Why is columbus important

He kept a detailed diary during his first voyage. More troublingly, it also recorded his initial impressions of the local people and his argument for why they should be enslaved.

They have no iron …They would make fine servants … With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. About six months later, in September , Columbus returned to the Americas. Then he headed west to continue his mostly fruitless search for gold and other goods. His group now included a large number of indigenous people the Europeans had enslaved. In lieu of the material riches he had promised the Spanish monarchs, he sent some enslaved people to Queen Isabella.

In May , Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic for the third time. Conditions were so bad that Spanish authorities had to send a new governor to take over. Meanwhile, the native Taino population, forced to search for gold and to work on plantations, was decimated within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been , Taino were left on their island.

Christopher Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains. In , cleared of the most serious charges but stripped of his noble titles, the aging Columbus persuaded the Spanish crown to pay for one last trip across the Atlantic. This time, Columbus made it all the way to Panama—just miles from the Pacific Ocean—where he had to abandon two of his four ships after damage from storms and hostile natives. Empty-handed, the explorer returned to Spain, where he died in However, his journey kicked off centuries of exploration and exploitation on the American continents.

The Columbian Exchange transferred people, animals, food and disease across cultures. Old World wheat became an American food staple. Within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been around , Tainos were left on their island. Since October 12, , the Intercontinental Gathering of Indigenous People in the Americas, a group of more than indigenous groups around the world, has referred to the holiday as the International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People.

Other people oppose the holiday because Columbus did not actually discover the Americas. Norse explorers had previously visited portions of North America. Leif Ericson is actually believed to have been the first European to visit the area. There is historical evidence that he founded a settlement in Newfoundland, Canada around years before the arrival of Columbus. And some also argue that there was not actually anything to "discover" at all since the Americas were already inhabited.

There have been many efforts to eliminate the teaching of Columbus and his voyage from classroom curricula. Some people call to changing the name of or ending the federal holiday altogether. Whatever your views of Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day may be, Columbus Day is certainly a way to learn more about the Age of Exploration, and especially to recognize the history and culture of the United States and its native peoples. InterExchange Career Training USA is a top J-1 Visa sponsor for university students and young professionals who have already secured internships or training programs with companies in the U.

If you still need to find an internship or training program in the U. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Ani is a fan of exploring new places through photography and the local cuisine.

Career Training USA is a cultural exchange program that enables current university students and young professionals from all over the world to pursue internships in the U. Read about the adventures others have had and get excited for yours. He was the first European to sight the Bahamas archipelago and then the island later named Hispaniola, now split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

On his subsequent voyages he went farther south, to Central and South America. He never got close to what is now called the United States. Columbus was born in the Italian seaport of Genoa in , to a family of wool weavers. As a young lad he went to sea and became an experienced sailor. He then moved to Lisbon, Portugal, to gain support for a journey he was planning to find new trade routes to the Far East. Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen of Spain, agreed to finance him.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans wanted to find sea routes to the Far East. If he could reach these lands, he would be able to bring back rich cargoes of silks and spices. Columbus knew that the world was round and realised that by sailing west - instead of east around the coast of Africa, as other explorers at the time were doing - he would still reach his destination. In Columbus set sail from Palos in Spain with three ships.

Two, the Nina and the Pinta were caravels — small ships with triangular sails. The third, the Santa Maria , was a nao — a larger square-rigged ship. Columbus and his men enslaved many of these native people and treated them with extreme violence and brutality, according to History. Throughout his years in the Americas, Columbus forced natives to work for the sake of profits. Later, he sent thousands of Taino "Indians" to Spain to be sold, and many of them died during the journey.

The natives who weren't sold into slavery were forced to look for gold in mines and work on plantations. While he was governor of what is now the Dominican Republic, Columbus killed many natives in response to their revolt, according to History. To prevent further rebellion, he would have the dead bodies paraded through the streets.