Columbus Day in the United States of America

I will continue the debate by expanding on my points from Round 1. In the next round I will give a rebuttal to your points from the first to rounds. 1. Columbus' actions led to events that destroyed Native American societies. I quote from the first link at the bottom, "In an era in which the international slave trade was starting to grow, Columbus and his men enslaved many native inhabitants of the West Indies and subjected them to extreme violence and brutality. On his famous first voyage in 1492, Columbus landed on an unknown Caribbean island after an arduous three-month journey. On his first day in the New World, he ordered six of the natives to be seized, writing in his journal that he believed they would be good servants. Throughout his years in the New World, Columbus enacted policies of forced labor in which natives were put to work for the sake of profits. Later, Columbus sent thousands of peaceful Taino "Indians" from the island of Hispaniola to Spain to be sold. Many died en route. Those left behind were forced to search for gold in mines and on plantations. Within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been 250,000 Taino were left on their island." As of 2010, there were 2.9 million Native American citizens living in the United States. Why should they honor Christopher Columbus? It could be compared to Jews celebrating a holiday honoring Adolf Hitler. 2. Columbus committed many human rights violations that would make him a criminal if he lived in modern times. He directly violated the 13th amendment to our constitution that forbids slavery. He and his men used Native girls ages 9-10 as sexual slaves. He forced Native men to work in his gold mines until the died of exhaustion. Columbus burned alive slaves who tried to escape, and cut off an ear or a nose from those who resisted slavery. The inhabitants of Hispaniola were a kind, peaceful, and innocent culture before Columbus arrived. You might argue that in Columbus' time, standards of morality were different. That may be true, but even with 15th century standards Governor Francisco De Bobadilla arrested Columbus for his unspeakable crimes against humanity and sent him back to Europe to answer for his crimes. The king and queen of Spain were more concerned with personal profit that with morality, so they let Columbus go free. 3. Columbus' crimes were not only against Native Americans, but against African societies as well. Columbus began what became known as the Columbian Exchange. This was a trade system between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Slaves were traded in addition to goods. African societies were devastated by this because slave traders kidnapped the strongest and most physically fit Africans to be taken to the Americas. In addition to the horrible treatment the slaves received, the societies they left behind were left weak and helpless. With less strong men to fight off European invaders, Africa began a long period of colonization that lasted until the mid 20th century. Although Columbus, wasn't directly responsible for this, he laid the ground for European domination of the Atlantic World at the expense of Africans and Native Americans. 4. Columbus supported slavery. Isn't it ironic that President's Day, a federal holiday, partially honors Lincoln, who wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, while Columbus Day, another federal holiday, honors a man who enslaved many of the inhabitants of Hispaniola and committed acts of extreme violence and brutality. 5. Columbus never reached territory that is in modern-day United States. Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the modern day countries that Columbus visited, celebrate Discovery Day. I find this holiday to be less controversial because it doesn't point to a single person. If other countries can do this, why can't the United States? 6. Columbus was not the first European to reach the Americas. Although his arrival was a significant event, no child should be taught in school that he "discovered" America. Leif Erickson and the Vikings made a voyage to the Americas long before Columbus, and Native Americans had discovered America long before the Vikings. In addition, there are many other possible theories as to pre-columbian trans-oceanic contact as shown in the last link below. Thank you for reading. http://www.history.com... http://www.senate.gov... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... http://americanhistory.about.com... http://www.infoplease.com... http://americanhistory.about.com... http://en.wikipedia.org... http://en.wikipedia.org...