Essay On Columbus Day

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“But the question remains, how did a man who never set foot on North America get a federal holiday in his name?”
Lakshmi Gandhi Christopher Columbus, a highly experienced Spanish explorer, was on the hunt to find the quickest trade route to Asia from Europe. With the help and financial support of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, on October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahama Islands, believing that he actually arrived in India. Undoubtedly, this landing marked the beginning of European colonization of the New World and years of exploitation and mistreat of Native Americas. The United States should not continue to have Columbus Day as a federal holiday because Columbus wasn’t the first explorer to reach the Americas, …show more content…
Indigenous people had been living in the “New World” for centuries by the time Columbus arrived in the Bahamas. With the news of Columbus’ findings being spread throughout Europe, his voyages caused a new found relationship between Europe and the Americas to develop. European nations were extremely enticed by all the wonders this new found land would hold which ultimately lead to the beginnings of the European colonization of the Americas. The Americas saw a drastic population decline with the arrival of the Europeans. Mexico’s native population decreased by 90 percent (20 million to under 2 million) while present day United States’ native population saw its population fall steadily until the 19th century. Indigenous people saw an overall loss of about 80 million people from European Contact (1/5th of the world's population at the time). Columbus’ voyage started a trend that has continued throughout history. Post European Age of Exploration, Native populations (specifically in the United States) have been stripped of their culture, persecuted, killed and forced off their land in order to make room for the societies that Columbus’ voyages has resulted in. This is one more reason in addition to why Columbus Day should not continue to be a federal
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