But I thought... The Truth About Columbus

Kaitlyn Solotes

Last semester I took a religious studies class to fulfill my global connections requirement. The course I chose focused on indigenous cultures, their spiritual/religious rituals, and the impact of globalization on these cultures. During the first week my professor had us write down everything we have learned or know about Christopher Columbus; half torn sheets of paper with the words “Leader”, “Brave”, “Discoverer” were being passed up in piles. What was really written on the papers were the misconceptions that were taught to us in our 7^th grade social studies classes. [1] I soon found out what Columbus really did in the New World. These despicable acts and crimes against humanity included: Claiming/renaming the Arawak islands, enslaving locals to find gold, killing off the entire population from murder, disease, and suicide, and finally creating a false image of the Natives. [2] After first noting how kindhearted and peaceful the Natives were, Columbus began to portray Native Americans as cannibals, mythologized creatures with tails, and uncivilized savages with no form of government or religion. Now after learning about the rape and sexual assault involved I am even more horrified. It is obvious through Columbus's personal journal entries and witness acquaintances, such as De Las Casas, that he and his men did in fact aid in the raping of multiple indigenous women. I think it is a crime that students are brainwashed to associate the name Columbus with “Hero” instead of “Rapist”. Although the truth is much more gruesome than what we would like to believe, there is an easy alternative rather than falsify history; school systems can change their curriculum to discuss Columbus's voyages in high school as opposed to 6^th and 7^th grade. At such a young age students are not known to question their teachers. Instead, they're going to make Native American headdresses and celebrate good ol' Chris Columbus on their day off from school. What I find particularly interesting is that the negative characterization of Native Americans carried onto paintings and drawings; there are several paintings depicting the Natives as savages who eat human flesh as if it is a juicy turkey leg. In another image shown below the Native Americans are viewed as animalistic with beaks, long necks, and horns coming from their heads. Overall, my opinion of Christopher Columbus is that he may have arrived with good intentions, but those were soon destroyed after killing, raping, and tricking the Natives. I do not think we should have a National holiday celebrating his discovery when he would be dead if tried for murder today.

[1] Katsanos, Tina. "CC's Letter to the Sovereigns." Class lecture, LBST 2102 Global Connections from UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, September 18, 2013.

 

[2] Kasum, Eric. "Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery." Huff Post The Blog. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ (accessed January 30, 2014).