Christopher Columbus

In elementary school, Christopher Columbus was a person that I have always thought of as a hero. He was the man that discovered the place we called home. If it weren't for him we do not knows what would have become of the Americas. As I got older my thoughts on Columbus has changed. I no longer think of him as a hero but I do not think badly about him either. I believe that since Columbus discovered the Americas on accident, the death of the Indians should not be blamed on Columbus. He did not go to the Americas set on killing the Indians; he did not go to the Americas set on infecting them with his disease. He was a man that was trying to do his job; he was trying to find a way to expand Europe's trade. After reading about the deaths of so many Indians and the way that Europe and the other countries were so eager to expand their lands, I couldn’t help but feel angry. It was upsetting to read and see the pictures of the Indians being taken away from their home. The Indians had no choice in their lifestyles. They were either being used as slaves or they would try and change their way of life, so that they could try and fit in with the Europeans. I couldn’t imagine living with people that enslaved my family. I couldn’t imagine living with people that had no respect for my culture or me. I didn’t think it would be so upsetting to read about the expansion of the New America but it was.