Columbus and Cortes: Heroes or Villains Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortes, and their counterparts are often seen as the adventurous conquistador that discovered the Americas. Many of the textbooks that children read in school go as far as painting Columbus and Cortes as heroes. In the United States, hundreds of cities are named after Christopher Columbus and the second Monday of October is nationally recognized as Columbus Day. However, when one takes the time to truly study what happened when Columbus and Cortez set foot on American soil they begin to question whether or not these explorers are heroes or villains. The widespread genocide that killed millions of Natives in the Americas and the explorers' sole motive to obtain gold, hardly
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It seems as if Columbus's reign of terror started instantaneously, the first Arawak Indians that swam to the boats to greet Columbus and his crew were taken as prisoners and ordered to guide Columbus toward a source of gold. Columbus observed that there were visible bits of gold in the rivers and mistakenly assumed that Cuba was rich with gold. Columbus returned in 1495 with more ships and a much larger crew. 500 Arawak Indians were taken as slaves and roughly 200 of the slaves died on the way back to Spain. Columbus traveled to Cicao, a province in Haiti, where he forced everyone over the age of fourteen years old to collect a certain amount of gold in three months. Any person who could not meet this quota had their arms cut off and bled to death. Columbus's request was ridiculous because their was a scant amount of gold in Cicao. The Indians were being forced to meet a requirement that was impossible to achieve. In a matter of two years a full-blown genocide was in effect and half of the Natives in Haiti were deceased. Christopher Columbus took the remaining Indians and turned them into salves, working them to death at places called encomiendas. By 1515 only 20% of the original Arawak Indian population was …show more content…
Although Cortes was appointed as captain of a Spanish voyage to the America's, the governor of Cuba, Diego Velasquez, revoked his decision and ordered Cortes not to travel. Cortes ignored these commands and sailed to Mexico without permission. Hernan's actions in Cuba prove that he had selfish motives because he went as far as defying his own government. When Hernan reached Mexico he determined that the best way to conquer the Aztecs was through fear. If this philosophy sounds familiar it is because these are the same tactics that terrorist groups use. Hernan Cortes and his army traveled through Mexico killing Aztecs in different cities. One of Hernan's most brutal acts of terrorism occurred in the city of Cholulu. Hernan invited the leaders of Cholulu to meet him in the town square. The leaders and thousands of their servants arrived in town square and were met by Cortes's army, equipped with cannons and crossbows. Every person in the town square was murdered and the Spanish looted the city with ease because everyone was afraid of
It seems as if Columbus's reign of terror started instantaneously, the first Arawak Indians that swam to the boats to greet Columbus and his crew were taken as prisoners and ordered to guide Columbus toward a source of gold. Columbus observed that there were visible bits of gold in the rivers and mistakenly assumed that Cuba was rich with gold. Columbus returned in 1495 with more ships and a much larger crew. 500 Arawak Indians were taken as slaves and roughly 200 of the slaves died on the way back to Spain. Columbus traveled to Cicao, a province in Haiti, where he forced everyone over the age of fourteen years old to collect a certain amount of gold in three months. Any person who could not meet this quota had their arms cut off and bled to death. Columbus's request was ridiculous because their was a scant amount of gold in Cicao. The Indians were being forced to meet a requirement that was impossible to achieve. In a matter of two years a full-blown genocide was in effect and half of the Natives in Haiti were deceased. Christopher Columbus took the remaining Indians and turned them into salves, working them to death at places called encomiendas. By 1515 only 20% of the original Arawak Indian population was …show more content…
Although Cortes was appointed as captain of a Spanish voyage to the America's, the governor of Cuba, Diego Velasquez, revoked his decision and ordered Cortes not to travel. Cortes ignored these commands and sailed to Mexico without permission. Hernan's actions in Cuba prove that he had selfish motives because he went as far as defying his own government. When Hernan reached Mexico he determined that the best way to conquer the Aztecs was through fear. If this philosophy sounds familiar it is because these are the same tactics that terrorist groups use. Hernan Cortes and his army traveled through Mexico killing Aztecs in different cities. One of Hernan's most brutal acts of terrorism occurred in the city of Cholulu. Hernan invited the leaders of Cholulu to meet him in the town square. The leaders and thousands of their servants arrived in town square and were met by Cortes's army, equipped with cannons and crossbows. Every person in the town square was murdered and the Spanish looted the city with ease because everyone was afraid of