Christopher Columbus Influence On Western Civilization

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Erin Peluso Throughout history, Western civilization has remained a super power superior to all other nation because of its ability to overcome adversity. Western influence is viewed as a topic in which many people disagree on because over time it has had so many debatable issues arise. Christopher Columbus and his voyage and discovery of the New World are one of the most popular debates. While some believe that Columbus’s discovery was astounding and had a positive impact on the world forever, others believe that the discovery was nothing more than an act of slavery, and genocide, as well as a waste of natural resources in a new land. In some cases, historians even believe that the discovery should not be credited to Christopher Columbus.…show more content…
Western Civilization leads in categories of politics, economics, science and technology and in each category the West gained efficiency and effectiveness. It is seen by many people that Columbus used his power to conquer the people of the new world and commit genocide and slavery but at the same time Columbus brought knowledge to these people and enabled them to become as powerful as Western Civilization. Over time, Western Civilization has faced adversity but like Columbus, they have done whatever was necessary to keep expanding Western influence. The article also clarifies the debate over Columbus because it shows that Columbus cannot be looked at as good or bad; Columbus has to be looked at as an admiral, who took necessary action in the new world to keep Western Civilization on top. If Columbus had not taken the actions that he did, the people of the new world may have overthrown him and the western influence and that could have changed the world as we know it forever. This article provides a lot of information that can resolve the controversy over Western Civilization as a whole. Western Civilization is seen as a powerful influence filled with corruption and violence, but according to the article the West has been under attack for centuries. As stated, “Whether it was the Viking, Saracen, Magyar hordes plundering the Carolingian Empire, to Al-Qaida blowing up commutes in New York, Madrid or London.” This sentence shows that the West is only a superpower because it has faced so many obstacles and overcome them all. Everyone has such negative things to say about Western influence but if one of these outside forces overthrew Western Civilization, people would be saying the bad things about that society as well. It is true that the way Columbus conquered the new world may have sparked inter-cultural
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