Blame Columbus

It is completely fair to blame Columbus for what happened after he “discovered” the Americas. Columbus essentially decided how the Native Americans were going to be treated the moment he stepped foot onto the “New World.” While he can’t be blamed for bringing diseases like smallpox to the natives, he is at fault for setting the tone for the negative treatment of Native Americans. He promised gold and slaves for the Queen of Spain, even though Queen Isabella didn’t want slaves. Had Columbus looked at the Indians as people of equal stature instead of savages to be exploited, the terms between the Europeans and the Native Americans could’ve been a lot friendlier. As the leader of the settlers who reported back on what he thought was Asia, he set the tone for future interactions between Native Americans and Europeans.

Leaders are what they are because those who listen to them follow them. Because the European crew have never met Native Americans before, they would have looked to Columbus for guidance as to how they should relate with them. While nothing is certain, if Columbus acted courteously for the good of both sides, history could be dramatically different. The treatment of these people as objects may have become the precedent for the future practice of slavery in the United States. Just like how we learned how our parents dealt with a situation we’ve never seen before, they did the same thing. Columbus could have peacefully traded goods instead of winding them up and shipping them off as slaves. Today we often blame our leaders for screwing up and causing problems. We should look at Columbus with the same eyes we do with our present leaders.