How Did Columbus Kill The Tainos

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Although some people may think that the death of the Taino Indians was brought upon themselves, the death of millions of innocent Taino Indians was actually the product of the combined effects of Christopher Columbus’ orders, the brutal actions committed by Columbus’ men, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella’s support of Columbus throughout as he carried out his plans. The killing of Taino Indians was a joint effort between many parties, some of whom did not even know that they were partaking in the genocide of almost an entire population. If not for the leadership of Christopher Columbus, the Tainos’ numbers could still be in the millions today, but instead they remain a small population thanks to the brutal actions orchestrated by Columbus, …show more content…

It is important to remember that Columbus was only the man who gave the orders, they were actually carried out by his men. Even after hearing people like Father Bartolomé de las Casas plead on behalf of the Tainos, Columbus’ men still decided to follow orders and torture, enslave, and murder millions of Tainos. Father de las Casas’ writing says that the Tainos are “gentle lambs” and when Columbus’ men attack the Tainos, they “tear the natives to shreds, murder them and inflict upon them untold misery, suffering and distress, tormenting, harrying and persecuting them mercilessly.” Father de las Casas writing is reliable because he witnessed these horrible actions firsthand. Christopher Columbus, when writing to the King and Queen, even says, “Of these [weapons] they do not dare to make use, for many times it has happened that I have sent ashore two or three men to some town to have speech with them, and countless people have come out to them, and as soon as they have seen my men approaching, they have fled, a father not even waiting for his son.” Columbus was on the island of Hispaniola and knew firsthand that his men had no reason to kill the Tainos because there was no way that they would fight back or stand a chance against them. Because Columbus’ men chose to follow Columbus’ orders and attack and kill the Tainos when they had …show more content…

They were the ones who funded Christopher Columbus’ voyages to America. Without their money, Christopher Columbus would not have been able to sail to America and millions of Tainos would have been able to live. But more importantly, the King and Queen are guilty because they did nothing to stop Columbus from attacking the Tainos even after Columbus informed them of his plans in a letter. King Ferdinand even wrote a letter directly to the Tainos threatening them saying that “should [they] fail to comply, or delay maliciously in so doing, we assure you that with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means.” When the King and Queen first heard of Columbus plans to enslave the Tainos, they should have put a stop to it immediately and cut off Columbus’ funding instead of allowing him to sail again and set up a Spanish colony on Hispaniola where millions of Tainos would be

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