Why Do Christopher Columbus Be Celebrated
“In fourteen hundred and ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He took three ships with him, too,
And called aboard his faithful crew.
Mighty, strong and brave was he
As he sailed across the open sea.
Some people still thought the world was flat!
Can you even imagine that?”
At such a young age this poem is engraved into the minds of young children as a way to celebrate Christopher Columbus. From singing songs about his ships, to eating a compass snack and reading stories many come to believe that Christopher Columbus was a hero as an indisputable fact. He found the America’s and thus must be celebrated for clearing the way for the countries of both North America and South America. For this reason many countries have celebrated Columbus
Day for centuries, the largest celebration being the Quincentenary which occurred in 1992, 500 years after Columbus’ discovery.This holiday, however, inadvertently celebrates the genocide many indigenous peoples suffered and adds insult to the many injuries they have endured since the European discovery of their land. This celebration corrupts the publics understanding of indigenous peoples as it challenges the accomplishment of Columbus and excludes indigenous death from the stories. Thus many refuse to acknowledge the existence of Pre-Columbian civilizations, and instead accept indigenous stereotypes causing negative attitudes to Indigenous movements as they do not understand their cultural history. On the other hand, the controversy around this holiday has expanded public understanding of Columbus’ actions, and provided a platform for indigenous peoples throughout the world by sparking a conversation about those who were in the Americas in pre-Columbian indigenous histories. Columbus Day celebrations have many consequences as they pay tribute to the man whose actions lead to the deaths of millions of Native indigenous peoples and well as slaves within the Americas. The celebration of Christopher Columbus ignores the history of indigenous peoples as it suggests they were not true ‘civilized’ societies prior to the arrival. It creates the image of an other who needed the help of Europeans in order to become civilized individuals. Columbus Day also vilifies the indigenous peoples as many take great offense to the notion that Christopher Columbus was not in fact a “heroic christian man” rather than serving as a remembrance day for those killed due to European contact. This holiday in more recent times however, has also helped the public's understanding of native americans as it has been replaced with Indigenous People’s Day which serves as a memorial for the indigenous peoples murdered centuries ago, and allows insights to the rich culture still present in our society today.
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He took three ships with him, too,
And called aboard his faithful crew.
Mighty, strong and brave was he
As he sailed across the open sea.
Some people still thought the world was flat!
Can you even imagine that?”
At such a young age this poem is engraved into the minds of young children as a way to celebrate Christopher Columbus. From singing songs about his ships, to eating a compass snack and reading stories many come to believe that Christopher Columbus was a hero as an indisputable fact. He found the America’s and thus must be celebrated for clearing the way for the countries of both North America and South America. For this reason many countries have celebrated Columbus
Day for centuries, the largest celebration being the Quincentenary which occurred in 1992, 500 years after Columbus’ discovery.This holiday, however, inadvertently celebrates the genocide many indigenous peoples suffered and adds insult to the many injuries they have endured since the European discovery of their land. This celebration corrupts the publics understanding of indigenous peoples as it challenges the accomplishment of Columbus and excludes indigenous death from the stories. Thus many refuse to acknowledge the existence of Pre-Columbian civilizations, and instead accept indigenous stereotypes causing negative attitudes to Indigenous movements as they do not understand their cultural history. On the other hand, the controversy around this holiday has expanded public understanding of Columbus’ actions, and provided a platform for indigenous peoples throughout the world by sparking a conversation about those who were in the Americas in pre-Columbian indigenous histories. Columbus Day celebrations have many consequences as they pay tribute to the man whose actions lead to the deaths of millions of Native indigenous peoples and well as slaves within the Americas. The celebration of Christopher Columbus ignores the history of indigenous peoples as it suggests they were not true ‘civilized’ societies prior to the arrival. It creates the image of an other who needed the help of Europeans in order to become civilized individuals. Columbus Day also vilifies the indigenous peoples as many take great offense to the notion that Christopher Columbus was not in fact a “heroic christian man” rather than serving as a remembrance day for those killed due to European contact. This holiday in more recent times however, has also helped the public's understanding of native americans as it has been replaced with Indigenous People’s Day which serves as a memorial for the indigenous peoples murdered centuries ago, and allows insights to the rich culture still present in our society today.