Happy Columbus Day!
OK, so the Native Americans might not agree and Columbus more "rediscovered" than "discovered" the New World but nevertheless it's still a major archievement in exploration and seamanship.
Of late, it's been politically correct to bash on it and rewrite history but no matter how you pretend, the event still happened. Now, granted that Columbus was a far better sailor than he was as an administrator/governor but to cast Columbus as the evil genius that unleashed great suffering upon the poor "innocent" natives is pure BS. There's enough blame to go around to everyone and in comparison to Pizarro or Cortez, Columbus was relatively mild. Hardly Adolph Hitler material.
The natives were just as nasty as any Europeans could be- the Caribs practiced cannibalism far before the Spanish showed up. As for other groups such as the Aztecs- please! The ritual slaughters of thousands to include ripping out their hearts? Like real life, things are shades of grey and we need to acknowledge them. Events happen and to try to force our own view on the past is both intellectually dishonest and just plain foolish. You have to view them within the context of the times. Leveling judgements does little to further understanding.
At any rate, for better or worse, he made the discoveries he did and it certainly opened the world up to the Western mind.
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