2007-10-08 02:28:30 · 7 answers · asked by Willie 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
He certainly wasn't sailing around the world to spread a message of love & peace was he? At the end of the day, he was simply on a voyage of discovery, with an eye for profit & self-promotion.
2007-10-08 02:32:58 · answer #1 · answered by K B 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure I would call him a villain, but he did some questionable things with respect to the natives he met in the New World.
It's kind of a Euro-centric view of history to declare that Columbus discovered American, or that he was a hero for doing so. True, most of Europe belived he would fall off the edge of the earth if he tried to find a different route to India, so he was a little brave, but we know that the Native Americans had been here for tens of thousands of years before he arrived, and even the Vikings had made trips to our continent long before him.
2007-10-08 09:36:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Truth be told, Columbus ushered in a cultural clash between the New and Old Worlds that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not more, people. I'd recommend reading "The Devastation of the Indies" by Las Casas. It's the account of a missionary during colonization and creates a vivid image of not only how the native populations of the Americas were devastated by diseases brought over by conquistadors but also of the vicious and criminal acts perpetrated against natives.
2007-10-08 09:35:56 · answer #3 · answered by Steph Z 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He was a creature of his times. His actions turned out to be awful and many, many died and an entire civilization was destroyed.
but you gotta remember that the Pope......yup the Pope divided up the world and told countries they could claim other lands and civilizations for European nations.
Was it wrong, certainly and I am not excusing it but remember the Crusades were Englishmen destroyed the evil Saracens in Spain and fought to re-take Jerusalem for the Christians?
One must remember the context.
Time and history have judged Columbus and we all know what happened.
2007-10-08 09:47:51 · answer #4 · answered by Bob W 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like most questions, the answer is opinion. Being part Native, I see him as one who changed the world (and not for the better.) Others see him as a discoverer of new, and unexplored areas.
He "discovered" a place that wasn't lost--and in actuality he was! He thought he had found a shortcut to India (thus the name West Indies.)
The changes that came as a result were devastating to Native Americans. Couple those changes with the concept of "Saving" the Natives through Christianity(The White Man's Burden), while enslaving them, and then add in the concept of Manifest Destiny--dramatic and destructive change flowed from his "Discovery."
2007-10-08 09:44:00 · answer #5 · answered by k_l_parrish 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
VILLAIN!!!
lol the name of my high school is columbus high
and these juniors started protesting in the school courtyard, and they were saying how we should have columbus day off.
((lol))
2007-10-08 21:10:20 · answer #6 · answered by Vegetarian Era 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no-he didnt discover a damned thing!-he couldnt even navigate to where he was supposed to go in the first place.columbus sucks!
2007-10-08 09:31:01 · answer #7 · answered by berlytea 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋