Our View

The Columbus Effect Was Negative

There can be no denying that Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic in 1492 changed the world forever. It opened up a whole new territory for people to explore. It also enabled people and nations to become very wealthy as they gained control of many new and valuable resources. However, there is much more to the story of Columbus than the successes, holidays, and cities that bear his name.

At the other end of the spectrum, thousands of indigenous cultures were affected by Columbus - both in the short-term and the long-term. After their initial contact with Columbus they were forced into slavery or removed from their lands. If those two options weren't bad enough, many native people were killed by European explorers and colonizers. They lost their land, their livelihoods, and in some cases, their cultures that dated back thousands of years. While they gained access to things like horses, cows, bananas, wheat, and rice, they also had to deal with foreign diseases that entered their tribes and wiped out much of their populations.

Given the atrocities that happened to millions of people, Columbus' voyages have to be seen as a negative experience. Much of this has to do with the actions of Columbus himself. He first enslaved the Arawak. He first chopped off their noses, ears, and hands when they didn't meet his expectations. And he was the first to exploit an entire region to further his own selfish interests. These actions allowed for many other to follow in his footsteps and do the same thing. The greatest tragedy of the Age of Exploration lies in what society has lost: millions of people and advanced and vibrant societies that have never been recreated.