Columbus Blog #8

Reading A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn i was shockingly surprised to learn of Christopher Columbus' characteristics not mentioned by most historians. My view of him has changed drastically. I see Columbus as a hero but know I see him as a villain to a greater extent. Columbus could be considered the man who created slavery based on race alone. When he first arrived in the Bahamas, his first reaction to the natives was that they would make excellent slaves. Once Columbus stated that, the Indians were see only as slaves and not as human beings. They were treated brutally and forced to work in mines and fields; their population was nearly wiped out. Columbus nearly caused the extinction of a race for his on selfish conquest of gold. Columbus did in fact discover America, and for that is a hero, but in doing so he created race-based slavery and destroyed a civilization.
When I was reading Zinn i could not believe what he was telling us. Historians have left out some very important information about a national hero, and i cant help but ask myself, what else have they not told us? What other information have historians left out? Could the history of America be a lie? I am shocked and angry when I think of this. Zinn has exposed the truth and for now, kept this history alive. Without this book, some events in history may have been lost forever.