VIP Class Notes (Tony) [S]

Read these two different narratives about Christopher Columbus and write your opinion about him. Was he Hero or Villain?

1. Born to a working-class wool weaver in the port city of Genoa, Italy, Cristoforo Colombo apprenticed as a sailor and went to sea as early as age ten. A self-taught and curious man, Colombo lived by his wits and rose in the heady world of 15th-century sea traders, until he hit upon an ingenious idea: He would outflank the Mohammedan Turks and reach the East Indies by sailing west across the Ocean Sea. After weathering nearly a decade of rejection and failure, in 1492 Colombo won the support of the Spanish Crown and set off on an uncertain journey that inadvertently opened a New World, laying the foundation for that most glittering daughter of the Western heritage: America.

2. Christopher Columbus, a dead white male of the worst variety, was a slaver, a capitalist, and a murderer of millions who embarked on a voyage motivated only by greed, which brought European imperialism to the shores of the “New World” and laid waste the ancient indigenous peoples there. Columbus deserves little credit (Leif Erikson had “discovered” the “new” continent 500 years earlier) and much blame for the horrors of the Columbian Exchange — the vast transfer of people, animals, and plants between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. In his wake, the “New World” suffered smallpox, starvation, the cruel subjugation of the indigenous peoples, and the establishment of that most dastardly spawn of the West: America.

Vocabulary

meddle – to cause problems in someone’s affairs or plans

eg: They said Russia was meddling with US elections.

binary thought –   0000110101101  “Binary Code for computers”    Right or Wrong, Black or White

eg: Binary thought is at the root of the current division in America.

exoneration – when the court finds that the person convicted was not actually guilt

eg:The introduction of DNA testing caused many people in prison to be exonerated.

skewed – not straight, like a line,   not true or accurate

eg: He skewed the statistics to support his claim.

eg: That painting is a little askew, do you wanna straighten it?

vilify – make someone a villain, a bad guy

eg: They were vilified even though they were innocent good people.

Should historical figures be judged on their actions based on our current social standards?

I think of course they shouldn’t be judged by our current standards. Our behavior based on our knowledge and our thoughts at the same time our knowledge and our thoughts will be affected y the society which we we live. So its unfair to judge people out of the society they live. im sure, ten years ago this thing might be acceptable or ok, it ten years later our thoughts changed so our society makes o if we judge historical figures under our current standards we just ask them to be aaa in all a society in the past present and future, I mean who can do that.

I think of course they shouldn’t be judged by our current standards. Our behavior is based on our knowledge and our thoughts. At the same time our knowledge and our thoughts will be affected by the society we were brought up in or currently reside in. So its unfair to judge people from an outsiders perspective. I’m sure, ten years ago this thing might have been acceptable or tolerated, but ten years later our thoughts may have changed. If we judge historical figures under our current standards we are just asking them to be a saint throughout all time in all cultures, I mean who can do that.

Pronunciation

ancient – Ayn Chent

Grammar

agree to do sth.

I agree with your opinion

I concur (agree withe group)