Was Christopher Columbus a Hero or a Villain?

[scottydog]

Columbus Day is approaching here in the U.S., and once again we'll hear mixed views about his legacy. I tried to strike a balanced chord in this blog post about Columbus.

What are your thoughts? I'm old enough to remember being taught in school that Columbus was a hero who "discovered" America. Of course, we know now that his story is a complicated one and that 50 million Native Americans in 1492 would beg to differ that America needed any discovering.

 

[TheBrew]

C'mon, I didn't think the first two Harry Potter movies were that bad.

 

[Mr Light]

Dammit! Somebody beat me to the Harry Potter joke!!! :sobs:

 

[Teelie]

How he is a hero or a villain for finding the Americas is beyond me. Was there some great evil empire he defeated? Nope. Did he intentionally go out to kill and subvert millions of natives? Nope. Did he do anything that warrants the title of either? Not really. He was a great explorer and a human who was not a cut and dry cardboard cutout archetype.

What happened because he (re)discovered the Americas is not his fault. He didn't tell people to go rape, pillage and decimate the locals or to do anything that was meant to be harmful. Other people did that. Merely being the first of the European wave of settlers and adventurers does not make him anything other than an unfortunate victim of the eventual historical tragedy.

 

[auntiehill]

^Exactly. He was just a guy, out to discover a new route. He was neither a hero or a villain, just one of the main players of a historically important moment.

 

[Rush Limborg]

What happened because he (re)discovered the Americas is not his fault. He didn't tell people to go rape, pillage and decimate the locals or to do anything that was meant to be harmful. Other people did that. Merely being the first of the European wave of settlers and adventurers does not make him anything other than an unfortunate victim of the eventual historical tragedy

Absolutely.

All the PC nonsense about "Columbus led to the killing off of the N.A.s, therefore he was worse than Hitler" has to STOP!

He was a smart guy, a bit in over his head, who loved the promise of adventure and discovery--who made a mistake which led to a crossroads of history. He was in the right place in the right time.

He does NOT deserve any of the blame for what Cortez or anyone else did. He was responsable for HIS discoveries, HIS actions--no more, no less.

Judge him accordingly. For me, his determination and willingness to Boldly Go Where No (known at the time) Man Had Gone Before qualifies him as a "hero" in my book.

 

[sidious618]

All the PC nonsense about "Columbus led to the killing off of the N.A.s, therefore he was worse than Hitler" has to STOP!

Yes, because people say things like that all the time.

 

[Roger Wilco]

He was quite brave and visionary, but a cold-hearted genocidal asshole too. I don't think the former excuses the latter

 

[gturner]

His existence might also be kind of irrelevant, since continual advances in European naval construction (bigger, more seaworthy ships necessitated by cannon broadsides) made the European discovery of America inevitable. That Columbus sailed for Spain certainly left an imprint, but Europeans were going to show up anyway.

 

[MANT!]

Both.. simply both..


His motivations were no different than any other European at the time..

to find a quick route to Asia, he didn't know that the Americas were in the way..

He did subjudicate the locals somewhat..took slaves, but didn't do wholesale slaughter of the kind that came later with others...

He was more an explorer than an exploiter, but was no different than most other "civilized" men at the time.. the Native Americans were seen as savages due to a lack of the same "civilization" as was in Europe..


a man OF his time

 

[Amaris]

^ Agreed.

 

[Rush Limborg]

All the PC nonsense about "Columbus led to the killing off of the N.A.s, therefore he was worse than Hitler" has to STOP!

Yes, because people say things like that all the time.

Look at the post right below yours....

 

[Joshua Howard]

All the PC nonsense about "Columbus led to the killing off of the N.A.s, therefore he was worse than Hitler" has to STOP!

Yes, because people say things like that all the time.

Look at the post right below yours....

LOL... I think that Hitler is every bit as alive as Elvis. He lives on through the internet, because you can't go more than two clicks without finding somebody sizing something or someone up against him.

Some people use him as their excuse. "Sure, maybe I ran over a kid on my way to work and didn't stop, but at least I'm not as bad as HITLER!"

Other folks downplay Hitler's evilness and instead try to make other people look even worse than him. "President [insert name here] is WORSE THAN HITLER because he [insert whatever here]!"

In all actuality, most folks don't even know that much about Hitler. Sure, we could say that Hitler was evil; but at the end of the day, just like everybody else, Hitler was just a dude who did stuff and then died. He was seduced by the dark side, but like Vader, there was a man under the mask.

Columbus was, in his time, kind of like the inventor of Facebook. He did something that allowed people to connect with other people in the world, so he really enabled a new cultural medium to develop; and America - like Facebook - was something that lots of people really liked, but with any good thing, there are other folks who get their undies stuck in a bunch. Columbus was just a dude who did stuff, and then died. Aren't we all?

 

[Tora Ziyal]

C'mon, I didn't think the first two Harry Potter movies were that bad.

Dammit! Somebody beat me to the Harry Potter joke!!! :sobs:

Okay, guys, what am I missing here???

 

[scottydog]

C'mon, I didn't think the first two Harry Potter movies were that bad.

Dammit! Somebody beat me to the Harry Potter joke!!! :sobs:

Okay, guys, what am I missing here???

A guy named Chris Columbus directed the Potter movies.

 

[Davros]

He does NOT deserve any of the blame for what Cortez or anyone else did. He was responsable for HIS discoveries, HIS actions--no more, no less.

His own actions and words do enough alone to show him for the scumbag he was.

 

[RJDiogenes]

It's already been said: Columbus was neither a hero nor a villain, just a great, and historically significant, explorer. He may not have been the nicest guy ever, but he's certainly not the genocidal maniac of current fashion.

 

[Teelie]

C'mon, I didn't think the first two Harry Potter movies were that bad.

Dammit! Somebody beat me to the Harry Potter joke!!! :sobs:

Okay, guys, what am I missing here???

A guy named Chris Columbus directed the Potter movies.

The irony here is unbelievable.

 

[Owain Taggart]

This thread blows my mind. I'm surprised that there are even some entertaining the thought. I suppose Kirk is a villain too due to some bad decisions he's made in his career then?

 

[darkshadow0001]

Columbus Day is approaching here in the U.S., and once again we'll hear mixed views about his legacy. I tried to strike a balanced chord in this blog post about Columbus.

What are your thoughts? I'm old enough to remember being taught in school that Columbus was a hero who "discovered" America. Of course, we know now that his story is a complicated one and that 50 million Native Americans in 1492 would beg to differ that America needed any discovering.

I think the Vikings should of got credit for discovering the new world. They were here long before Columbus... or even the Native Americans... they were also here long before Columbus... so it does not compute as to why Columbus was the one who discovered America.