Christopher Columbus -- a Hero  Research Paper

224).

The truth about Columbus, Vizenor asserts, is that he was "an untrue concoction, the ruse of his own representation. He is the overstated adventurer, to be sure," and moreover Columbus is the "master of neocolonial celebrations in a constitutional democracy" (Vizenor, 225). The author of this article in the peer-reviewed journal Boundary 2 quotes from the book The Devastation of the Indies (by Bartolome de Las Casas):

"Here those Christians perpetrated their first ravages and oppressions against the native peoples. This was the first land in the New

World to be destroyed and depopulated by the Christians, and here they began their subjection of the women and children, taking them away from the Indians to use them and ill-use them, eating the food they provided with their sweat and toil" (Vizenor, 226).

In conclusion, the references in this paper clearly make the point that Christopher Columbus was not a hero at all, but a ruthless and dangerous interloper who invaded the Americas and plundered the natives. That the United States has a special federal holiday in Columbus' name is an embarrassment to all those individuals that are truly informed as to Columbus' true legacy. That federal holiday should be changed to honor someone like Patrick Henry or Thomas Paine, true American heroes.

Works Cited

Cornwell, Mark, Quinault, Roland, and Reid, Brian Holden. "Editorial." History. 77.249 (1992):

1-2.

Fordham University. "Christopher Columbus." Retrieved July 13, 2012, from http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/medny/delgado.asp. 2007.

Handlin, Lilian. "Discovering Columbus." The American Scholar.…