. After a few weeks sailing, he landed in the present day Bahamas. Why should we celebrate a man who promoted and distributed so much violence when we can celebrate and honor the history of Indigenous people? Columbus Day is a patriotic holiday. 97 students ordered this very topic and got He was the catalyst that brought more explorers across the Atlantic, who would eventually begin to explore North America, but it is . As part of this plan, Spaniards aimed to convert native peoples to Christianity. When I got to high school and learned the truth about Columbus I felt betrayed. Many states celebrate both. Until his dying day Columbus maintained that the land he had discovered was Asia and not a new continent. Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert. 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. It also became clear that there are many reasons not to celebrate Columbus Day. 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. But since the 1990s, a growing number of states have begun to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day - a holiday meant to honor the culture and history of the people living in the Americas both before and after Columbus' arrival. Listen I know almost everyone celebrated in history enslaved people. The Zinn Education Project also includes a bunch of primary sources related to Columbus, such as writings by Bartolom de La Casas. Truth of Discovery Normally, the notion of discovery means encountering a place or an idea for the very first time.. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, University Overrules Student Senate Activists; Recognizes Conservative Club, A Mansion, Yemen, and Stories of Gods Goodness, Tennessee and Mississippi Pass Bills to Protect Children from Harmful Sex Change Procedures. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? He even made his crew swear an oath that Cuba was not an island but indeed the mainland of Asia, and that China could be reached overland from there. The tradition of observing Columbus Day dates back to the 18th century. Why more people are celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day According to, Columbus believed that he was playing a part in a divine plan to Christianize the world. And he was a talented astronomer and navigator. After his voyage to America, he became one of the most well known explorers of his time. Columbus Day's Meaning For Italian Americans : NPR If Columbus had been an Englishman, or a Frenchman, would have they behaved in a different way? Furthermore, Columbus continued to enslave Natives and abuse their nation, damage their environment, and their rights as humans. "It's difficult to think there exists a site anywhere with a higher concentration of cave art.". Of course, Christopher Columbus was Italian, and his day . Its like me walking into your house (with my gang and all of us armed to the teeth) and saying, Wow, look what I found here, boys. If I sailed to Italy and said that I discovered this land in the name of Rowan University it wouldnt fly right? Specify your topic, deadline, number of pages and other requirements. If the world was round, this was possible, he thought. Why columbus day should not be celebrated. Why Columbus Day Should Not Most Americans didn't even know much about Columbus until Washington Irving yes, that Washington Irving wrote. Ahh, well, brothers will be brothers. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, I dont think its ever too young. This kept them from planting crops, leading to widespread starvation. April Holloway is a Co-Owner, Editor and Writer of Ancient Origins. Why We Shouldn't Celebrate Columbus Day Essay - Bartleby Growing up in St. Croix, I had a fairly typical U.S. education with fairly typical U.S. textbooks as far as I can remember. 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. On October 12,1792was when it was first celebrated. In 1892, a joint congressional resolution prompted President Benjamin Harrison to mark the "discovery of America by Columbus," in part because of "the devout faith of the discoverer and for the. Everything that he did sounded like it was so whimsical and as a young child yearning for an adventure I idolized him. (See, Columbus promised Ferdinand and Isabella so much, including gold, they had given him 17 ships and well over a thousand men for his second voyage! If we have a holiday honoring somebody, the question on everyones mind should be, Why are we honoring them? We need students to understand that Columbus is important, even if he isnt someone to be celebrated. Large Increase in U.S. But what exactly does it mean to be civilized? The next obvious question is: well, if thats not his name, what were the names of his famous ships? Columbus day represents an exploration that lead to many discoveries and examples of leadership and control. Despite not finding any of the places that his favorite books described (places in China, India and Japan), he convinced himself that they were just around the corner. Columbus Personified the American Spirit Columbus was a brilliant man in his own right. Top 5 Reasons NOT to Celebrate Columbus Day And 1 Reason To History comes with an agenda. For any subject. by sailing west. Ahh, well, semantics. Itd be ludicrous to say that Columbuswasnt guilty by association. There were already people living wherever he landed. It requires looking at dominant narratives and counternarratives. 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. 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. As I said in the beginning of this piece, Columbus did not discover what would become North America. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Columbus Day a. ). He decided at an early age that this was not the life for him. And yes, I know Columbus was at least in part a product of his brutish times and any nation who landed on Hispaniola in 1492 might have done similar things. Columbus Day: Why We Shouldn't Celebrate It - MSU Reporter -- Celebrate the spread of Western civilization. I'm not the only Italian American on board with ditching the holiday. -- Celebrate Italians (though there is some question as to whether Columbus would have considered himself an Italian -- he was long thought to have been born in Genoa, then an independent city-state in what is now Italy, though everyone from Greece to Portugal to Poland have claimed him as their own). -- Celebrate the spirit of exploration. Columbus Day is a United States federal holiday that celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. In fact, there is proof that the Chinese, Greeks and Italians, all explored America before Columbus. 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. Why I proudly celebrate Columbus Day | Washington Examiner If you dont like it, well kill you.) Besides that, there is ample evidence of Leif Erickson and his fellow Vikings landing in Newfoundland/Labrador around five centuries earlier. Even perpetually leftward NPR admitted today . Columbus Day is one of the oldest holidays in the USA Observing Columbus Day started back in the 18th century. The point is not to excuse the worst that happened, but to understand it. Not if we cant celebrate Christopher Columbus. Although Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering America, people had been inhabiting both North and South America for thousands of years before the 15 th century criminal explorer actually first set foot there. Here are three reasons we shouldn't celebrate Columbus Day, as a country. Or maybe even plan to discover your own new-to-you islands! And yet he is given an American holiday for discovering AmericaYeah Ill wait for that to make sense. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Columbus killed a tremendous amount of people (genocide), and got away with it because of better equipment, men and control. The pro for Columbus Day written by John Wirt. She is a national writer at Her Campus and the former editor-in-chief of Her Campus Rowan. That's my nephew, Trinidad, reveling in the joys of Caribbean sailing somewhere between St. Croix and Buck Island aboard Teroro II. Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/two-reasons-why-columbus-day-should-not-be-celebrated/. You need to be able to deeply understand the profoundly problematic past of this great nation. The king wrote, We in his name will receive you with love and charity, respecting your freedom and that of your wives and sons and your rights of possession and we shall not compel you to baptism unless you, informed of the truth, wish to convert to our holy Catholic faith., Columbuss drive for exploration was religious. Because of his voyages to America, other great explorers ventured across the Atlantic and in under one hundred years, settled the new world. He brought with him a letter from King Ferdinand to the Taino-Arawak Indians. I remember learning about Columbus as a young child and I was in awe learning about the explorer. Christopher Columbus wasnt American! Throughout the history of civilization, the concept of the apocalypse has been ever present, in one way or another. Why Columbus Day isn't really a national holiday 20 University Rd., 6th Floor And the D.C. City Council recently approved a measure to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day. 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. When confronted with evidence to the contrary, he simply could not conceive of the the idea that he might be wrong. It consisted mostly of about 12,000 public school students grouped into 20 regiments, each commanded by a principal. But as I grew older, it became clear that history is murky. There has been much debate over whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. She likes thrifting, romance novels, cooking shows, and can often be found binging documentaries. In response to the rebellion, Columbus ordered a brutal crackdown in which many natives were killed, and their dismembered bodies paraded through the streets. We should honor George Washington, the Indispensable man, for his military bravado and skilled leadership as our first president, even though he owned slaves. The New World was discovered within the same timeframe as when slave trade had begun to arise. In fact, the result of Columbuss voyages was mass, Columbus didnt do too well as a governor of these new lands. If it wasn't for Columbus, the motivation for exploration and expansion wouldn't have become a priority because nobody knew about the Americas. While Columbus Day is not a widely celebrated holiday, the question of whether or not to celebrate it are definitely up for discussion. Columbus inspired countless other explorers, both of his time and of modern time, to explore and make discoveries. We think of Columbus Day as a heroic and triumphant day ever since 1970, when the holiday was legally made a national holiday. 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. They also show evidence that at least 12 other groups of people entered the Americas before Columbus. Columbus wanted to test this idea. 1. It took tremendous bravery to sail off into the unknown. (Though it should be noted a large portion of the deaths of Native Americans was due to disease, not violence--an inevitable consequence of Old World illness in New World soil. Why are we celebrating him? Unfortunately, many irksome doings lay deep under the surface. The con for Columbus Day written by Elliot Lassitter. Was Christopher Columbus a Hero or Villain? - Biography In recent years, the conversation has become more nuanced, as educators and people across the country have begun to explore the many reasons why celebrating Christopher Columbus is problematic: the violent abuse of indigenous peoples, the launch of the transatlantic slave trade, and the introduction of a swath of lethal diseases to an unprepared continent. All rights reserved. Colorado did so on April 1, 1907. Hire a verified expert to write you a 100% Plagiarism-Free paper. Make sure your essay is plagiarism-free or hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs. He sailed to Iceland and Ireland in 1477, and to Madeira in 1478. Italian heritage. Columbus and his men raped and mistreated the slaves, especially young girls through ages nine and ten. 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. Those left were forced to work in mines and plantations. Columbus tried to build and has transformed the America we have today. Don't know where to start? 2. Many people believe that Columbus Day should not be a federal holiday because Christopher Columbus was a terrible person. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 10+ why columbus day should not be celebrated essay most standard Elliott Lassitter and John WirtOctober 26, 2017. Medieval Sea Monster Was Likely a Whale, New Research Reveals, What is Shambhala? Columbus Day is not a holiday the U.S. and Italian Americans should Without Columbus, the age of exploration wouldnt have been inspired in the way that it was, and has a vital place in American history. A genocide happened in "the Americas," and it began with Columbus. Bring them to the light, if you would. But Columbus couldnt deliver on the gold claim. South Dakota was the first state to rename Columbus Day, in 1990, electing to go with Native Americans' Day. With all that, there are reasons to celebrate Columbus Day. But our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy; small wonder," -Bartolome Las Casas, 1527. Columbus couldn't be killed without angering the Italian court, so Queen Isabella sent him on a mission, hoping he wouldn't return. Many books and videos show depictions of vast work forces hewing blocks of stone in the hot desert sun and carefully setting them into place. 5 Things to Know About Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day Every Columbus Day I am forcibly reminded of my hatred for Christopher Columbus. Columbus Day: Here's Why We Celebrate It | Time Columbus wanted to expand knowledge about the world and what more it consisted of by going across the ocean. Jarrett Stepman also writes in his book The War on History, What is never explained is why so-called indigenous peoples are worthy of celebration if Columbus is not. Why NOT to celebrate Columbus Day | Ancient Origins The Encyclopedia Britannica describes him as a "master navigator and admiral." He sailed to numerous places beginning his career as a merchant marine. Yet in the past few decades, something has changed. The holiday is typically observed on the second Monday in October. Americans have the right to celebrate whatever they chose, but the history behind Columbus Day is not to be ignored. Read More 'Green Card Warrior' Nick Adams weighs in on 'Fox & Friends First.'. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) is generally considered to be a great explorer during the Age of Exploration . We are a hopeful species. Along and through History, conquerors have had violent behaviour. On his 1492 voyage, Chris landed on a number of islands including some in the Bahamas very close to mainland Florida. He led the way for future colonists to settle the United States. But heres the kicker. Growing up, I wasnt exposed to this truth. October 11, 2021 5:00 am. The New York Society of Tammany also honored Columbus of his first voyage with the marking of his 300th anniversary. Today's woke perspective condemns Columbus Day as an unworthy holiday. I doubt it. 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. (He had plenty of different ships on subsequent voyages.). Posted by Zachary Mettler | Oct 14, 2019 | Opinion. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. Because thats public history. Columbus Day was supposed to recognize the greatness of all of America's people, but especially Italians and Native Americans. This is where many of the peaceful natives were met with brutal deaths onboard, whether it be from disease or mistreatment from the handlers. In his role, he writes about current political issues, U.S. history, political philosophy, and culture. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! However, his other two ships on his first voyage were the Santa Clara and the Gallega. When Columbus landed on the island of Guanahani in 1492, North and South America were . Should Columbus Day Be Replaced With Indigenous Peoples Day? It neednt be a battleground, but a chance to celebrate the best within us. This new day was first adopted in Berkeley, California in 1992. 3.Two Reasons Why Columbus Day Should Not be Celebrated; 4.Should Christopher Columbus Day Be Celebrated Essay Example; 5.Columbus Day Is Not Worth Celebrating - GradesFixer; 6.Why Columbus Day Should Not Be Celebrated? History, in fact, is the story of conquest. Columbus was taking advantage of opportunities to find goods by getting the help of slaves. So, enjoy the day off and celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day. But as I got older and began learning more about the history of the Caribbean, the glossy veneer of ol Chris didnt hold up. (Only 23 states give their workers a paid day off to celebrate it, according to a 2013 Pew poll). ," Jake Flanagin explains why many are arguing it . Then they would sail away together to claim their riches. Lastly, I would contend that historical figures should be honored by their great achievements, and not their mistakes or weaknesses. Columbus did not discover America, but his voyages began the Columbian exchange, a turning point in world history involving the massive transfers of human populations, cultures, ideas, animals, plants, and diseases. Of course, I learned that everyone expected him to sail off the edge of a flat earth into space or sea monsters or something. Columbus Day (full text) Flashcards | Quizlet And eventually hundreds of years of African slave trade but uhm, OK, fine, he was a monster. As Greek mythology goes, the universe was once a big soup of nothingness. I believe thats the tact to take when looking at Chris. Congress also believed the holiday would mark the contribution of immigrants to the United States. In 1891, one of the largest mass lynchings in American history took place in New Orleans after nine Italians were acquitted of murdering the city's police chief. In his free time, Mettler enjoys reading, running, hiking, backpacking, and walking his dog. Monday marks Columbus Day, in honor of Christopher Columbus but not all will be celebrating the Italian explorer. Columbus made a total of four voyages to the Americas, visiting the following places (and sighting many others): Interestingly, Columbus never set foot in modern-day USA, nor anywhere else in North America. Reference list: Herman Lindquist, Christopher Columbus var han riktigt klok, Fischer, 1992.