So today during English III our teacher said we had to write a paper for the DAR essay contest (minimum 800 words). The topic: How is Christopher Columbus comparable to George Washington? Me and quite a few other people in my class spoke up about how terrible Columbus was (gets credit for getting lost at sea, killing thousands upon thousands of native Americans, starting the slave trade to the new world and back to Europe, and more). And our teacher was just like "Okay, maybe just tone down your argument or just hold your nose and write the essay answering the topic question" I have no clue why older people and other people don't realize how much of a complete jerk Christopher Columbus was. I honestly think he's more comparable to Hitler than to George Washington. >.>
I've actually read that, Frenchman. It makes some really good points about how much of a POS Columbus was.
Maybe it also has something to do with geography/nationality? Columbus isn't really mentioned that much during highschool history classes over here. I'm a history student and we've had quite an enlightening education about when people learned the earth was round and who discovered the U.S. Long story short: Columbus was only mentioned once, by virtue of starting the European invasion of the Americas.
He's a man whom racists/imperialists can use to support racial subjugation with the defence of "tradition" and "history". Washington is similar; anyone who calls him or the other US founders "freedom-loving", "egalitarian", "fair" etc., are less ignoring that he had slaves as they are approving he had slaves. It's easier to support atrocities when you can say you have "history, civilisation, and tradition" behind you.
I think it is a generational thing. Historically, school text books were written from the point of view of Europe expanding. In this European context Columbus was significant. But in a global context he was an 'incident'. It will make an interesting twist on your essay if you discuss these things and you should get a good mark !!
Can I just point out that as someone who learned about him in a spanish secondary school, his name isn't even columbus. Its Cristobal Colon.
I'm also curious; why is Colombus more famous than Amerigo Vespucci? Vespucci discovered far more for Europe than Colombus, and also didn't kill native Americans, as well as his name being the one given to the continents. I think the answer is that he wasn't imperialist in himself, and he treated the people he came across with respect, and even adopted some of their customs. It's far better for racists to claim Colombus was more influential, as that means they can call the massacres a "necessity" in order to "civilise" the Americas.
Part of being a good writer and developing skill at debating is having the ability to argue either side in a convincing manner even when your own personal bias is screaming from within you. I actually had to argue FOR gun control in our debate team. It was hard, but I did it. I had to defend Casey Anthony in our government class. I had to argue against the death penalty in debate team. (this was a GOOD debate) I had to write a 20 page paper in which I was to respond to a paper of my choosing. I picked a paper that argued that a 1911 pistol was better then a Glock pistol. I had to break down each point of the paper and respond to each point. I wrote the paper and turned it in for an A grade even though I would MUCH prefer a 1911 pistol over a Glock. So, even though your internal bias is screaming from inside you, you should be able to write a paper that praises everything CC did to benefit other people. You could argue that slavery was the only reason the South had such wealth. Without slaves, cotton, and tobacco the South wouldn't have had such economic power! Once you finish writing it, you can brush the bad taste out of your mouth and swish with Listerine. It'll be worth it for an A! I research and form strong opinions, but even my own opinions won't get in the way of my GPA.
People like Columbus because he's simple, easy. People like the idea that before 1492 America wasn't a place. BAM! This is where it began when who started it and how. This is why people like learning about a battle or war. This person signed this paper freeing the slaves. Not, after an increased philosophical movement in Europe, due partially to economic prosperity from increased trade.... takes too long and is too boring. Unfortunately this obsession with definite occurrences with definite consequences leads to the heroification (or inversely villification)of those involved. Nobody wants to say Columbus was a bad man because in their minds Columbus effectively created two continents, one of which they live on, and to acknowledge the creator as imperfect goes against the western religious belief that the creator (God) is perfect. Or something. I'm kinds out of it right now so forgive me if I wrote something stupid. I have a bad feeling about comparing Columbus to God...
When I think of Christopher Columbus, I think of two things: 1) he missed New York harbor by a wide margin, and 2) lots and lots of sexually transmitted infections among his crew that were brought to the New World, or back to Europe
We were told a story about Chris Columbus in elementary school, but were mostly concerned with drawing pictures of his ships. Later I learned that he didn't set out to prove that the earth was round, and that he didn't even hit the American mainland. My high school history class didn't give a damn about him, and neither did I until seeing that Oatmeal post (^^great catch, I was going to reference it if nobody else did) so now I think he was an awful sack. If I were in a position of power, I'd take the name off of his holiday in an instant.
Damn. You beat me to it. I saw the thread title, got the link ready and-oh. Colombus is a genocidal bastard, enough said.
In fact, Columbus wrote eagerly of the potential to enslave the natives, as they were "weak" (did not have guns). I see nothing to indicate he would disapprove of the genocide that followed. We certainly should not have a "day" celebrating his actions.
Not all older people think he's cool. I have a professor who, with disdain, referred to him as "one of those dead white guys". He's thought of as the guy who "discovered America", as if it was a completely untouched land that had never had human feet on its soil before Columbus came around... The language used to describe him is a way to try and re-write history. Don't worry, there are a lot of older people who think he was a jerk who shouldn't be hailed as the hero he is.
