Columbus

History books have been documented the events of the past through the eyes of those in power at that time period. When these people have something to be embarrassed or ashamed of they can shape and twist history books to reflect how they wish to be viewed. A prime example of this is the way Christopher Columbus is portrayed in textbooks to this day.

When you think of Columbus the words that come to mind are explorer, hero, and voyager. A voyager who has been given a national holiday for his effort in discovering a new world, which became home to a land that represents freedom and opportunity. However, in his effort to discover this new world different words like greed, power hungry, and murder are much more appropriate. Columbus took advantage of a civilization that could not defend themselves from the deadly and more advanced weapons carried by Columbus and his men. What Columbus did to these Indians can only be described as genocide. He looked at this civilization and saw an opportunity to cash in on the land, gold, and slaves these Indians offered. Offered not willingly but forcefully by the greed driven men who felt they were far superior to the point that these Indians were not men but just pawns that Columbus could take advantage of.

The fact that these important details were left out of history books is a grave injustice towards those men that were taken advantage of so many years ago. The misinformation provided in these history books lead to a holiday given to a man whose sole motivation was greed and viciously killed in order to achieve it. We should no longer be given the false impression that Columbus is an upright and decent man when killing a civilization and turning the rest into slaves only achieved his achievements.