Columbus' True Discovery

Paper Summary:

This study argues that Christopher Columbus did not "discover" America, and that only by twisting reality can it be said that he or any European "discovered" a land which was already inhabited by other human beings. The writer argues that the basis of this twisting of reality is that the inhabitants of the "New World" were less than human beings, and therefore it cannot be said that the land was inhabited at all, but was instead populated by semi-humans, by near-animals, by non-Christian savages with no civilized qualities. In reality, however, the "Indians" Columbus "discovered" were indeed human beings with a subtle civilization and a fully developed religious belief system. The writer continues his argument that Columbus did not "discover America" because it had already been discovered and populated by human beings long before his arrival.

From the Paper:

"William M. Davidson and Henry Noble Sherwood argue in separate articles that Columbus was indeed a great man who discovered America. Davidson calls Columbus "The Great Navigator" and says that in Columbus "passion for discovery rose to the dignity of an inspiration" (Davidson 248). Sherwood writes that Columbus and his men found "naked savages" in the new land and that Columbus treated them well (Sherwood 253). It is crucial to the argument that Columbus "discovered America" that the context be established first in which the beings which inhabited that land are thoroughly dehumanized. The more that dehumanization process can be carried out, the more easily Columbus and his fellow Europeans and descendants can argue that there were no truly human beings when Columbus arrived and therefore it has to be said that he did indeed "discover" that land. The more one sees the natives as animals, as savages with no concept of God, the more one can argue that Columbus discovered the land on which they live. Accordingly, whether the Europeans brutalized the natives of the "New World" or treated them well though condescendingly, in their own minds and to one another the Europeans in general sought to portray the natives as less than human."

More papers on Columbus' True Discovery:

• Essay # 72100 : "The Economics of Christopher Columbus"
• Book Review # 96510 : "The Americas Before Columbus"
• Essay # 57834 : "Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?"

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