Would you regard Christopher Columbus as a hero or villain?

Question

does anyone know what really happened when columbus landed in the "new world"? what do you think about him. any opinions would be great based on what u know or if u want more info..

http://www.newhumanist.com/md2.html

for more info

Answer 1

Honestly -- I'd argue, "Neither one."

Columbus was actually a dolt who just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
In fact, he was totally wrong about the earth. He believed that the earth was only about 16,000 miles around. If the Americas had not been there, he never would have made it to Asia in his tinker-toy boats. His calculations were way off. And he got lucky that geography put the New World in his way.

But he was so stupid, when he landed in the Americas he thought he was in India, which is why we still refer to the Carribean as the West Indies, and the Native Americans as Indians.

Columbus was a moron who got saved from disaster by a fluke of geography -- that's all.

Answer 2

I've actually read some excerpts of letters that Christopher Columbus had written where he describes the wonders of the New World such as that there was gold everywhere and that the native peoples would make great slaves. He purposely exaggerated everything in an effort to get more investors. Columbus is a little bit of both a hero and a villain. Yes, it took courage to sail further than anyone else had before, but he was a villain due to his overwhelming greed.

Answer 3

There are plenty of places you can read about Columbus. Do some research and decide for yourself.
In truth, Columbus was arrogant and conceited and a glory seeker. Discovering the New World was a great feat, and not to be belittled, but a hero is more properly defined by his motives. Columbus' motives were the usual fame and wealth and power. These are not usually considered heroic, but heroism is in the eyes of the beholder. The King and Queen of Spain considered him a hero. In his time, wealth and power were most commonly obtained by subjugating and exploiting other people. His treatment of the natives of the Caribbean was cruel, and they certainly would have called him a villain.

Answer 4

Neither. He was an explorer and a glory seeker. And he was a product of his times.

It is unfair to the man to judge his actions by today's morality. In Columbus' day it was considered normal and right to subjugate "lesser" cultures. Many people go on about how stupid he was to not realize that had wasn't in India. That's hardly fair either. Very few Europeans had been to India, and other than some descriptions they really didn't know what it was like. There were not photographs, very few accurate or realistic drawings so how do you expect him to recognize the difference?

He was the man who brought news of an entire new continent to the rest of the world, for that he deserves some respect, for that accomplishment if nothing else. Beyond that you can make your own judgement if you must.

Answer 5

I would have to say neither.

As aforementioned he made a serious miscalculation about the size of the earth. He also miscalculated his support from the Spanish Crown, believe that he would actually reap a reward for the Discovery of the New World. His reward was a charge of Hearsay and imprisonment.

He had personal courage, or was a strong head fool. But he managed to get the ships, form an expedition, and see it through.

I would not call him a Hero, and certainly not a villain, Spain had no intentions of letting Colombus keep anything he discovered.

Answer 6

My goodness. Columbus ran into a continent of stone-age tribes that spent all their time killing each other, and now we're going to denounce the dude just cuz he was a European?

People do what they're gonna do. And what's done is done.

If the Asians of North America could have figured out sailing ships and navigation and gunpowder first, they would have landed on the coast of France and the result would have been pretty much the same, with only a difference in geography. (More hearts ripped out as a sacrifice.)

And people would still be Monday-morning quarterbacking the issue to this day.

PS: Note that Western European Civilization was the first to fully denounce the practice of slavery on moral grounds. Also note that the early Asian-Americans (as well as everybody else in the world) practiced it for millions of years, and would still probably do so today had the Europeans not succeeded in their global expansion.

Answer 7

As a ship's captain he was decent and he treated his crew better than most ship's captains did even as late as the 19th century. On the other hand, he was not a good administrator and blew that job. He was apparently unable to prevent the Spanish conquistadors he settled in Hispaniola from exploiting and mistreating the native Taino Indians. He was even unable to prevent the Spanish conquistadors from fighting amongst themselves, something they would continue to do among later Spanish explorers like Balboa and Pizarro.

Answer 8

Well in my opinion,at first he was trying desperately trying to make a buck and didn't mind risking it all to do so.So maybe foolhardy and brave.But as his voyage went on for weeks and weeks I am sure,as most of us would be,he became fearful and hellbent on his own survival.I think he is neither hero nor villain.I doubt he knew the ramifications of his voyages,nor could he see the future.For all he knew he landed in India and remembered how he got there..I am sure he felt he was a bit of a hero

Answer 9

It's ridiculous and absurd to compare the behaviours of people 500 years ago with modern standards, not one of those explorers, italian, spanish, portuguese, dutch, english, not one of them is "innocent" by today's laws.

By the way, for those who didn't know, much more, countless millions more native americans were killed AFTER 1776, when the US became independent, then BEFORE.
So if you're american don't blame just the europeans, BLAME YOURSELVES.

Answer 10

I don't think he was a hero or a villain. I think he was just an explorer doing what explorers did back in those days.