Christopher Columbus: Hero Or Villain

The impact of Christopher Columbus is a widely debated aspect of world history regarding whether he was a hero or merely a lucky villain. It can be argued that he was nothing but cruel to the native people and inflicted violence upon his arrival. Columbus, also, did not necessarily discover America, seeing that when he arrived, there were already people there. However, one cannot leave out the fact that Columbus connected two worlds that were completely distant and made it what it is today. In addition, he was the first to actually prove the theory that the earth is round rather than a flat surface. Moreover, he was also the first person to cross the Atlantic in a time where people had limited knowledge about the waters. Despite Christopher …show more content…
From the perspective of native peoples, Columbus was certainly portrayed as a villain. He capitalized on native people for resource and labour, and many died as a result of mere brutality and diseases introduced by Europeans (Britannica). A new force of violence and subjugation began upon Columbus’ arrival. However, even if he took a less aggressive approach to the Taino people, it would not have changed the end result of the natives. The majority of the Taino people were decimated by diseases that they had never encountered before and they did not have the immune systems to fight off these diseases. Justifiably, this was never planned when the Europeans arrived, seeing that this was well before the germ theory. Also, although the Taino people were transported as slaves, this paved the way for new markets as well as the Columbian Exchange. Moreover, Christopher Columbus never discovered the Americas. When Columbus arrived in America in 1492, there were already millions of people living there, and he never reached North America (Biography). Nonetheless, this did not make Columbus’ voyage any less momentous and courageous. Columbus, despite being doubted by the majority of people, led four voyages across the Atlantic at a time where most of the waters were left unknown. In conclusion, although being a violent leader, the impact of …show more content…
Columbus connected two distinct worlds in which no one had any idea that the other existed. “… while Europeans left Europe to open up trade and colonize other lands, no other groups beside the Polynesians of the South Pacific successfully bridged the gap between lands and peoples,” (Biography). This quote proves that even though he is portrayed negatively by many, Columbus’ voyages had a lasting impact on the world and thus, changed the course of history. Moreover, Columbus was the first to prove Aristotle’s theory that the earth was a sphere shape. Prior to this, numerous individuals believed that the earth was a flat surface and that if one would travel to the edge of the earth, they could fall off. “Prior to the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria journeying across the Atlantic, there were still some who believed such a journey would lead to certain death by (literally) falling off the planet,” (Britannica). This is exceedingly significant because, from today’s perspective, once Columbus returned from San Salvador, one can truly speak for the first time about a world that was round rather than flat shaped. Furthermore, Christopher Columbus was the first to ever cross the Atlantic. Significantly enough, this was at a time where the size of Asia was overestimated and the size of the oceans were underestimated. “Columbus was the first to set out – and successfully cross – the Atlantic from Europe,