book source

Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Touchstone Books. 1995.

James W. Loewen’s book Lies My Teacher Told Me has a chapter dedicated to telling the menacing true tale of Christopher Columbus. He refutes the surrounding myths concerning Columbus documented in published historical texts by quoting from Columbus’ own journal. When looking upon the inhabitants of the island Columbus voyaged to, he wrote in his journal that he “could conquer the whole of them with fifty men and govern them as I pleased.” Columbus was a cruel and greedy man who kidnapped, stole, killed and tortured many of the Indians. Loewen writes that Columbus and his men were in consistent demand of food, gold, spun cotton, sex with their women, etc. If an Indian committed even a minor offence, their ear or nose was cut off. The Spanish were cruel and brutal to the indigenous peoples of the native land.
Christopher Columbus should be rejected as a national holiday because it creates a racial underclass. Columbus took land, took wealth, created the transatlantic slave trade, and forced labor on indigenous peoples, which led many of them to near extermination. He thought them “cruel and stupid and a people warlike and numerous, whose customs and religion are very different from ours.” (Loewen)
This book source will be helpful because it seeks to find the underlying myths behind historical stories. Elementary school students are taught at an early age that Columbus was a great man who discovered America, made friends with the Indians, and left with peace. The reality is the opposite. Celebrating Columbus Day is offensive to the Natives of the land. There was no rejoicing day when Columbus came. The Spanish mistreated the Indians to the point of near extinction. The true facts surrounding Columbus day are hopefully evident to most individuals in America. The myths need to be revealed and the holiday should change to something less offensive and brutal.

Opposition to Columbus Day

Research Question: Should Christopher Columbus be rejected as a national hero?

http://www.transformcolumbusday.org/articles.html

There are many myths surrounding Christopher Columbus. It is commonly believed that he figured out that the earth was round, that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella loved him, that he set foot on North America, that he was a kind man who never killed any of the natives, etc. In reality, mostly everyone already knew that the earth was round; Columbus was simply trying to figure out the circumference. Also, the king and queen did not love him, but rather thought of him as arrogant and narcissistic. He never set foot on North America and initiated the first Trans-Atlantic slave trade, transporting thousands of indigenous peoples from the Americas to Europe and from Africa to the Caribbean. Columbus and his followers contributed to the first mass genocide of indigenous peoples; over 8 million were killed under his administration. The reality of the legacy revolves around blood, violence, and death. Samuel Eliot Morrison, who wrote a biography on the life of Columbus noted that "the policy and acts of Columbus for which he alone was responsible began the depopulation of the terrestrial paradise that was Hispaniola in 1492…one third were killed off between 1494 and 1496.

The celebration of Columbus Day is considered demeaning and disrespectful since it elevates the pride of one group over another. The only values Columbus Day celebrates is subjugation and genocide. There is no value found in a cultural celebration that downgrades culture. When a parade in honor of Columbus is allowed to take place without any objection, it tacitly supports the values celebrating subjugation and disrespect. In opposing the Columbus Day Parade and all its celebrations, the values of good will, mutual respect, and collective dignity are much more in tact.

Another web page I found has multiple resources and links to primary sources and historical texts documenting the true tale of the day Columbus sailed the ocean blue, refuting the myths surrounding it.