“Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World,” remarked Columbus as he left the Old World to integrate it with the New World. Since October 14th, 1937, The United States has federally celebrated Columbus’s endeavor and success with the Columbus Day holiday. However, as the Columbus Day holiday reaches its 524th anniversary, it is noteworthy that the subject has grown into a conflicting and controversial matter in recent years. The topic of debate is whether Columbus’s arrival in the Americas should be memorialized or not. The Columbus Day holiday trademarks the triumphant encounter that gives us today’s society, but it is also a reminder and a constant manifestation of the sorrow that came along with the development of our nation.
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Leif Eriksson, an Icelandic explorer, is widely credited with being the first explorer to arrive in the North American continent. A popular theory dictates that while Eriksson was returning to Greenland he sailed off course and reached the Americas around A.D. 1000; this is notably four centuries earlier than Columbus’s voyage. It is also common to forget Amerigo Vespucci, an explorer for whom America is named after. Vespucci was a Florentine seafarer who is lauded for acknowledging North America and South America as two continents. It is important to interject here that Columbus’s primary intention was to open up European trade routes in India, but he docked in the Caribbean and mistook the American soil for Indian soil. Columbus journaled his first sights of the new land and his initial encounter with the Arawak natives, who he referred to as Indians. Columbus is greatly revered for his endeavors in the American continent; however, it is imperative that we recognize that his voyage wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of many others. With the making of “America Day,” respect would be paid to a myriad of explorers including John Cabot, Sir Walter Raleigh, Samuel de Champlain, and Jacques Cartier, all of these explorers have acted as benefactors to America’s
Leif Eriksson, an Icelandic explorer, is widely credited with being the first explorer to arrive in the North American continent. A popular theory dictates that while Eriksson was returning to Greenland he sailed off course and reached the Americas around A.D. 1000; this is notably four centuries earlier than Columbus’s voyage. It is also common to forget Amerigo Vespucci, an explorer for whom America is named after. Vespucci was a Florentine seafarer who is lauded for acknowledging North America and South America as two continents. It is important to interject here that Columbus’s primary intention was to open up European trade routes in India, but he docked in the Caribbean and mistook the American soil for Indian soil. Columbus journaled his first sights of the new land and his initial encounter with the Arawak natives, who he referred to as Indians. Columbus is greatly revered for his endeavors in the American continent; however, it is imperative that we recognize that his voyage wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of many others. With the making of “America Day,” respect would be paid to a myriad of explorers including John Cabot, Sir Walter Raleigh, Samuel de Champlain, and Jacques Cartier, all of these explorers have acted as benefactors to America’s