Vincent Fiery- In Defense of Columbus
Christopher Columbus is a person who has come under a large amount of scrutiny over the years, especially recently with the Columbus day debacle. I stand by a firm belief that Christopher Columbus is not strong enough or evil enough in his intentions to be considered a villain and although he does have many positive effects on the world he most certainly can not be considered a hero. Columbus helped to connect two worlds and usher in a new age of trade, connectivity, disease, war, death, and prosperity of differing levels. Overall Columbus is just a bad guy that did some good things but in the end is really neither a hero or villain. To start of it is best to observe why Columbus may be considered a villain. Columbus killed a large amount of natives through the forcible oppression and domination of the local American peoples. Columbus would also help start a precedent that would be the first encomienda system resulting in Native American slavery and death for years to come. His expeditions would spread syphilis to the Old World and allow for the start of the Atlantic Slave Trade to America resulting in massive implications around the world. Supervising the situation over America it is made clear that Columbus expressed opinions of cultural superiority over the natives and desired for their oppression from his very first meeting between him and the natives. The Columbian Exchange started by Columbus would lead to massive levels of animal extinction and a decrease in diversities of food and life. His discoveries would also lead to many wars and more forms of cultural and economic oppression. This explanation on Christopher Columbus outlines him clearly as a villain but other views could help him to plead his case against the accusations. While Columbus did do some bads things it should be made clear that many good things came from his voyages. Columbus helped move the world forward towards a new age with many of his actions. Columbus's voyage would allow for massive population increases due to the spread of new foods and massive amounts of trade and wealth that would help nations consolidate power and become more cohesive units which would usher in many new advancements. His actions would also eventually positively affect the Americas with the transfer of Old World animals that would shape the life of many native tribes and peoples of the Americas. Columbus also facilitated the introduction of quinine to Europe which would help cure malaria. Columbus would help increase the ability of a global economy to thrive and help start the commercial revolution which saw many new forms of wealth that were not as strictly based in the old aristocracy. The discovery of the new lands would also provide hope to settlers that wanted a new life free of governmental burden. All these things could make Columbus sound like a good man but coupled with his bad deeds it shows that he is neutrally moral at best. The last most important piece of the Columbus story is the influence he had over the many things that occurred under him. It should be noted that many of the things occurring under Columbus and his voyages are not really heavily controlled by Columbus. Columbus may have wanted to spread god's word, gain glory, and acquire wealth but overall his goal was not to perpetuate mass genocide or mass amounts of slavery. Many ideas adopted by Columbus were reused and many things that happened were out of his control. Many of Columbus actions were motivated by fear and a need to sate the lust of the Spanish empire. The reason why it is easy to argue that Columbus simply isn't a villian is that he did not have bad enough intentions to be considered evil. Columbus acted out of fear, self-preservation, and basic desires. The actions taken by Columbus cannot be equated to say Hitler's actions because he simply did not have a high enough level of power or influence and did not have the strength of intention a man like Hitler had. Columbus did very little that one would say was evil when one looks at basic conquering rules and recycled ideas. Columbus is not mean spirited enough to anyone's knowledge to know if he truly wished to exterminate a population out of pure hatred or did anything past the normal standards he might have sought. God might judge him poorly but still then he did bring many natives into the lords fold and did not commit many actions himself that would be considered truly evil. Patience Moses The Age of Exploration occurred from the early fifteenth century and lasted till the early 17th century. The Muslims had monopolized trade between Europe and Asia after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, and had also increased the prices for goods. This, and the inventions of cutting-edge maritime technologies prompted Europeans to search for new trading routes to Asia. Christopher Columbus developed the idea of sailing west to get to the East, and with money from Ferdinand and Isabella, he travelled with his crew, and arrived in the Carribeans in 1492. Centuries later, between fifty and ninety percent of Native American populations had been killed, and some tribes became extinct. To replace the depopulating labor force, Europeans imported about 10 million slaves from Africa, killing many other millions on route to the Americas, and forced them to work on plantations and mines. The Age of Exploration lead to the exploitation and deaths of Africans and Native Americans, but its impacts on Europe was quite different. Europe enjoyed population growth from New World plants, and a boost to its economy through the influx of gold and raw materials, but it also suffered from New World diseases and from a later inflation. The Columbian Exchange, a consequence of the Age of Exploration, saw the transfer of New World plants to the Old World. Europe, and even the rest of the world, enjoyed crops like potatoes, maize, cassava, tomatoes, cocoa, chili peppers, avocados and blueberries. Of all these crops, potatoes had the biggest impact in Europe, especially in Ireland. Potatoes could be grown with minimum labor in cold, damp climates unsuitable for Old World staples. They provided caloric and nutritional improvements that led to a massive population increase. In the 16th century, the population increased by about 20 million. Potatoes became such an important staple food in Ireland that an average Irish worker often ate ten pounds of potatoes everyday. This crop was able to feed thousands of workers during the Industrial Revolution until the Great Famine in 1845. Tomatoes, cocoa, and chili peppers also increased vitamin intake and improved taste. One negative impact of this exchange was that the population growth led to the increase in the demand for food, which further led to the rise in prices, and contributed to the inflation. There are few examples of diseases being spread from the New World to the Old World, but the most notable exception is the venereal syphilis. Although it appeared in Europe around 1493, the first well-recorded outbreak occurred in 1495 among French troops besieging Naples, Italy. It was brought to Europe sailors who had acquired it from the natives through sexual contact, and then upon their return to Europe, worked as mercenaries for royal families. Europeans were fond of ascribing the disease to each other. The Italians called it the “French disease” and vice versa, the Russians called it the “Polish disease”, and the Turks called it the “Christian disease.” The name-calling was often used as a form of propaganda. Syphilis affected many notable individuals, including numerous family members of the Tudor and Valois families. Even though the disease was less deadly than the Old World diseases brought to the New World, it was known to have caused a lot of social disruption throughout Europe. The Age of Exploration had, arguably, the greatest impact on the economy of Europe. This is because the major motive of European countries financing expeditions around the globe was “Gold”. Europeans were looking for a new route to Asia to replace the land routes that Muslims had taken over. But they were also hoping that there were new lands that would provide gold, and other treasures. When gold was discovered on the Americas, everything changed. Spanish settlements established in the New World grew into colonies whose sole purpose was to provide gold and other raw materials, and bolster the Spanish economy. Spain, perhaps more than any other country, benefited the most from the exchange of goods and the influx of precious metals from the Americas. Unfortunately, this massive flow of gold and silver, as many historians believe, led to the inflation that caused the fall of Spain. There was an increase in the supply of money compared to goods, and this led to higher prices. Regardless, they were able to enjoy a golden age, and with the wealth, were able to build the world’s largest and most powerful fleet. Exploration and trade also led to the growth of capitalism, or investing money for profit, especially in the Netherlands and England. Merchants gained great wealth, and used their profits to fund other voyages and to start trading companies, like the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. People invested in these joint-stock companies and shared in their profits as well. The Age of Exploration had negative and positive impacts, not only in Europe, but in Africa and in the Americas. But overall, Europe stood to benefit from the latter, as they enjoyed greater economic benefits, at the cost of millions of native American deaths, and Africa’s future dependence on Europe.
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