Native American Genocide Research Paper

Can you believe some people don 't consider the extermination of Native Americans an act of genocide? Native Americans once lived in peace, but then European colonists such as Christopher Columbus began to invade their land. At first, the Natives and them treated each other with respect, but soon after, Columbus turned on the Natives ' and used their generosity to his advantage. Aside from brutal acts of abuse, murder, and thief, they also brought diseases such as small pox and measles which slowly began to wipe out their population. Millions of Natives suffered during this time, but the most appalling aspect of this situation was the fact that Columbus denied his part in the eradication. Genocide is defined as "the destruction of a nation,
Columbus and his men committed lurid acts such as rape and murder to obtain this precious, auric treasure. His agreement with Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand is what instigated his desire for gold, for they promised him 10% of all profits. Quoted from, "The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503 the Voyages of the Northmen," Columbus wrote to the highnesses saying, "Gold is most excellent; gold is treasure, and he who possesses it does all he wishes to in this world," (Bourne, p.412) which explains his wicked attempts to take over the Native American land. Prior to his thirst for wealth, many other selfish decisions were made, for instance, his intent of slavery and power. Columbus then made returning trips to the Americas bringing more of his men to help put his plan into
In "The Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of America," he stated, "We shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them as their Highnesses may command; and we shall take away your goods, and shall do all the harm and damage that we can," (Hanke, p.33) revealing his new endeavor. Out of those 1,500 he chose 500 who he thought were the strongest and killed off the rest. Two hundred of them died on the way back to Spain due to illness. Columbus thought bringing back slaves to the King and Queen would increase his power, and give him honor. Not only were Native Americans stripped of their land, robbed of their gold, and enslaved, but they were also coerced into converting their religion of Spirituality into Catholicism. This is explained by an exerpt of Columbus ' journal taken from, "The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503 the Voyages of the Northmen,"