Grant Gallup 9-19-09

The Hero. Revealed!

History has been altered, shaped, twisted and turned. It shows that Christopher Columbus was a great man. It also shows that he was a ghastly one too. For example, many children believe that he was a good man, because he found America, although they do not know about how he treated the Taino Indians or his shipmates. From my observations and research, I believe that Christopher Columbus was a terrible person. Now, embark on a journey with me to the unknown regions of the Earth, while I tell you all about Christopher Columbus. Initially, I will bring up the good things about Christopher Columbus. He was an extremely determined man. He followed around the king and queen of Spain for over six years in search of sponsorship for his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean (which he finally received). Secondly, he found America. He had to have been very brave and full of courage in order to sail into the unknown areas of the world. Also, he worked hard in his studies. When Christopher Columbus was a young boy, he devoted himself to learning. He excelled in his classes because he was a hard worker. Hey, did you know that he got his idea of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from studying and reading books? Yep its true, he read Marco Polos books that talked about the rich Asian countries full of expensive spices and roofs made of gold. This fascinated him and gave him that spark of exploration in his blood. Because of that spark of exploration that made him sail across the ocean and find new land, he has passed it on to the young children out there that someday wish to be an explorer.

Grant Gallup 9-19-09

Moreover, on to the more dismal things Christopher Columbus did in his life. Columbus treated the Taino Indians like dirt. He saw that there was gold, and then greed enveloped him and took over his life. He enslaved the Indians and forced them to mine for gold endlessly without any breaks. Some Indians just died from exhaustion and over working. Also, all the Indians had a certain quota of gold that they had to bring to Columbus at regular intervals, or else they would be punished. If they failed to bring in the amount of gold he demanded, then he would sever their hands, and they would eventually bleed to death. Not only did he treat the Indians like dirt, he treated his shipmates like dirt too. If they made one little mistake, he would scream his head off at them. Also, when they were on land, Christopher Columbus even hanged some of his own crew if they disobeyed. When Christopher Columbus came to the new land, the population of the Taino Indians was about 1,130,000. In about a year, the population plummeted to about a mere 1,000. Most of this was caused by the diseases that Columbus and his crew brought to the Taino. The main disease that he brought to the Taino was small pox. Small pox was the main cause of death that he brought upon the Indians. Even when the Indians were diagnosed with small pox, he didnt even try to help them. He just let them die, and then got angry, because he had fewer men to do his slave work. Another cause of death among the Indians, was drowning, and guess what, its Christopher Columbus fault again. Because of his greed for money and power, he forced the Indians to dive into the ocean for pearls relentlessly. The Indians would drown, because they werent used to such labor. Before he arrived, the Indians never dove for pearls before, because they were useless to the Taino. But then, when Columbus came, he saw the numerous amounts, enslaved the Indians, and

Grant Gallup 9-19-09

forced them to pearl dive until they died. Again, if an Indian died, he would become furious because it depleted his work force. In summation, there are some good things, and some bad things about Christopher Columbus. He was a determined and hard working man, and on the other hand he was a cruel and ghastly leader driven by greed. As you can tell, there is a whole lot more evidence proving that he was a horrible man, and that is the side to which I place my beliefs.