Age Of Exploration Heinous

Age Of Exploration; Heroic or Heinous?
I woke up late that Monday morning, basking in the fact that there was no school. It was early October, and the stress of fourth grade was really getting to me. Christopher Columbus was a man I thought I would be forever grateful for and as far as I was concerned, Columbus was wonderful, exploration was wonderful, and this day off was extra wonderful. But just how thankful should I really have been? Hidden behind the great accomplishments explorers have made exist the dark circumstances that follow them. It is too often untaught at all levels of education, and to be looking past all the horrendous things that occurred in that era would be cruel to those that suffered through it. Grisly effects of exploration …show more content…
Seeing it on a larger spectrum is an eye opener in realizing that the many things that were once thought to be so wonderful are actually the things that caused the worst damage. When talking about the great things that have been passed around through the Triangular Trade, one could say that the new crops and cultures have been influential and positive for everyone, but that is not completely true. How can it be so positive when these cultures were taken away and the new crops were being picked and grown through force by African American slaves? People look past the details like this and it gives them this sense of false hope, that everything is perfectly fine and we have done no wrong. Some believe that this all paved the way to the modern world, but it becomes relevant to ask, how much do we really enjoy this modern world? Being surrounded by all of this hurt is surely not what one desires to see, but it is the actuality because of those events. Happiness cannot be easily achieved anymore and daily issues are constant reminders of past ancestor’s grave mistakes that turned the world upside down. A fellow student of mine also believed that the “needs of many outweighs the needs of few”, but that is just not practical in this sense. If he considered a “few” the whole Native American and African American race as well as others then he may be correct. They may have discovered new land also, but did they need to kill and harm millions of people in the process? Some may believe that the modern society wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for exploration, but have they ever considered the fact that the world could be in a BETTER place if there would have been some changes in the tactics used? Of course, there were a few explorers that did not do any harm with their explorations, like for example, Amerigo Vespucci. All he aimed to do in his lifetime was further