Additional Columbus Day letters from Spaulding High School students
Toolbox
Published: October 10, 2009
The celebration of Columbus Day has severely blurred the distinction of discovery and invasion. Although Columbus did bring the knowledge of the American continents to the European world he did not know he had discovered anything, but he was aware he was torturing the natives.
On Oct. 12 this year, we will once again celebrate the discovery of the Americas, but this event corresponds with the near extermination of the Native American people. Although Columbus did not personally kill all of these Native Americans, he was catalyst that made the abuse of natives acceptable with his own actions and those of his men. Bartolomé de las Casas voyaged to the island of Hispaniola were he saw the brutal treatment of the Natives by the fellow voyagers. De las Casas wrote in his journal about Christians making bets about who could remove a native's head in one blow, and others pulling babies from their mother's breast by their feet and striking their heads against rocks. These facts are not what comes to mind though when one mentions Columbus Day. However, I do believe the discovery of the Americas is something to celebrate, but I do not believe we should also celebrate those who discovered it.
Dakota Woodworth
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Columbus Day shouldn't be a holiday because I think that Columbus stole the credit of discovering the Americas from the Native Americans who were here before Columbus was. Anyone could have suggested to voyage west to end up on the east it was just Columbus who suggested it first. Also Columbus ran the Native Americans from their homes and off of their land. Columbus was cruel to the Native Americans by using them as slaves and made the Native Americans look for gold.
If it wasn't for Columbus there would be more Native Americans than there are now because Columbus killed thousands of Native Americans for his own purposes like to find more land and to find gold. Columbus could have been peaceful with the Native Americans and they probably would have helped Columbus, but instead Columbus forces the Native Americans to find gold and most of the Native American kill themselves instead of suffering. So my opinion is that Columbus Day shouldn't be a holiday because of what he did to the Native Americans, all for land and gold.
Lucas Andress
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As Columbus Day approaches, the controversy over the holiday continues. I believe that Columbus Day should not be a holiday at all.
While Christopher Columbus played a significant part in discovering the New World, he was not the only one who embarked on this journey. Thirty-nine crew members voyaged to the New World with Columbus, none of whose names we are familiar with today. In fact one of these crew members, and not Columbus himself, was the first to sight the new land. On top of this, Columbus killed and tortured many Native Americans when he found they already inhabited the land. The Spaniards killed innocent people, sparing neither the young nor the old. They took babies from their mothers and banged their heads against rocks or drowned them in the river. They burned many Indians alive, slowly torturing them to their deaths. Columbus's men even made a rule that they would kill 100 Indians for every Christian that was murdered.
For these reasons, Columbus Day should not be a holiday. We should not make Columbus out to be a hero that he is not. This nation should simply rid of Columbus Day altogether.
Kaitlyn Roy
Barre
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A holiday is a day to honor a person or event that had a positive impact on history. Columbus Day is typically thought of as the day to celebrate Columbus' great finding of the New World. Columbus is also taught as a great man who made a massive, life changing discovery. What is lacking is the awareness of the barbaric acts. This day has been, and will continue to be celebrated if the entire story of his journey is not told.
Columbus was looking for India. Out of ignorance, not realizing the actual size of the world, he believed that was where he was. He just happened to be in a New World. He died thinking he was in India. Columbus may have been seen as this magnificent sailor who found the Americas, but he was much more than that. He was a greedy, hateful, selfish, murderer!
This beast did everything in his power to seize anything he wished. He took the native's land. He demanded the location of their gold. Columbus and his men took the natives as slaves, forcing them to work, only for the Spaniards benefit. They did not spare anyone. The native men's heads were slashed off, and children were taken from their homes and had their heads smashed against rocks. The Spaniards also burned the natives alive. How could they do these brutal things when Columbus recognized the native's hospitality? How can anyone call himself a Christian when they can murder an innocent child? The fact that many are ignorant of these facts is infuriating. The complete story of his horrid journey must be told. If not, the finer details of the brutality and cruelty that was put upon the natives will fade, and people will continue to believe honoring Columbus is right, until every perspective of the situation is known. If not, we will continue to celebrate cruelty, death, and a killer.
Natasha Carbonell
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Columbus Day has always been a holiday representing the good of Columbus and those who helped him find the New World. The problem here is in the misconceptions of the actuality about Columbus and his men. In fact, Columbus suggested to Europe that he could take the ignorant continental tribes with small amounts of men. Columbus Day should either have a new name or be completely abolished all together. I believe that to celebrate something without a common knowledge of what occurred is worse than simply not celebrating that event.
When looking at how Columbus found America, it seems as though he was friendly to the Indians and that there was peace with the pilgrims. The problem is that Columbus and his men slaughtered, killed, and horrifically murdered Indian tribes, women, and children. This fact is in agreement to my main argument because most children are taught by using bias information towards Columbus and his discovery.
I strongly believe that the solution to Columbus Day either involves abolishment or completely changing how society celebrates the holiday. A method of doing so would be to continue to celebrate the founding of America, but I believe that actions should be taken to understand what the Indians went through. Even a short moment of silence from the whole nation would do justice and show plenty of respect for the Indians of the past and present. Overall, I hope that others will accept this argument knowing that I do not want to completely kill over Columbus Day, but to make a better representation of what occurred hundreds of years ago.
Jacob Eli Trepanier
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Every year on Oct. 12 we should not honor Christopher Columbus. It's important that when we think back to what happened in 1492 when Columbus and his men landed in the Caribbean, we remember all of the facts. I have learned many by reading journal of Bartolome De Las Casas, a man who accompanied Columbus on his journey.
When Columbus left Europe he was sailing to prove there was a shorter way to reach India. When he and his men reached “India” they were truly in the Caribbean. Their hopes were to trade for and find gold in India, but instead they found a group of people who were kind, and naive.
The way that the Europeans treated the people on the land, the Native Americans, was horrible. The Europeans enslaved many of the Native Americans and literally worked them to their deaths. They burned Native people alive because it pleasured them to watch it. They killed babies heartlessly, along with their mothers. The Europeans tortured the Native Americans in ways that people now may never believe. If gold was not provided enough to suit the wants of the Europeans, they would cut the hands off of the Native Americans who were supposed to be providing it.
So yes, it is true that Columbus created an opportunity for the many Europeans that live in America today to be here, but he was not an admirable man. We shouldn't remember and celebrate a man who was so greedy and people who committed what may be considered genocide. Instead we should celebrate a day called Discovering America Day so that all the events, the good and the bad, will be remembered.
Kasie Lajeunesse
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Columbus Day has been celebrated for years by American citizens who believe the man was a heroic figure, but I believe what the holiday truly celebrates should be reconsidered. Its complete story has been clouded over by the consistent teachings of Columbus solely as a strong leader. Christopher Columbus deserves to be recognized for his discovery of the New World, however it is imperative that those who admire Columbus' “heroism” realize how inhumane he was in his treatments toward the innocent Native Americans.
Columbus' time in the New World rapidly transformed into a violence- and greed-ridden expedition. In the journal of Las Casas, a man who witnessed Columbus' interactions with the Natives, Columbus' decision was explained that for each European that was killed by a Native American, 100 Native Americans would be annihilated in response. Infants were taken from their mothers only to have their tiny, underdeveloped heads bashed. Neither of these scenarios would be accepted under present American morals, and as a result they are often excluded from the teachings of Christopher Columbus.
Through these examples, I am not suggesting that Christopher Columbus' holiday be swept from the American society. I simply believe that in order to maintain the values this country holds in both freedom and equality, it is of paramount significance that Native Americans and their challenges be remembered as well.
Kristin Rouleau
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If Columbus Day is ever celebrated then it should have nothing to do with the discovery of America. Why should he be acknowledged for “discovering” a land already inhabited. He did not have a care in the world for modern America, but rather in acquiring slaves, gold and any other riches he could plunder. Yes, he was brave and intelligent, but those virtues are unbalanced by the vices of greed and cruelty which he bestowed on the natives. There are three possible solutions to this holiday: 1.) We could have a day in memorial of those who suffered 2.) We could have a day in memory of Columbus and all other masters of enlightenment 3.) Or we could just simply forget the holiday to acknowledge such a cruel and corrupt man.
The only reason most people respect Columbus as a hero is out of complete ignorance. The schools should teach the whole truth about Columbus. Do you really think that a 7-year-old would a look up to Columbus if he knew that Columbus and his men would savagely torture, kill and steal his life for labor if he were in their time? The most important thing we should do is let the general public decide for themselves whether or not Columbus's good deeds: introduced sugar cane to America and that he proved the world was not flat are more important then the facts that he thought he was in the Indies and started making slavery in America a huge problem.
Erin Dewyea
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Columbus Day is quickly approaching and for the first time in many years I have decided to take the road less traveled and will not celebrate the occasion. In fact, with the recent election of this country's first black president, maybe the time has come to rethink this tradition entirely. Celebrating any holiday entitled “Columbus Day.” I think will only help undo all of the strong gains this country has made in its fight against racism and suppression of people of lesser means. For you see, I learned this year about the man called Christopher Columbus. First and foremost he was a slave trader. During his time more than 8 million people were killed under his order, yet we insist on celebrating Columbus Day. This act of killing an entire race of people sounds like a genocide to me. Would the German people today really celebrate the day Hitler moved from Austria to Germany? The actions of Christopher Columbus mirror some that we still fight today in the US and other countries around the world; ones that reflect the death and theft and destruction of indigenous people and their land, and denounces people because of their color. Let's not honor those actions and celebrate this man. Instead let us pay tribute to the development of the Western Expansion and the New World. Let's celebrate what came of his discovery; new technology and a more advanced society. We should celebrate what America is now, and how far we have come as a country.
Jenna Howard
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