Question

Why do you think that the history of Columbus that is taught primarily to younger kids and is readily believed by the citizens of the United States, is very different to the text that you just read

Answer 1

Oftentimes Columbus is idealized and celebrated. The history that is taught to younger kids and is widely believed is that Columbus found America, simple as that. The facts surrounding the gruesome truths of Columbus’s actions, that are explored in the text, are hidden. Recognizing what Columbus did to Indigenous people would, in turn, result in the questioning of the US’s past and the atrocities of colonialism and imperialism (what the United States was created from).