The Controversy of Columbus Day in the United States

Christopher Columbus is the Italian explorer who is credited with the discovery of the New World. The second Monday in October is a federal holiday set aside to honor him.

In 1492, Columbus set out on a voyage sponsored by King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain, in order to find an alternative route to Asia. He did not find Asia; however, he instead stumbled upon what is now the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador. He also traveled to Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Cuba. Columbus then returned to Spain and returned to the New World three more times, journeying to Dominica, Trinidad, Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Santiago (now Jamaica). Columbus's discovery and subsequent colonization of the New World is not without controversy, however.

One important fact to point out is that Columbus never set foot on North America. The first European to discover North America was Leif Ericson, a Nordic explorer, some 492 years before Columbus. He discovered three lands in North America, Helluland, Markland and Vinland. Although there is argument as to the exact location of these places, researchers believe that Helluland was at Baffin Island and Markland was on the shoreline of Labrador, Canada. Vinland is believed to be on the northern tip of Newfoundland, however, some scholars believe it could be located as far south as Florida.

More appalling, however, is in the way Columbus treated the inhabitants of the lands that he came across. He forced the indigenous people into slavery and forced them to convert to Christianity. He required that all adults over the age of 14 pay him a sum of gold every three months or have their hands cut off and be left to bleed to death. Columbus and his men brought over diseases, such as smallpox, from Europe, which resulted in a sharp population decline. The Spaniards forced the native women to become the wives.

It further begs the question as to the legitimacy of Columbus's "discovery". The indigenous people had been settled in the "New World" for thousands of years prior to Columbus's landing there. So can it actually be claimed that he discovered the Americas? Can a place that is already inhabited be "discovered" by someone else?

The controversy lies in the fact that perhaps Columbus is not the hero that he was once portrayed as. Although he may be responsible for the Europeans immigrating to the Americas, is it fair to say that he discovered the land? And should a man, who treated the long-time inhabitants of this land so cruelly, be honored with a day dedicated to him?

Some states do not acknowledge Columbus on Columbus Day. Hawaii celebrates the day as Discover's Day or Landing Day. South Dakota calls it Native American Day. Alaska, Nevada and California do not recognize the holiday, and Berkley, California has named it Indigenous People's Day.

The controversy surrounding Christopher Columbus and the fact that he has a federal holiday named after him will not go away any time soon. Most see it as an insult to the Native American people, some to the Nordic people. Popular opinion seems to suggest that Columbus Day should be abolished completely or renamed to honor the indigenous people who were settled in the Americas thousands of years before Columbus arrived.

Works Cited

www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/c/columbus
www.answers.com/topic/christopher-columbus
www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=401
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Ericson
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta%C3%ADno
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas