What is your opinion of Christopher Columbus?

Question

In 8 days is the celebration of Columbus Day in the US. What is your opinion of this explorer?

Answer 1

some old guy from a million years ago

Answer 2

Christopher Columbus was an Italian freelancer explorer sailing for 'Spain' as the Italian cities would not back such adventures. He used the work of prior navigators/ explorers to formulate his theory...i.e. that the profit rich 'Indies' (what are now Indonesia, SE Asia and coastal China) could be reached by sailing far 'west'. This was then, in 1492 an important notion, because the Mediterranean dead ended at the Levant/ Mideast (controlled then by the hostile Muslims), and Portugal alone had a monopoly on the tiny and difficult ship borne trade to China round Africa and India. His voyage was as much a quest for profit, as exploration, but he was the 1st with the 'guts' and backing to try it. IMO (in my opinion, (and I think of mainstream history)), to keep three tiny ships together on over a 3 month voyage and 'on course' to a uncertain destination, made him... a great sea captain (and even if he had help) a great navigator (later he made 2 further trips back-forth across the ocean). His idea that...you could reach China/ Indonesia by sailing west on a round earth was also absolutely right, but he or 'no one else' at the time suspected that the huge continents of North and South 'America' (the 'New World' blocked the way). IMO to hold his expedition together, to reach the 'New World', and not sink, or starve, or get lost, or give up, made him a great sea captain/ explorer/ navigator. IMO he got into trouble when he reached land (like many sea captain's). The King and Queen of Spain had appointed him automatic 'Governor' of lands taken...and in this, it seems to me he was out of his element. He was brutal to the natives (all the Europeans considered them 'inferior'), and harsh/ brutal to his own people whenever they were off ship. IMO, as a sailing admiral he was excellent, as a political land governor he barely had a clue. Still, to make 3 successful trips 'back and forth' across the Atlantic Ocean at that early time, to plant colonies (even if misgoverned), to 'discover' North/ South America for the rest of the then human world, makes him 'great'.

Answer 3

I don't know why we keep celebrating this day! False reports and as another answerer already wrote he had little conscience in cutting down the natives of the land he surveyed. He did manage to sail the ocean and land here!

Answer 4

He's a major contender for the title of most evil man to ever set foot in this hemisphere. He slaughtered native people as though they were crops, and it's detailed very well in the diaries of a priest who was close to him at the time, and in turn documented in Howard Zinn's book "The People's History of the United States".

Answer 5

I don't know him personally.... teehee

however he was very very brave to do what he did (ie sail across the ocean). That being said, I would probably also say that in his day, greed was a great motivator.

best wishes

Answer 6

He was a horrific, intolerant human being...but if it weren't for his sacrifices of humanity, then we may not have the great USA today (or the rest of the Americas)

Answer 7

He is the explorer we were taught that discovered America, but he wasn't the first one. here.

Answer 8

History doesn't always say things correctly. He didn't really do what they said he did......someone beat him to it and he got the credit.

Answer 9

He didn't find what he was looking for, but he at least put a place on the map, even if he didn't find it 1st.

Answer 10

He's an ****** who is given a lot more credit than his due.