Why Should We Celebrate Columbus Day

There is no doubt that Christopher Columbus changed the world. Whether his voyages were good or bad, he did make history. He is widely known and a hero to some. Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1937, creating an uproar of fury and merriment. The questions is, is that should Columbus Day be a holiday considering his decisions and actions? In this paper, I will state the reasons of both, why and why not Columbus Day should be a federal holiday as well as my own thought on the matter. To begin with the good outcome, many people think Columbus serves as a significant symbol of freedom. Columbus was the beginning of globalization for humanity. He took many risks, and gave people hope and ambition. Columbus had a goal to spread Catholicism across the globe, and was bewildered by the way Asia harvested their gold and resources. He decided in such willingness to seek out for the Indies to find “the spice-trade ports,” (Tindall & Shi 20). Columbus persuaded the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, to let him go on excursions to find riches for them, …show more content…
It is stated that Columbus treated the Natives Americans harshly. He demanded gold, food and sexual intercourse for his men. He started a slave-trade with American Indians causing them to become extinct. Columbus took a bunch of men, women, and children back to Europe and paraded them like animals. Most of the people died on the voyages back. On the other hand, we have the diseases that Columbus brought. His country brought livestock which came upon humans. Research analyst for The Huffington Post, Travis Korte, explains that syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, “was brought to Europe on the Niña, the only one of three ships to survive Columbus ' first voyage to the West Indies,” (1). The diseases and slavery Columbus brought to the Americas, destroyed the population of the Native