Christopher Columbus – Hero or Villain?
Christopher Columbus , that Portuguese explorer who is credited with discovering America, is a person that elicits very different images depending on where you come from. To some, he is the very epitome of an intrepid explorer and a hero of the Spanish people, but to others, he is the person responsible for the decimation of the indigenous peoples of South America. So who is he? Early life According to International Inside , Columbus was born in the middle of the 15th Century to a wool merchant, Domenico Colombo, and his wife, Susanna Fontanarossa. He had brothers, Giovanni Pellegrino, Bartolomeo, and Giacomo and a sister named Bianchinetta. In his early life, he sailed with the Portuguese merchant marine until 1470. After being attacked by pirates, he gave up the sea, and he moved to Lisbon, where he studied astronomy, cartography, mathematics, and navigation. On completing his studies, he and his brother, Bartolomeo, worked as mapmakers until the...