Columbus The Villain Essay, Research Paper
Columbus the Villain
Essay submitted by Maggie
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And, when he reached his destination he killed,
raped and enslaved innocent natives. Was Columbus a villain? The answer to that
question, in my opinion, would be yes. Christopher Columbus was a cruel, self-centered,
delusional man who does not deserve to be praised for the discovery of America.
First, Columbus was a cruel man who enslaved, raped, and murdered the natives of the
countries he sailed to. According to an article by John Margolis entitled “Goodbye
Columbus”, Columbus “oversaw the killings of some (Indians) and ordered the
enslavement of others.” Margolis goes on to say that Columbus did not prevent his
crewmen from raping the innocent natives, and even that he himself raped an Indian
women after beating her “with a piece of rope”. If these actions do not constitute
villainy, I don’t know what does.
Also, Columbus could be described as a self-centered and delusional man. His critics
have described him as not a ge
that the world was about 25 percent smaller than it actually is.” Columbus believed that
he was saving the souls of his captives and granting them eternal life by taking the
natives out of their environment and shipping them back to Spain. He even went so far
as to believe that he was getting “personal messages from above”.
Columbus does not deserve to be praised for the discovery of America. In short, if he
didn’t do it, someone else would have within 10 years. He was not the only one who
believed that the earth was round, and the ideas of similar voyages had been
previously proposed.
Christopher Columbus was a cruel, delusional, and self-centered man who does not
deserve high praises for the discovery of America. He allowed the killing, rape, and
enslavement of innocent natives. Columbus was an ego-maniac who believed that he
was doing the natives favors by killing them. If he had not discovered America, it is
believed that some other Europeans would have. As one can plainly see, Columbus was
a true villain.