Columbus's Men example essay topic

Columbus is considered by most Americans to be the courageous man who discovered the new world and the man who would transverse so much difficulty to do what he holds dearest to his heart, discover! Now that I'm done with the cute version of the lies that most children must be taught in order to become an active person in society, I'll tell you the truth about what that man that we hold so dear was really doing on those Islands of the New World! This essay will touch upon the wonderfully perverse tragedies that Columbus and his men visited upon the natives of the Indies, of these topics are the cruel hunting parties, the children that were prostituted to satisfy the Spaniards, and finally it will talk about the other malicious and immoral activities of other "more advanced" European societies. As the fact that there was not too much to do on an Island in the middle of an Ocean, hunting soon became popular. Now I wouldn't see this as a major indiscretion, except for when Columbus's men took to hunting, it was not the simple creatures of Islands he and his dogs chased down. When his men took to the rifle for entertainment it was when they loosed their dogs, as vicious and bloodthirsty as the men who held their leashes, on the men, women, and children of this peaceful Island.

To quote an passage from the packet from the book Lies My Teacher Told Me, "The soldiers mowed down dozens of with point-blank volleys, loosed the dogs to rip open limbs and bellies, chased fleeing Indians into the bush to skewer them on sword and pike, and 'with God's aid soon gained a complete victory, killing many Indians and capturing others who were also killed' " (Loewen 61-2)... Previously it was mentioned that the Spaniards prostituted small girls of the ages, as Columbus said. ".. those from nine to ten are now in demand" (Loewen 65). Well this wasn't exactly the case, they did not prostitute the children, but they flat out raped them. Apparently as soon as the expedition in 1493 got to the Caribbean, before it even reached Haiti, Columbus was rewarding his lieutenants with native women to rape.

It seems that a sex slave was just another perk that one of Columbus's men enjoyed on the Haitian Islands. Of course we all know the new and unknown disease of Syphilis, was another perquisite the men enjoyed from their unsolicited sexual advances. Finally, it seems that the Spaniards, though known for the particular cruelty, were not the only Europeans to reap havoc upon the Natives of the New World. After 1500, Portugal, France, Holland, and Britain joined in conquering the America's.

It looks as if the British were at least as cruel as the Spanish, for them, unlike the Spaniards, did not colonize by making use of the Natives for their labor, but instead simply forced them out of the way. Strange, as brutish as the Spanish were, the Indians fled British territories to the Spanish ones in search of more humane treatment. This essay touched upon such topics as the absolute cruelty of the Spanish hunting parties, the sadistic natures of the men at sea when it came to sexual habits, and finally it talked about the almost inhumane way the other Europeans treated the natives of the land that we cherish so much! Columbus was a hero, he discovered the New World. I don't think so, the man may have had ideals before he set sail, but from the looks of it he was just another greedy, sick little man who found his pleasures in the suffering of the others. Man of courage or man of cruelty, the choice is yours to decide, but I've already made my choice.

Work Cited: Loewen, James W. "The True Importance of Christopher Columbus". Lies My Teacher Told Me. Simon and Schuster. New York: New York, 1995.18-36.