Answer: We shouldn't.
Explanation:
Columbus was known as a evil and greedy man in his time... after looking deeper into information about this guy, i can safely say that Columbus can be identified as a Hero and a Villain because of his actions. Mostly a Villain, but that's just my opinion. Many people celebrate Columbus Day and the claim that he discovered America. However, if we truly examine his life, we can see that Columbus’s impact on the world was overwhelmingly negative. Columbus Day stands as a symbol of greed and destruction. In fact, Columbus didn’t really discover the Americas in the 1st place. The land and society that became known as the Americas had been settled by 100 million people thousands of years before Columbus arrived. He never even believed that he had found a “new” world, and instead, always thought that he had landed in Asia.
When Columbus landed in the Americas, he did not respect the people who greeted him peacefully, but rather demanded that they bring him tons of gold that they did not have. Although he recognized that the people he had met were peaceful, he still looked as them as lesser beings, and called them “savages.” In his journals, one can see that Columbus instantly took some as slaves. When the natives could not meet Columbus’ quotas for gold collection, he had hands and noses cut off, and others were burned alive.
Columbus was able to finance 4 voyages to the Americas by lying about his success. He told the King and Queen of Spain that he had found a vast resource of gold, but that was simply not the case. The Americas suffered because of Columbus’s accidental “discovery.” The actions of Columbus and his men actually were criticized during that time. Before his second voyage, the Queen of Spain specifically told Columbus not to take slaves. Columbus lied and said that the Indians were “cannibals,” or that they had refused to convert to Christianity so that he could continue to enslave them. Most of Columbus's money was actually earned by selling people as slaves - especially women and children.
The Indigenous People of the Americas deserve a day to recognize their suffering and sacrifice. Several countries and cities already celebrate Indigenous People's’ Day. Four states already do not celebrate Columbus Day - including, Hawaii, South Dakota, Oregon, and Alaska. South Dakota celebrates Native American Day, and Hawaii celebrates Discoverer’s Day instead. It’s time for Indigenous Peoples’ Day became a national holiday. The native people of the United States deserve recognition, not Columbus.
I hope this helps...
