Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain? Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout all of our years that we are taught about world history, we are led to believe that Columbus was one of the greatest explorers of all time. In my mind there is no question about whether Christopher Columbus discovered America; of course he did, its Columbus! However, this is a highly debated issue and through writings by authors Jeffery Hart and James W. Loewen we will investigate the true importance of Columbus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the essay written by Jeffrey Hart entitled, â€Å"Discovering Columbus†, he argues strongly that, in fact, Columbus did discover America. He starts off by describing Columbus as â€Å"a genuine titan, a hero of history and of the human spirit.† He goes on to say that, â€Å"In discovering a new part of the world, Columbus destroyed such finite certainties†. By this he means that everyone thought the world was flat but by discovering this new land he â€Å"upset theologies†. He describes the reasons for Columbus going on a voyage as â€Å"multiple† and â€Å"confused†. Columbus wanted to cross the ocean to â€Å"prove his theories of navigation†. Since Spain was always desperate for wealth and the land routes were controlled by the Turks, Columbus wanted â€Å"to find a nautical way to the riches of Asia† and in the process of finding riches he wanted â€Å"to convert the pagan nations† to Christiani ty. He wanted to seek out â€Å"the Earthly Paradise† otherwise known as â€Å"Eden; as foreseen in the book of Revelation.† In doing all of these t...