The Complicated Legacy of Christopher Columbus

Posted by International Inside on August 28th, 2019

History is a dynamic thing. One generation takes something as gospel truth while the next reject it completely. Sometimes new facts arise to shed light on an aspect of someone’s character. What is considered moral or immoral may change over time?


Christopher Columbus facts is a case in the dynamics of history-altering our perceptions of a person. At one time, Columbus was considered a great explorer who discovered the “New World” and opened it to trade. Now he’s generally viewed as a cruel tyrant who enslaved and sold thousands of people while directly leading to the deaths of thousands more.


According to International Inside, Christopher Columbus led the initial expeditions of the Caribbean, Central America and South America from Europe. These expeditions led to the colonization of the “New World” by “Old” Europe. He was assigned the rank of “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” in 1492 and granted many titles and claims that he recorded in his  Book of Privileges.


Columbus studied a wealth of subjects including map-making, math, astronomy, and navigation.
It was his idea to find a passage to the East Indies in hopes of profiting from the spice trade. This avoids the extreme difficulty in traveling to Asia from Europe overland. The long journey was beset with hostile armies. In order to avoid the dangers of the land, many took to the sea by following the coast of West Africa and going around the Cape of Good Hope.


Columbus’s idea was to go west across the Atlantic Ocean instead of the south around Africa. He thought that the Earth was actually smaller than was believed by most people and that a transatlantic trip to India would not be too tough.


He eventually convinced the Spanish crown to fund an expedition to test out his theory. He was promised 10% of whatever wealth he found along with a royal title and the title of governor of anyplace he discovered on his travels.


Columbus eventually made four trips to the Americas, insisting that he had reached Asia each time in spite of mounting evidence that he had not.


On his third voyage, he was arrested among charges that he harshly treated the colonists in the towns he set up and that he had misled them about the amount of wealth available in the New World. He was sent back to Spain in chains to answer to the crown. While there, he convinced the king and queen that he was close to finding the treasure that he had been promising everyone. He was released and his fourth expedition was quickly arranged.


This final voyage began in 1502. In 1504, Columbus returned to Spain with nothing to show for his trip after being shipwrecked in Jamaica for a year. He was stripped of his titles and most of his wealth. He died on May 20, 1506, still believing that he had found his route to Asia.
For hundreds of years, Columbus was celebrated for his discoveries, including the discovery of the Americas. Europeans credited him with expanding European influence and colonization. Now it is generally accepted that the Americas were discovered hundreds of years earlier by the Vikings and we blame Columbus for exploiting and destroying the indigenous people of the New World.


The planet was radically changed by his travels. Horses from Europe changed how Native Americans traveled and hunted. Wheat from Europe became one of the main foods grown in the Americas. Coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became staple crops in Latin America. American food like potatoes, corn, and tomatoes became staples in Europe. Entire civilizations were eradicated either from diseases brought over by him and his men or by slavers or by soldiers who followed in Columbus’s path. Religious persecution spread to the Americas.
Maybe it is unjust to lay all of these things at the feet of Columbus. He was a product of his times. Democracy and religious acceptance were not widely practiced. Slavery was common. If Columbus had not sailed to America then whoever did make the trip would likely have behaved in much the same way.


So, in the past we venerated Columbus. Currently, we vilify him. Maybe in time, we will come to forgive him.


Source: https://www.internationalinside.com/history/christopher-columbus-great-hero-or-arch-villain/

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International Inside
Joined: August 28th, 2019
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