. Columbus tried to build and has transformed the America we have today. . If I sailed to Italy and said that I discovered this land in the name of Rowan University it wouldnt fly right? It involves grappling with multiple perspectives, a fundamental skill for historians. According to, Columbus believed that he was playing a part in a divine plan to Christianize the world. If Columbus is Off Limits to Celebrate, so are Indigenous Peoples. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there existcountless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts thathave yet to be discovered and explained. Examine Columbuss "discovery" of America. Christopher Columbus was a murderer, rapist, and thief who did not actually find America, but indeed only visited a land where Native Americans have already been living. 2. Of course, I learned that everyone expected him to sail off the edge of a flat earth into space or sea monsters or something. It was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that designated the second Monday of October (Columbus Day) as a national holiday in 1971. CONTACT US: 1. Columbuss men also killed off slaves whenever needed. It is true that the conquest of the Americas by Europeans, which starts with Columbus, was very ugly, and involved a lot of violence. But, again, no mainland United States. As Columbus might have quipped, One good turn deserves another. Okay, he never said that, but his writings prove that he would not have been opposed to it in the least. The artefacts include cave paintings and ceramic art depicting animals, hunting expeditions and the daily lives of people who lived around the Serra da Capivara in Brazil for tens of thousands of years. Herman Lindquist, Christopher Columbus var han riktigt klok, Fischer, 1992, Captivating History, Christopher Columbus: A Captivating Guide to the Life of an Italian Explorer and His Voyages to the Americas, Captivating History, 2020, Encyclopdia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus. Columbus Day was invented by the Knights of Columbus in the 1930s when they were looking for a role model for school age children. Yes, we have a federal holiday on Christmas, but Ill put that in a special category (which well call religious.). However, it was his brother, the cartographers idea to sail West. Dominant narratives tend to speak about heroes in a simple sense; counternarratives can be much more critical. One of the (many) perks of growing up on an island in the Caribbean was that we could actually take a field trip to Columbus Landing a spot fairly close to my school where Columbus and his crew set foot in 1493 among islands he called Las Islas Virgenes, after St. Ursula and her eleven thousand virgins. Three other states New Mexico, Maine, Vermont followed suit this year. He first went to sea when he was only 14 years old. Until his dying day Columbus maintained that the land he had discovered was Asia and not a new continent. America is celebrating. Our writers can help you with any type of essay. Without him, the modern world would not be the way it is today. Columbus was from a middle class family. I gave them many beautiful and pleasing things, which I had brought with me, for no return whatever, in order to win their affection, and that they might become Christians and inclined to love our King and Queen and Princes and all the people of Spain., Columbus usually treated the Native Americans kindly and brought them gifts in order to win their favor. This essay is available online and might have been used by another student. Columbus was definitely a brave and courageous (and lucky) captain, but his navigational skills left a lot to be desired. Between 1482 and 1485 Columbus traded along the Guinea and Gold coasts of tropical West Africa and made at least one voyage to Elmina, Ghana. After all of this, he made four transatlantic voyages to the new world beginning with his first famed voyage in 1492. And its fundamentally important that they do so. (He had plenty of different ships on subsequent voyages.). For any subject. @uknowhgse. But in reality, Christopher Columbus is an American hero, and he should remain as such. Columbus Day is one of the oldest holidays in the USA Observing Columbus Day started back in the 18th century. Its 2020 people. Large Increase in U.S. Though flawed, Columbus was a great man with an adventurous spirit, sailing the seas to prepare to establish a new world. In short, today is Christopher Columbus Day, and we should all celebrate that. Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week. And #5 gets worse. "Endless testimonies.prove the mild and pacific temperament of the natives. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. It doesn't make sense for the United States to recognize this supposed Christian with ashow more content Religion was heavily forced upon the Native American tribes, and the Europeans means of dealing with their obstacles run much more inhumane. Cathedrals are some of the most awe-inspiring structures in the world, with their grandeur and intricate details captivating visitors for centuries. And he was a talented astronomer and navigator. So partly, out of spite, here are a few reasons why Columbus Day shouldnt be celebrated. And Im not one to turn down a national holiday for a day off work! Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October. (Only 23 states give their workers a paid day off to celebrate it, according to a 2013 Pew poll). Many people believe that Columbus Day should not be a federal holiday because Christopher Columbus was a terrible person. When Columbus arrived in 1492, he enslaved the Natives, and took control over their way of life, and also made his way into the Caribbean Island. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Should the United States continue to celebrate Columbus Day? Surprisingly, this holiday was first celebrated by Italians of New York in 1866 honoring Columbus's Italian Heritage, but the official celebration in Spain did not . If you want a unique paper, order it from our professional writers. For a long time, Columbus discovery of America was an universally celebrated event, both in Europe and America. 2023 PapersOwl.com - All rights reserved. Columbus went to live in Portugal. He should be remembered as the cruel and incompetent man he was who let his sailors rape and pillage the islands they landed on as they pleased.