If the commemorations dealt at all with the impact of European exploration on the indigenous civilizations already flourishing in these discovered lands, it was often fleeting. Market data provided by Factset. Columbus tortured and murdered many thousands of native peoples. 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Though it has its controversies, Columbus day should be celebrated. Every year, on the second Monday in October, the people in the United States celebrate a national holiday in memory of Christopher Columbus, the one who discovered the new continent. But that, for better or worse, is how history worked pretty much everywhere for thousands of years. Today's woke perspective condemns Columbus Day as an unworthy holiday. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! For instance, they lay out what specific textbooks omitted about Columbuss involvement with the slave trade and genocide. 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. Please follow him or give him some claps please be sure thats in the plural if you enjoyed this. Or better yet, follow him. "It's difficult to think there exists a site anywhere with a higher concentration of cave art.". For if we celebrate Columbus, we are celebrating a racist genocide, massive land robbery, barbaric slavery, serial rape and systemic torture. The White House is pushing National Coming Out Day as a way of changing the subject. Turning points are powerful lenses through which students need to view our past. We dont know exactly where this is, but its most likely one of the islands that make up modern-day Bahamas. (He had plenty of different ships on subsequent voyages.). So yeah, Christopher Columbus, upon closer inspection, is a terrible fellow to honor. While Columbus Day is not a widely celebrated holiday, the question of whether or not to celebrate it are definitely up for discussion. Berkeley originally replaced Columbus Day with show more content. Legal Statement. ," Jake Flanagin explains why many are arguing it . The first complete mapping of a Neanderthal genome took place about five years ago - supporting the human-Neanderthal hook-up and also showing that Neanderthal DNA in humans is a thing. That is, South and Central America to be exact. You need to be able to deeply understand the profoundly problematic past of this great nation. The natives were removed from their villages to work in gold mines and colonial plantations. In this 2014 piece, " Columbus Day, or 'Indigenous Peoples' Day'? Columbus day is a controversial holiday, but one that should be celebrated. Her Campus may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Though he didnt discover America, he was the person to show the rest of the developed world that there was more far away lands. And now Ill claim it for us! Columbus Day was invented by the Knights of Columbus in the 1930s when they were looking for a role model for school age children. I want to make sure we do justice to indigenous folks. As part of this plan, Spaniards aimed to convert native peoples to Christianity. Land was first spotted by Rodrigo de Triana, a lookout on the Pinta, and thereafter by its captain Martin Alonso Pinzo, who notified Columbus. A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire. He brought with him a letter from King Ferdinand to the Taino-Arawak Indians. SHOULD CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS BE CELEBRATED? Cambridge, MA 02138, Challenges? This new day was first adopted in Berkeley, California in 1992. Most people know of the great construction achievements of the dynastic Egyptians such as the pyramids and temples of the Giza Plateau area as well as the Sphinx. (Remember, they werent well versed in Spanish. Columbus stood to gain significant wealth and power from his voyage, terms he negotiated with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Colorado did so on April 1, 1907. I think there is a ton of potential in celebrating an Indigenous Peoples' Day, but what that is, what it looks like we need to start with asking indigenous folks to define it. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) is generally considered to be a great explorer during the Age of Exploration . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. But as I got older and began learning more about the history of the Caribbean, the glossy veneer of ol Chris didnt hold up. Congress also believed the holiday would mark the contribution of immigrants to the United States. Consider how the first Columbus Day parade in New York was described in the newspapers. The first reason for why Christopher Columbus should not be celebrated is because he committed mass genocide against the Native Americans. To get a custom and plagiarism-free essay. Columbus wanted to test this idea. Pay the writer only for a finished, plagiarism-free essay that meets all your requirements. Ahh, well, brothers will be brothers. But, again, no mainland United States. The United States and several Latin American countries celebrate Columbus Day to recognize Christopher Columbus striking land in the Americas and the mixing of European and Native American Cultures. Mettler earned his Bachelors degree from William Jessup University and is an alumnus of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. "Reason: he may have discovered America before Columbus; Columbus is now commonplace as . Upon arriving in the New World, one of the first observations Columbus made with regards to the indigenous people was the following: 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. Market data provided by Factset. If it wasn't for Columbus, the motivation for exploration and expansion wouldn't have become a priority because nobody knew about the Americas. As these texts have become popular, and more history teachers have read them, more students have learned a more accurate account of Columbus from a younger age. . Indigenous Peoples Day: Why it's replacing Columbus Day in many places. On October 11th, 2021 its 529 years since Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, or Cristoforo Colombo as he was probably known in his native Genoa, landed on the island San Salvador. And Im not one to turn down a national holiday for a day off work! Columbus inspired countless other explorers, both of his time and of modern time, to explore and make discoveries. South Dakota was the first state to rename Columbus Day, in 1990, electing to go with Native Americans' Day. What were his actual contributions? Those are important questions we want to ask as citizens. If instead of Columbus, a Chinese marine had arrived first and "colonized" America, would be blaming the Chinese for the destruction of American civilizations? And, sure he was directly responsible for the enslavement, torture, mutilation, and murder of tens of thousands of Native American people in the Caribbean islands during his quest for riches. (He did follow his big brother to the Caribbean two years later.). Columbus went on forth with a lot of violence, such as cutting off a slaves nose/hands to signify power against them. So before waving the US flag in celebration of a criminal who did not discover America, spare a thought for the millions of Native Americans who were murdered as a result of Christopher Columbus arrival on American soil. A lot of depopulation was caused by suicides, including some parents killing their own children to prevent them from living and growing up as a slave. For a long time, Columbus discovery of America was an universally celebrated event, both in Europe and America. 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.. . Americans, for all our faults, love adventure. And Bart was left behind on the cutting room floor of history. First, lets just put aside the paradox of discovering a land that already had a population of indigenous people. Lastly, I would contend that historical figures should be honored by their great achievements, and not their mistakes or weaknesses. These Natives are so nice, wed be crazy not to enslave them is one contentious quote by Christopher Columbus. 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. Columbus Day commemorates the landing of Columbus in the "New World" (on a small island off Florida) on October 12, 1492. This is also apparent when he was trying to get sponsorships for the trips. The evil deeds of Columbus far outweigh the few accomplishments he achieved. They were the original immigrants to the New World, and deserve their remembrance. What Columbus did next was nothing less than shameful. Dominant narratives tend to speak about heroes in a simple sense; counternarratives can be much more critical. 1. Columbus Day, which is celebrated today in the USA and honours the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World, is an example of outdated and misguided history. Why are we celebrating him? We need students to understand that Columbus is important, even if he isnt someone to be celebrated. To realize this dream, they split up. However, a circumspect understanding of history offers numerous reasons why Columbus should not only be celebrated, but . 97 students ordered this very topic and got Some schools, cities, and institutions, such as the. Don't know where to start? Right now, across the country, cities and schools are faced with the question, Should we celebrate Columbus? Were facing similar questions about how we commemorate the confederacy and the Civil War. And Erickson was certainly as European as Columbus (at least in todays geographical terminology.) But its not recognized in Los Angeles, where I live. ), Christopher Columbus initiated the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While there is plenty to criticize about Columbus, and what followed his arrival, I think this movement is missing the point. As Greek mythology goes, the universe was once a big soup of nothingness. The population of the Taino decreased by over two hundred thousand within sixty years. Both in an effort to secure funding for their expedition. He was the catalyst that brought more explorers across the Atlantic, who would eventually begin to explore North America, but it is .