Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

by

Dee Brown

Christopher Columbus Character Analysis

Famous Italian explorer whose voyage to America in 1492, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish monarchy, is often regarded as the beginning of the Age of Exploration: a time in which the European nation-states became enormously wealthy and powerful as a result of their imperial landholdings. Though Columbus can be celebrated as a heroic pioneer and explorer, his brutal, militaristic actions in the New World toward the people he encountered there also paved the way for centuries of Native American genocide and betrayal.
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Christopher Columbus Character Timeline in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

The timeline below shows where the character Christopher Columbus appears in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: “Their Manners are Decorous and Praiseworthy”
Genocide Theme Icon
Expansion and Manifest Destiny Theme Icon
The explorer Christopher Columbus first gave the Native Americans the name “Indians.” In 1492, on what would later be... (full context)
Genocide Theme Icon
Resistance and Violence Theme Icon
Columbus kidnapped Tainos and took them back to Europe, where he baptized them. The Tainos later... (full context)
Law and Property Theme Icon
It’s been centuries since Columbus landed in San Salvador. In that time, hundreds of Native American tribes have been wiped... (full context)