Columbus Blog

Columbus - Hero or Villain?

Villain: By all reasonable definition, Christopher Columbus was a villain. The man was responsible -both directly and indirectly - for the death, enslavement, and subjugation of millions of Native Americans. This can be seen from the very first report he wrote home to his patron monarchs, where he says that the Natives would make excellent slaves for the Spanish, and would be easily subjugated. In fact, as soon as he returned to the New World with more ships and troops, Columbus began enslaving the Native peoples to work in his gold mines. Those who refused to work or did not bring in enough gold often experience beatings, the removal of their ears, and execution. Later in his life, as Governor and Viceroy of the colony of Hispaniola, Columbus was known for his iron fist-style of rule; he brutally punished any failures, be they by natives or others, and sold many thousands of Natives into slavery in Europe. Eventually, Columbus was actually arrested by his own men for his brutal mismanagement of the colony, and was brought back to Spain in shackles (though he was then pardoned by the monarchy). Additionally, Columbus' brutal treatment of the Natives inspired countless other spanish explorers and conquistadors to act in a similar manner, leading to thousands more deaths indirectly at the hands of Columbus. Finally, to those who would argue that he was a hero, one might ask if anything "good" he did was actually heroic. His claim to fame, discovering the Americas, was not something that saved Spain or Europe - they had no need for a New World (Although it did of course make Europe stronger). This discovery certainly benefitted Europe in the long run, but that does not make it, or Columbus, heroic.

(Similarly to Columbus, up into the 19th century the United States practiced a policy of brutal conquest of the native peoples on the Western Frontier).