Christopher Columbus Statue in Waterbury Has Head Reattached

In July, the Christoper Columbus statue in front of Waterbury's City Hall literally lost its head when decapitated on July 4. According to an article on the website wtnh.com, the head was reattached on Wednesday, December 3, and a New York man has been charged with the decapitation.

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According to police, Brandon Ambrose of Port Chester, NY, was spotted on surveillance video hitting the statue's head. Police told NBC CT that Ambrose jumped off but returned several minutes later with an object and began striking the head until it broke off.

Police then reported that something very bizarre happened. When police saw the head on the ground, they noticed the nose was missing. After digging deeper into the missing nose situation, police determined the culprit was Ambrose, who was attempting to sell Christopher Columbus's nose.

Should we be celebrating the life of Christopher Columbus? Did he really discover America? A sea of debate has been swirling around the life of this Italian explorer. According to the website biography.com, in 1492, millions of people had already inhabited North America, not to mention that he landed on the Bahamas' shores, which is 300 miles south of Florida.

When Columbus landed in the Bahamas, which was called Hispaniola, he came to know a population of friendly Indigenous people called the Taino. Columbus and his men were soon trading jewelry, animals, and supplies with the natives.

Eventually, Columbus and his men took advantage of the Taino because they had no weapons, and it didn't take long before they were forced into slavery. The Taino population was eliminated between the infectious diseases Columbus and his men brought from Europe and the brutal treatment towards the natives.

Columbus was eventually made governor of Hispaniola, but in 1499 when the Spanish monarchy caught wind of the colonists' horrible treatment, Columbus was arrested, chained, and transported back to Spain. So, why do we celebrate Columbus Day?