Thesis: Columbus tore apart everything in his path, leaving a lasting legacy of slavery, genocide, disease, and destruction. In 1492, Columbus landed in what is now known as the Bahamas, rediscovering the Americas. Although many believe that Columbus had a positive effect on the Americas, these voyages caused a large number of negative events. Columbus and his men began the transatlantic slave trade, spread deadly diseases that led to the genocide of Native people, and directly caused severe degradation of Native American culture. Most people in current times believe that Columbus wanted to find a new trade route. Columbus wasn't interested in goods or foreign trade, he wanted gold (Inman, Matthew). In an attempt to find it, Columbus enslaved the Lucaian people as a free source of labor that could be easily controlled. If the natives disobeyed orders they were tortured and sometimes killed. Columbus and his men forced the natives to mine gold for him and the few times they managed to reach their quota, they were rewarded with clay tokens to wear around their necks. However, if they failed to do so, the native's hands were often cut off and worn around the neck instead (Inman, Matthew). Columbus' legacy paved the way for other explorers to enslave and torture the natives, so the native culture slowly declined. One of the many negative effects of Columbus' expedition was the spread of diseases brought by his men which led to the genocide of the natives. Americans. Native Americans became victims of the countless new diseases brought by Columbus and his men. New diseases included smallpox, measles, influenza, bubonic plague, diphtheria, typhoid, scarlet fever, yellow fever, chickenpox, and more. T...... middle of paper......Oct. 1992. Network. 03 December 2013. .Churchill, Ward. "9.11 - History of the Columbus Genocide." We are the Indians. 1st ed. vol. 9.11. Np: Common Courage, 1994. N. pag. 9.11 - History of the Columbus genocide. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Network. 02 December 2013. .McDonnal, Michael. "The 'Conquest' of the Americas: The Aztecs: Overview." The "Conquest" of the Americas: The Aztecs: Overview. University of Sydney, n.d. Web. 3 December 2013. “Digital History.” Digital history. Digital History, 2013. Web. 03 December. 2013. .