Why Christopher Columbus is A Hero

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Why Christopher Columbus is A Hero

The date of birth of Christopher Columbus was unclear. Different people estimated his date of birth differently. However, the most agreeable date that Christopher Columbus was born is 1436, in Genoa. Because of his fame, many villages in Genoa claimed ownership of his place of birth. His family’s name is written as Colombo in Italy and has been used for more than a hundred years. In Spain, it is written as Colon. In France, it is written as Colomb and in England, it is written as Columbus. Christopher Columbus was the first son of Dominico Colombo and Suzanna Fontanarossa. He had two brothers. Christopher attended the University of Pavia where he studied geometry, grammar, geography, astronomy, navigation and Latin Language. Christopher Columbus was considered as a hero because of his discovery of America. He was a hero because of the discoveries he made about new lands through his voyages, something no one had ever done before. This paper will demonstrate Christopher Columbus’ heroism through the analysis of his voyages and the discoveries he made including the difficulties he encountered and overcame through his professional career as a sailor[1].

Christopher Columbus has received attention from historians, public opinion samplers, journalists and other people who want to know who he was, what he did and his importance to America. Discovery has been defined as the time when a person or people find something that is important and was not previously known. In history, only the Polynesians of the South Pacific and the Europeans have been said to be true discoverers. They sailed with the intent of finding new land and trading with other people and for reasons of colonizing them. However, out of all the discoverers that were made by other explorers, Christopher Columbus’ discovery was the most significant, for the reason that his discovery was the most notable against all odds.

Before his voyage, all voyages by Europeans were done on coastlines, seas and lands that were previously known or seen by people who sailed storm ships. Compared to all explorers, Christopher Columbus was the only one who sailed straight across a broad and an unfamiliar sea. He did not know how much time he would need to reach the land he was looking for. He did not even know what was in existence in the other part of land. Columbus went on his voyage with several men in three ships carrying supplies of food and other things that he needed and believed that they would be enough for the entire voyage. Luckily, in his voyage, he discovered the land that America lies on[2].

For the most of his practiced life as a sailor, Columbus did his explorations in eastern Atlantic, West Africa, Iceland and Atlantic islands of Portugal. While in his explorations, Columbus picked reports of strange vegetation and other objects such as curved rocks. He even had a report of men who were neither black nor white. He studied wind patterns in the Atlantic Ocean. He noted that winds move from the Canary Islands towards the Atlantic Coast of North Africa. He also noted that winds move from east to west while in other places such as Spain, France and the northern parts, winds blow from west to east. Therefore, he used this information to know that he would sail to the west with the winds and towards home with the westerlies. No other person had thought something like this. This makes Columbus a hero.

The carved objects and the vegetation that he recorded including the other bodies could not float from Asia to Europe, if they were distantly located, as experts had claimed and far from what Columbus’ calculations. However, the calculation done by Columbus was right. He stated that there was a certain land towards the west and ships could reach it. Columbus believed that God chose him, to find that land that was not known to the western world for many years. Seneca, the Roman Philosopher had prophesied about this land and he had stated that it would be revealed someday. Columbus took the concept Catholic denomination to the land that he discovered. Therefore, the heroism associated with Christopher Columbus is more so tied to his courage to put his life in danger in order to find a land that he did not know about. Queen Isabel of Spain believed in Columbus and she allowed him to take the voyage despite the advices she received from people against the voyage and the little knowledge she had on world geography[3].

The day Columbus chose to go on the voyage reflected his profound belief and faith in the catholic denomination. In august, 1492, there was a fiesta of Our Lady of Angel, patroness of the Franciscan monastery whose leader had supported Columbus and prayed for the realization of the dream that Columbus was headed for. The day that Columbus decided to depart was the next day after the celebration so that he and all the people he was travelling with could join other people to pray and give thanks to God, as they spent the last time with their loved ones.

After they had stayed on the voyage for one month and out of sight from the land, his crew developed fear and anger because they had no idea of how they would return, yet the winds blew so strongly from astern. However, as his log shows, Columbus criticized their lack of spirit and gave them hope. He made it clear that they would have to complete the voyage that the Catholic Sovereigns had sent them. He told them that they were about to receive great honor and reward. He also indicated that they did not have to complain because he had started on the voyage to discover the Indies and would ensure that he finds it. This shows Columbus as a hero because as other people feared for their lives he grew more determined to ensure that he reached his destination and found what he wanted.

Columbus, as he was expecting, found islands on the other side of the Atlantic where he met native inhabitants that he called them Indians. He believed that he had reached the Indies of Asia. He began interaction with the Indians. It is stated that the people that Columbus found n Bahamas Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Hispaniola were gentle people were living in great ecological balance with their environment. These people were understood to be the Taino and Arawaks. His journey towards the north, along the Caribbean islands helped him meet the Caribs who were the most ferocious people he had ever met. They practiced cannibalism as a regular diet. People who were captured and conquered people were systematically devoured. However, this did not make him fear or stop his explorations.

Columbus was amazed because of the beauty he found in the lands he found but was very disappointed because he found no gold except in Hispaniola. At that time, gold was the source of wealth. This was the only mode of exchange that was accepted universally. Governments and individuals throughout Europe and Middle East used it. Therefore, in order to pay for Columbus expedition, it was necessary that he found gold. This would make his voyages and the trade he engaged in profitable[4].

When he was going back, the two ships that he was left with were detached and hardly survived. The most dangerous crisis came when Columbus was almost the coast of Portugal. He was met with a furious storm on the evening of 3^rd march 1493. His ship Nina hurtled eastwards under bare poles. Just before sunset, the waves attacked his ship from two sides and raised the ship towards the air with water and lightning came from every side. However, the winds got easier and the moon shone occasionally. Between the land and the moon, Columbus and his crew could see the land ahead of them. Through the night, they suffered but as Columbus stated, God protected them until the daybreak. He admitted that they survived through hard work though with fright. This scene shows best Columbus as a true hero. His survival through that night made in men over 500 years up to date honor him. He survived a storm that could have killed them and make all the history that he was about to make disappear to nothing[5].

When he returned home to Spain, Columbus met with mixed reactions of wonder and admiration from his sovereigns and all other people. Nobody could believe that he was back and had found a land that no one knew existed or could be found. Soon, he was given 17 ships and a further 1,500 men who together with him departed from port Cadiz to America. The voyage was bedecked with colors flags, cannon firing, harps, and trumpets playing. All people knew that Columbus had brought news that would bring an unexpected source of history that would live for years to come. The discoveries that he had made were not enough for him. He went to explore Cuba to its western strip. He did not see his crew for a period of almost four months. When he came back after his exploration, he was hit by severe fever and was crippled with arthritis for several weeks. He also found that Pedro Margarit had stolen his gold and went back to Spain using three of his ships. He was sick, frustrated and angry and could control people in the island. Columbus blamed Indians for his troubles, seized many of them, and made them slaves. This was illegal in Spain and was not allowed by Queen Isabel. This was Columbus’ flaw[6].

The disease, and setback he had suffered did not discourage him, he found the American Continental mainland in the present Venezuela and noted, for the first time, that he had discovered another world. When he returned to Hispaniola, he found that his brother, Bartholomew, had turned the place into a state of rebellion and anarchy. He could not control it and wrote to the Queen about the problem. He agreed to give each Spaniard a piece of land and several Indians to cultivate the land. He had introduced the system of encomienda that was made law in 1503. Columbus was relieved of his duty when the Queen noticed that he could not govern a colony. He was arrested in 1500 and sent back to Spain in Chains. Despite the fact that the Queen set him free, she did not reinstate him.

Columbus went for his fourth voyage in 1502. Again, he survived a hurricane with all the four ships he had sailed with sinking. The one carrying Bobadilla and Columbus survived and reached the Central American Mainland in Honduras. He landed here and took capture of the coast that was unknown. Through September of that year, Columbus went southwards and discovered the coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Through the fall and winter, Columbus went further to the coasts of Panama in the hope that he would find the strait that he desired. By 1503, his ships had many holes and were forced to remain in the beach in Jamaica where he was rescued back to Spain[7].

From the time Queen Isabel died, Columbus never oppressed the Indians again. He insisted that he would remain governor of the lands that he had discovered. However, he did not have a strong effect on the lives of the Indians of the Caribbean. Despite the fact that Columbus had made many changes especially to Spain by discovering new lands and helping Spain acquire more gold, he died when he was almost poor. Today people remember and celebrate Christopher Columbus as a great discoverer and explorer, as opposed to the civil governor who made Indians slaves and was unable to manage the discovered lands adequately. Columbus was a hero because of the explorations, voyages and the discoveries that he had made that no person had ever made before. Today, in America, people celebrate Columbus Day in order to appreciate the discoveries that he had made about America. America’s capital city is named after Christopher Columbus and holds that reputation with George Washington. There are many cities, rivers, streets and other important places that are named after Columbus to show how great a man he was. The celebration of Columbus Day marks celebration of discovery especially of the western hemisphere[8].

In conclusion, Christopher Columbus is a hero and is recorded in history as a man who did the inevitable. In his four voyages, Columbus made discoveries that had never been made before by any other person. A lot of criticism marked the first voyage that Christopher Columbus went because people did not believe not see what Columbus saw. Columbus set out on a journey that only he knew what he was looking for. Astonishingly, Columbus survived many hurdles including storm, hurricane and sickness to make his notable discoveries. Columbus is a hero because of the courage and determination to further his discoveries despite the little faith people had on him and the troubles he encountered in his voyages. Today, the United States of America is comprised of many places that were discovered by Columbus. Columbus created an important source of history for America. Through the support of Queen Isabel in his first Voyage, Columbus became a hero for the discoveries he made and the changes that these changes brought to Spain and the people of the lands that he discovered. Despite his flaws, he is still a hero.

 

Bibliography

Doak, Robin Santos. Christopher Columbus: Explorer o the New World. Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2006.

Kaufman, Mervyn D. Christopher Columbus. Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2004.

Pelta, Kathy. Discovering Christopher Columbus: How History Is Invented. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1991.

Schaefer, Lola M. Christopher Columbus. Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2002.

 

[1] Robin Santos Doak. Christopher Columbus: Explorer o the New World (Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2006), 34.

Doak, Columbus, 30-42

[2] Lola M Schaefer. Christopher Columbus (Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2002), 39.

Schaefer, Columbus, 4.

[3] Lola M Schaefer. Christopher Columbus (Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2002), 45.

Schaefer, Columbus, 35-49.

[4] Mervyn D Kaufman. Christopher Columbus (Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2004). 23.

Kaufman, Columbus, 30-35.

[5] Kathy Pelta. Discovering Christopher Columbus: How History Is Invented (New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1991), 14.

Pelter, Discovering Columbus, 20-27.

[6] Mervyn D Kaufman. Christopher Columbus (Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2004), 54.

Kaufman, Columbus, 50-59.

[7] Mervyn D Kaufman. Christopher Columbus (Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2004), 64.

Kaufman, Columbus, 60-69.

[8] Robin Santos Doak. Christopher Columbus: Explorer o the New World (Chatsworth, CA: Capstone, 2006), 40-47.

Doak, Columbus, 45.

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