Is Columbus a Hero?

Is Columbus a Hero?

A hero can be defined as "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities" (Hero). While Columbus is most notably known for "sailing the ocean blue in 1492", the founding of America and all of his many geographical accomplishments, the drastic measures he took in order to fulfill those accomplishments were appalling. Not only was he a liar, he tortured, abused, and killed many native people of the land he discovered. He lived a life of deceit, concealing the truth from not only his sponsoring country of Spain, but also his own crewmen and the persons whose lives he disturbed. Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492 and he became acquainted with the natives of this land he believed to be India. The natives were called Tainos, and from then on Columbus and his crew began sailing back and forth from the discovered land and Spain, taking many Tainos captive. The havoc Columbus and his crew wreaked on the lives of these poor inhabitants of the land was truly disturbing. The Spaniards would attack their communities in search of gold and food and leave them with nothing except their lives if they were lucky. Many natives were shipped back to Spain as slaves, and many of them were killed and abused. This strand of violence continued until the combination of warfare, death, and famine resulted into the collapse of the Tainos society. By 1500 the Spaniards had even become so disgusted with the actions of Columbus that they ordered him arrested and sent back to Spain. While I do believe Columbus had good intentions, he became money, or in this case gold hungry and would do whatever it took to feed his obsession. I do still think Columbus should get credit for inspiring future explorers to explore for unfound land, I do not believe he deserves the title of a hero.