Nevertheless, Italians claim him today and Columbus Day is a good chance to recognize what Italians have contributed to America, and the world. Yes, we have a federal holiday on Christmas, but Ill put that in a special category (which well call religious.). Columbus actually thought he was in the East Indies. It is true that the conquest of the Americas by Europeans, which starts with Columbus, was very ugly, and involved a lot of violence. Did you know that we have over 70,000 essays on 3,000 topics in our To the Editor: He was neither honorable, nor exemplary; he was a mass murderer, so we should not honor him with a holiday. The Natives were here first and so it should be Happy Indigenous People Day! If the person refused to do it, he or she would have his or her hand cut off and is forced to wear Columbus is also used as a scapegoat for many other reasons. Columbuss Native American slave trade morphed into the African slave trade by the mid-16th century. If instead of Columbus, a Chinese marine had arrived first and "colonized" America, would be blaming the Chinese for the destruction of American civilizations? He was not good, or honest, or particularly creative or smart, and he does not deserve a holiday. We all know that the ancient world was a violent place, but we often dont appreciate just how violent it was. Columbus is a hero Christopher Columbus didnt even discover Guanahani (todays San Salvador Island) in 1492. Columbus never even came to this country! Columbus Day, also called Indigenous Peoples' Day, in the United States, holiday (originally October 12; since 1971 the second Monday in October) to commemorate the landing of Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492, in the New World. History, in fact, is the story of conquest. I am sure you are familiar with his legend which states that he was born in a manger surrounded by shepherds. 2023 President and Fellows of Harvard College, Who do we celebrate, and why? Scientist have now proven that many explorers came from all over way before Columbus did. #abolishcolumbusday #columbusday #3generations #adifferentamericandream #mniwaconi, A post shared by 3 Generations (@3_generations) on Oct 6, 2018 at 1:15pm PDT. The most important history to remember is Jesus died for our sin and rose from the dead. Currently, the Commission for Social Justice is collecting signatures to Save Columbus Day. Some of the anti-Columbus arguments. The origin of Columbus Day is questionable. Columbus day is a controversial holiday, but one that should be celebrated. Every October, the United States celebrates Christopher Columbus' discovering of the Americas. Columbus was in the neighborhood of the Caribs, a violent people who captured and consumed other human beings. The first reason for why Christopher Columbus should not be celebrated is because he committed mass genocide against the Native Americans. 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. Snap, tough, & flex cases created by independent artists. Cambridge, MA 02138, Challenges? Or Napoleon Bonaparte Day, for that matter. And, while we celebrate Columbus Day, we can learn from history and also take time to honor Native Americans. Despite these facts, we arent taught about the Nio brothers. Once upon a time, teachers celebrated Columbus Day by leading children in choruses of song about the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Again, it would be like breaking American tradition if we stopped celebrating Columbus Day. Now theres a deed worth celebrating every year! April Holloway is a Co-Owner, Editor and Writer of Ancient Origins. We need students to understand that Columbus is important, even if he isnt someone to be celebrated. Can We at Least Cancel the D-List Historical Racists? But the fact of the matter is that he started the colonialism within North America, enslaved groups of people, and laid out the groundwork for others to do the same is damning. 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. https://www.instagram.com/p/BoiGlYJFgrk/?tagged=christophercolumbus. The Vikings were actually the first non natives to discover America. Wellesley should not celebrate Columbus Day, but instead Indigenous Peoples' Day. The natives found him while he was lost at sea. George Orwell said, The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. George Santayana said, Those who do not know historys mistakes are doomed to repeat them! Christians are like Columbus looking for a new world and a new body our Savior Jesus will give us at the rapture. you to an academic expert within 3 minutes. Need urgent help with your paper? Not only was Columbus not the discoverer of America, he was also a malicious, egotistical person. Dinner Invitations for Famous People from the Past, about Christopher Columbus: Master Double Agent and Portugals 007, about Roman Sword discovered off Oak Island radically suggests Ancient Mariners visited New World 1,000 years before Columbus, The Discovery that Revealed Ancient Humans Navigated the Seas 130,000 Years Ago, The Oldest Art in the World Wasnt Made By Homo sapiens. He asked for 3 more days, and if land was not sighted, the crew could do with him as they wished. document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(s); He did make a few mistakes. The New York Society of Tammany also honored Columbus of his first voyage with the marking of his 300th anniversary. Rethink Christopher Columbus Day. Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/should-we-celebrate-columbus-day/, Hire skilled expert and get original paper in 3+ hours, Run a free check or have your essay done for you, Didn`t find the right sample? . Yes, Columbus exposed the native peoples of the Americas to many atrocities, but you cannot apply the ethics of 2012 to the ethics held by people who lived in 1492. (BTW, you can find a list of over 40 of his articles here.). Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Once upon a time, teachers celebrated Columbus Day by leading children in choruses of song about the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Christopher Columbus wouldnt have arrived to the Americas without the assistance of the Nio Brothers, a Spanish family of African descent. Aysha Imtiaz Should a man whose actions created a wave of genocide and killed thousands of innocent natives be considered a hero? Columbus Day recognizes the achievements of a great Renaissance explorer who founded the first permanent European settlement in the New World. Hence, the inducement cited above.). We also ask the President to host an official yearly signing ceremony in celebration of Columbus Day, the Italian American community and the importance of the immigrant experience in the making of our great nation. Aside from the despicable acts that Columbus and his people committed, there is plenty of evidence to show that Columbus was not the first foreigner to arrive on the continent anyway. Columbus Personified the American Spirit Columbus was a brilliant man in his own right. Usable Knowledge PhDessay is an educational resource where over 1,000,000 free essays are He wandered around islands in the Caribbean, stealing valuables, thinking he was in Asia. Who was Christopher Columbus? When the pendant expired, the Native American would have to continue bringing him gold. 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. Imagine if we just stopped suddenly celebrating Martin Luther Kings Day. If this is what it means to be civilized and our children are taught to revere Columbus and his heroic adventure, what hope is there for our future? Columbus Day is one of the oldest holidays in the USA database? He had many qualities that seemed to be admirable and a lot of people were proud of him. Henry IV of Spain known as "The Impotent" for his weakness, both on the throne and (allegedly) in the marriage chamber died in 1474. Currently 22 States dont celebrate Columbus Day The City Council recently voted to get rid of Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day, commemorating indigenous, aboriginal and native people.. Jesus said to take the Lords Supper to remember His sacrifice! Meg Medina is First Latina National Ambassador for, 16 Films Featuring Latinx Talent Coming out in, From Reggaeton to Dominican Dembow. I strongly believe that Columbus day should not be celebrated because of the torture, slavery, and lying that was caused by him. America just would not seem right if we didnt celebrate those holidays because its a very important tradition. 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It says in Article 2, Within four years of Columbus's arrival on Hipiola, his men had killed or exported one-third of the original Indian population of 300,000. Columbus sparked the start of trade and European expansion and colonization in America, but he also wiped out one third of the Taino people by forcing them into slavery or murdering them. As an anti-paean to a holiday most Americans hardly acknowledge (unless they get a day off), here are a list of reasons that we should remove Columbus Day from our list of federal holidays. Some of the reasons why it's important to celebrate indigenous people include: 1. Columbus has been admired for a very long time. Type your requirements and I'll connect Indigenous cultures are under threat of extinction. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! His first impression of the Arawaks, one of the first peoples he encountered, was . The Pledge of Allegiance was written in honor of the first voyage that he did and to celebrate his 400th anniversary. Even if its bad or becomes romanticized, its still far better to remember history than erase it. The Feast of Epiphany: Who Were The Three Kings and Where Did They Come From? According to, Columbus believed that he was playing a part in a divine plan to Christianize the world. Personally, I dont think we should celebrate Columbus Day. By the eleventh century Vikings, who were early Scandinavians, had not only visited but already had established settlements in North America (Article 2). 4. On his return trips to . People might think that they might have had easy sailing but actually it was just the opposite. The Etruscans, although enigmatic compared to the familiar civilizations of Greece and Rome, had a significant impact on the development of Roman civilization. When Columbus and his men landed on the islands that would become the West Indies, instead of being peaceful and trading with the indigenous people, they lied, exploited and killed hundreds of them. Many people say that Columbus was a brave, determined man, and that he was honorable for exploring an area that no one had gone to before. While there is plenty to criticize about Columbus, and what followed his arrival, I think this movement is missing the point. Columbus said, It is hoped that by Gods assistance some of the continents and islands in the ocean will be discovered. Christopher means bearer of Christ Jesus and has been one of the most popular names in existence. While some view Columbus Day as a celebration of Italian-American heritage, others see it as a celebration of European exploration and colonization. In fact, the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 in honor of the 400th anniversary of his first voyage. But that, for better or worse, is how history worked pretty much everywhere for thousands of years. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. 2. You need to be able to deeply understand the profoundly problematic past of this great nation. (function() { 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.. 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. Columbus tortured and murdered many thousands of native peoples. It is a known fact that the vikings where actually the first to discover America but it was never recorded. 7. Pedro Alonso was the pilot of the Santa Maria during Columbuss first trip. Just as the country grapples with the meaning and problems of Confederate monuments, so too are schools, towns, and even whole states grappling with Columbus Day. Many are deciding to rename and refocus the holiday, choosing to call it Indigenous Peoples' Day to honor the people whose lives and cultures were irreparably damaged by the colonial conquest that the age of exploration ushered into being. One of the few facts Americans remember from history is Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Although Columbus wasnt the first to visit the New World (Vikings had traveled here centuries earlier), Columbus first widely publicized, and thus discovered, its existence to the Europeans. Shop high-quality unique 12 Reasons Why We Should Celebrate Columbus Day T-Shirts designed and sold by independent artists. The natural world has many wonders. Sometimes it is hard to do all the work on your own. The Plague of Athens Killed Over a Quarter of the City's Population. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. With our holiday consistently under attack, we are asking the White House to rededicate the Presidency to both the holiday and to our community. I want to make sure we do justice to indigenous folks. He did open up the islands for trade with Europe and bring in a lot of money for Spain (and himself), but he was not responsible for colonizing the mainland. One for every day of the year. He may have been brave for sailing out to find new places, but he was extremely greedy and killed, captured, and tortured people to gain money and power. It is a polka-dotted body-of-water that looks so bizarre you could be forgiven for thinking you were on an alien planet. Why is he important? 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria Bulgarian reg. And in general, we want to students to engage with controversy. We need to own it. Other traditions that we tend to have and celebrate include mothers and fathers day plus Christmas. They imprison petty criminals while sacking the nation's economy. Its the responsibility of our school system to talk about Columbus as part of our work to prepare students to be citizens. 20 University Rd., 6th Floor What were his actual contributions? Those are important questions we want to ask as citizens. We dont want to expose young kids to graphic accounts of brutal treatment of Native Americans, but I think you want them to begin to question: What did this person do? Available in a range of colours and styles for men, women, and everyone. Indeed, the promise of the West has delivered freedom and bounty such as humanity has never known. "It's difficult to think there exists a site anywhere with a higher concentration of cave art.". Columbus said, No one should be afraid to take on any enterprise in the name of our Savior (Jesus) if it is right and if the purpose is purely for His holy service. Get in touch! Examine Columbuss "discovery" of America. A Traveling Gown With History Goes On Display, Christopher Columbus wasnt American! Columbus Day is a national holiday in the United States that celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. He gave hope across the land in dark times. Not just Europeans, but everyone. The purpose of his voyage was to find an all-water route to Asia. Even perpetually leftward NPR admitted today . Columbus sailed regardless of the harsh conditions on the ship What does your state celebrate? Some of my students entered high school aware of the problematic nature of Columbus but their thinking is, Well, Columbus is not important to study, because he didnt do anything. We have to push back on that. Instead, he saw some of the natives wearing gold jewelry and made it his life's mission to kill and enslave as many of them as possible to steal as much of it as possible. In reality, when we as the people of the United States celebrate Christopher Columbus day, we honor a man who was a supporter of rape, enslavement, violence, and control over anyone he deemed inferior to him. But what exactly does it mean to be civilized? 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. A new Marist poll finds 56 percent of Americans admire Columbus and support Columbus Day. 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