Prosecution’s Closing Statement
When telling history, it’s almost impossible not to take sides. The victim and the perpetrator, defense and prosecution. But here is a fact: The Arawak Indians population was reduced by at least 50% in 200 years (Green “Columbian Exchange”) (Ward Churchill a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado). Our lovely lawyers and witnesses demonstrated for us what kind of man Columbus is; he’s a murderer. He destroyed the lives of Native Americans for generations to come. Columbus saw the people of the Bahamas and he had no thought of their livelihood, he didn’t think of the consequences of his endeavors, or if he did it was not enough to stop him. Columbus acted in interest of himself, God, and Spain. …show more content…
Catholics and Italians faced religious and ethnic discrimination when they first immigrated to the U.S. and continued to face it well into the 20th century when Columbus Day was made a federal holiday in 1937. But let me ask this; what about Columbus’s legacy inspires pride? Is it the part where he took advantage of natives in order to gain glory for Spain? Or maybe it’s when he forced Catholicism onto them and then slaughtered them, despite their submission (Zinn). Is that the legacy that Italian immigrants and Catholics find pride in? Columbus made no great discovery; America was populated long before he arrived. Celebrating his voyage as a discovery is a very eurocentric narrative. Any celebration of Italian heritage or Catholicism should be honour people who truly deserve to be recognized.
Or maybe your point is that this day celebrates not Columbus, but the progress of America since Columbus opened the door for European colonization. America’s history isn’t just creating a nation of immigrants and religious freedom; it’s bloody. It’s the forced immigration of millions; it’s a country built on the backs of slaves whose trade Columbus initiated; it’s the repeated betrayal of natives and their attempted genocide (The Taking of Indian Lands: Perspectives of Native Americans and European Americans,
When telling history, it’s almost impossible not to take sides. The victim and the perpetrator, defense and prosecution. But here is a fact: The Arawak Indians population was reduced by at least 50% in 200 years (Green “Columbian Exchange”) (Ward Churchill a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado). Our lovely lawyers and witnesses demonstrated for us what kind of man Columbus is; he’s a murderer. He destroyed the lives of Native Americans for generations to come. Columbus saw the people of the Bahamas and he had no thought of their livelihood, he didn’t think of the consequences of his endeavors, or if he did it was not enough to stop him. Columbus acted in interest of himself, God, and Spain. …show more content…
Catholics and Italians faced religious and ethnic discrimination when they first immigrated to the U.S. and continued to face it well into the 20th century when Columbus Day was made a federal holiday in 1937. But let me ask this; what about Columbus’s legacy inspires pride? Is it the part where he took advantage of natives in order to gain glory for Spain? Or maybe it’s when he forced Catholicism onto them and then slaughtered them, despite their submission (Zinn). Is that the legacy that Italian immigrants and Catholics find pride in? Columbus made no great discovery; America was populated long before he arrived. Celebrating his voyage as a discovery is a very eurocentric narrative. Any celebration of Italian heritage or Catholicism should be honour people who truly deserve to be recognized.
Or maybe your point is that this day celebrates not Columbus, but the progress of America since Columbus opened the door for European colonization. America’s history isn’t just creating a nation of immigrants and religious freedom; it’s bloody. It’s the forced immigration of millions; it’s a country built on the backs of slaves whose trade Columbus initiated; it’s the repeated betrayal of natives and their attempted genocide (The Taking of Indian Lands: Perspectives of Native Americans and European Americans,