Christopher Columbus a villain or a hero PDF

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Christopher Columbus...

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Introduction Christopher Columbus a villain or a hero? Barbra Ranbsy’s seems to believe that the heroic tales of Columbus are a myth and it promotes male dominance and military power. Daniel Flynn however believes that Christopher Columbus was in fact a hero and should be treated as such. Were the deaths by Christopher Columbus justifiable, did he over use his power in the military, and does he represent male supremacy. His true place in history all depends on how you look at the situation. Paragraph 1 A big topic throughout the two separate articles is the discussion about the indigenous people who died. Barbra likes to make the point that if Christopher Columbus paved his way for the expansion of the western civilization. Then he must have destroyed road blocks that were in his way and those road blocks were people with their own way of life. “Those roadblocks included millions of indigenous people who had lived on the lands Columbus supposedly discovered some 25.000 years before his expedition arrived. They were people who had names, cultures, belief systems and a history” (Ransby, 2016). Daniel goes over how Christopher did have many sins, but we are looking at all the negative instead of the positive. Taking slaves and using the powerful military to explore were normal back then but Christopher discovered the new world, not a lot of people changed the world as much as Christopher Columbus did. Paragraph 2 Both articles talk about how Christopher used his military power to enslave and kill thousands of indigenous people. Barbra does not believe that this was a necessary evil as Columbus acted as a tyrant on the new lands. “outright brutality and savagery on the part of the invaders, who waged genocidal wars against those they perceived as obstructions to progress.” (Ransby, 2016). However Daniel argues how the indigenous people were not innocent as they committed genocide on the Europeans that were left in the new world. “natives conducted genocide on every European in the Americas.” (Flynn, 2010) all also discusses how cultural conquests were common back then. Paragraph 3 Christopher Columbus is remembered as a hero even though everything that he did. When teaching the youth about Columbus the textbooks presents him as a courageous discoverer. Barbra believes that this is spreading the myth and hiding what truly happened. “Moreover, a survey of the treatment of Columbus in North American children’s textbooks is a further indication of exactly how historical myths are made, and when and where the seeds of the dominant.” (Ransby, 2016). Instead on dwelling on the negativity, Daniel points out the positives and explains why he is seen as a hero. “Discovering two continents is unprecedented. Other than Christ, it is difficult to name a person who has changed the world as dramatically as Columbus has.” (Flynn, 2010)

Conclusion This still leaves the question is Columbus a hero or villain? While both of the author makes good points, it comes down what he accomplished. Columbus is remembered as a hero because he found America. He could have found a different path without destroying the road blocks but during that time it was a normal thing to have a military conquest. It is easy to look back on what he did and suggest different ways he could have done it but if you are looking at the negative you are taking away from the big picture and that is he discovered two new cotenants.

References Flynn, D. J. (2010, October 11). Christopher Columbus: Hero. Retrieved May 31, 2018, from http://humanevents.com/2010/10/11/christopher-columbus-hero/ Ransby, B. (2016, May 9). Columbus and the making of historical myth. Retrieved May 31, 2018, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.888.6752&rep=rep1&type=pdf...