Presley Lorell Gayaut Gayaut 1

Cooper, English 1301 ACC DC

Essay 2 - Analysis and Argument

September 27, 2018

Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day

In October every year, most American citizens, teachers and students, celebrate what is

known as Columbus Day. This national holiday commemorates Christopher Columbus’s

“discovery” of America. In doing so, Columbus is seen as a hero. But in fact he didn't “discover”

america, he only popularized it. To me, it is reasonable for us to change the way we teach our

younger and future generations and tell them the truth about columbus. We should celebrate

indigenous peoples day instead because Christopher Columbus accidentally arrived in america,

he was known by his peers as a brutal ruler, and native americans did so much more good for

the us than columbus did.

In 1492 Christopher Columbus was funded by Spain to find a direct ship route from

europe to asia, more specifically India. What ended up happening was that Columbus landed

somewhere in the Caribbean Islands. He left there to return to Spain and left behind a crew to

settle, when he returned they had been killed by the natives. So Christopher Columbus why

supposably “discovered” the Americas, didn’t intentionally plan on finding America. He also

didn't stay in America to help colonize it, he left other people to do that part. On that topic,

Michael Berliner argues that ,"...Columbus didn't discover America, because people had lived

here for thousands of years. Worse yet, it’s claimed, the main legacy of Columbus is death and

destruction.1" Meaning that the legacy that Columbus left dealt with the negatives dealing with

1
Dr. Berliner is the senior advisor to the Ayn Rand Archives. Ayn Rand Archives is a research and
publicizing phacititie which access is extended to scholars, general writers, journalists, and university
students. 
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death. This is important because it he points out the obvious (that he didn’t discover america)

and adds to it on how Columbus’ “legacy” was “death” or destruction.

As people started coming and staying in the new world, the power and greed got to

Columbus. It was said, that Columbus was the one who ruthlessly claimed the Native

American’s land for himself, and Spain. In The Four Voyages, Laurence Bergreen points out

that, "explorers under the spanish flag were widely condoned as murderers and thieves who

habitually resorted to inhuman extremes of cruelty.2" Bergreen probably feels the need to point

this out to elaborate on how the people saw the spanish explorers more importantly, Columbus.

Richard Mize quotes Bartolome de la Casas, a former crew member of Columbus that “Las

Casas did not turn [on Columbus] immediately, but his continued witness of abuse and the

weight of the hypocrisy in which he was entangled led him to repent, divest himself of his royal

holding, and by 1514-1516 he began to advocate for the native peoples of the New World.3”

This means Las Casas was so appalled by the devastation and savagery of Columbus that he

entered priesthood to defend the “powerless indigenous people.” So why would I want to

celebrate a day dedicated to a man who was known for being “ruthless,” and tolerated “abuse”

and “savagery?”

Berliner, Michael. “The Christopher Columbus Controversy: Western Civilization vs. Primitivism.” 
Capitalism Magazine​, 14 Oct. 1999,  
www.capitalismmagazine.com/1999/10/the-christopher-columbus-controversy-western-civilization-vs-pri
mitivism/.
2
Laurence Bergreen is an American Historian and author. He has successfully published over 10
novels and is still making more.
Bergreen, Laurence. ​Columbus: the Four Voyages​. Viking Adult, 2011.
3
Richard Mize
Mize, Richard. “Christopher Columbus and Bartolome De Las Casas.” ​Phillips Theological Seminary​, 2011, 
www.se.edu/nas/files/2013/03/NAS-2011-Proceedings-Mize.pdf.
 Gayaut 3

In both of these quotations or arguments by Berliner and Bergreen reveal that they both

see the negatives in Columbus which I agree with. The common ground that Berliner and

Laurence Bergreen hit in both of their works of writing was that Columbus and those who sailed

after him under the Spanish flag had a reputation as "...murderers and thieves.4" They both

addressed how Columbus was a bad person, and how the natives “could not do anything about

what was happening to them.5" Both of these quotations reveal that they both see the negatives

in Columbus which I agree with.

As my underding students in school should be taught about Christopher Columbus and

what happened during his life but, we as Americans should not celebrate Columbus day.

Instead, we should focus on celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day, because it’s about celebrating

millennia of tradition and culture that's otherwise overlooked. Which means it's about observing

the importance of everything that native americans have brought to our United States culture

Again, we shouldn't celebrate Columbus day because he didn’t discover America, he was

proven to not be a good person, and we under appreciate the Native Americans. So, what will

you celebrate this October?

4
Michael Berliner
Berliner, Michael. “The Christopher Columbus Controversy: Western Civilization vs. Primitivism.” 
Capitalism Magazine​, 14 Oct. 1999,  
www.capitalismmagazine.com/1999/10/the-christopher-columbus-controversy-western-civilization-vs-pri
mitivism/.
5
Laurence Bergreen
Bergreen, Laurence. ​Columbus: the Four Voyages​. Viking Adult, 2011.