Who Was Christopher Columbus?

Not much is known about Christopher Columbus’s early life. He is believed to have been born in Genoa to a Christian household, but it has been alleged that he was a convert from Judaism or that he was born in Spain or Portugal. Columbus became a famous Italian explorer, navigator, and colonist on behalf of the Spanish crown, who is accredited with “discovering” the “New World” of the Americas. He sailed across the Atlantic Ocean four times on behalf of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Aragon, Castile, and Leon in Spain.
His voyages brought many hundreds of years of interaction and influence between the “Old World” of Europe and the Americas and the colonization of the Americas by Europeans. He also led the initial expeditions from Europe to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Started out filled with hope and ambition, partially fulfilled by his title, which was “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” awarded to him in 1492, and by the grants given to him which were enrolled in the Book of Privileges (his titles and claims). However, by the time he died, he was a disappointed man.

Many books about Christopher Columbus, based on new scholarship, emerged in the 1990s, leading to a great deal of debate and argument.
This came about because of a change in interpretation when the old European understanding of historical events gave way to the understanding of people in the Americas themselves.
Instead of being regarded as a triumph, the European influence on the Americas, much of initiated by Columbus, was seen as a disaster for the indigenous peoples.
In the old scenario, Columbus was seen as the hero of four voyages, bringing profit to Spain and other countries in Europe, and opening up the Americas for colonization.
But the new vision is of the destruction in brought in terms of the slave trade and the deaths brought by new diseases on the population of the Caribbean and the Americas. The view of Columbus has changed to one in which he was seen as a hero to someone whose effects were disastrous and himself flawed. No one doubts his abilities as a sailor and navigator, but do not see him in a position of honor.

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