Did Christopher Columbus Day Still Be Celebrated?
Columbus Day is a national United States holiday which celebrates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the new world on October 12, 1492. Of course there is much more to the story of how and why Christopher Columbus came to land in the Americas. His story sparks controversy of whether or not he should be celebrated at all, and there are compelling arguments from both his supporters, and his critics. Should Columbus Day still be celebrated? Researching into the history of Christopher Columbus, his expedition to the new world, and the history of the holiday will aid in answering this question. Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who hoped to gain glory wealth and noble title through the opening of a new western trade route to china,
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When he returned to the small settlement of Navidad which he established in Hispaniola on his first voyage had been destroyed and all his crew members he left behind were dead. Queen Isabella of Castile highly disliked slavery, but against her wishes Christopher Columbus enslaved native peoples and forced them into labor to rebuild the settlement and to search for gold. There was little gold found however, and Columbus’s actions created quite a bit of hatred towards him from the natives. Again he would leave and go back to Spain, leaving his two brothers behind to governor the settlement all while still believing that he had reached the surrounding islands China. On his third expedition he finally made it to the main land where he would explore the Orinoco River. However this time he would return to Spain in chains, due to the poor governing of his brothers and the “near-mutiny of the settlers who Columbus misled into believing there were vast riches to be had. He would face the royal court only to eventually have the charges against him dropped, but at the cost of his governor titles of the Indies and much of the wealth he acquired. Columbus would later make his last voyage to the new world in 1502, but he had to convince King Ferdinand that this last voyage would produce the riches he promised. Just as before his voyage was unsuccessful when couldn’t could not find a route to the Indian Ocean, and his ship went down due to a storm which stranded him and his crew in Cuba. The Royal Governor of Hispaniola rescued Columbus and his crew and brought them back to Spain in November of 1504. Later in 1506 he would die, believing that he had discovered a shorter route to
When he returned to the small settlement of Navidad which he established in Hispaniola on his first voyage had been destroyed and all his crew members he left behind were dead. Queen Isabella of Castile highly disliked slavery, but against her wishes Christopher Columbus enslaved native peoples and forced them into labor to rebuild the settlement and to search for gold. There was little gold found however, and Columbus’s actions created quite a bit of hatred towards him from the natives. Again he would leave and go back to Spain, leaving his two brothers behind to governor the settlement all while still believing that he had reached the surrounding islands China. On his third expedition he finally made it to the main land where he would explore the Orinoco River. However this time he would return to Spain in chains, due to the poor governing of his brothers and the “near-mutiny of the settlers who Columbus misled into believing there were vast riches to be had. He would face the royal court only to eventually have the charges against him dropped, but at the cost of his governor titles of the Indies and much of the wealth he acquired. Columbus would later make his last voyage to the new world in 1502, but he had to convince King Ferdinand that this last voyage would produce the riches he promised. Just as before his voyage was unsuccessful when couldn’t could not find a route to the Indian Ocean, and his ship went down due to a storm which stranded him and his crew in Cuba. The Royal Governor of Hispaniola rescued Columbus and his crew and brought them back to Spain in November of 1504. Later in 1506 he would die, believing that he had discovered a shorter route to