Talk:Christopher Columbus

category
While "explorers" might be ok, how about "three day weekends" or "US holidays", or "italian-hispanic riots"? How about "imperialists"? "mass murderers"? "enslavers"... "gold diggers"... ok, I'll stop now... human  00:20, 16 October 2007 (EDT)

The article is slightly wide of the mark by referring to "Icelandic pagans with bad body odour". In fact Leif Erikson was a Christian, he converted during an earlier visit to Norway, although his father Erik the Red was a heathen. PatGallacher (talk) 21:42, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I think that might be an odd reference to the fact that some of the Religious Right have issues with accepting America's "discovery" prior to Columbus. Scarlet A.pngd hominem 23:54, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

Misblamed?
I don't understand is their any evidence that Colombus was directly involved in genocide? As far as I know he was just an explorer, the actual genocide being done by the Spanish empire and his brother Bartholomew (he left his brother in charge while he explored). As far as I can find the worse thing he did was want to convert the natives to Christianity but in comparison to other colonizers that was pretty mild (yes I know that doesn't make it ok), and he was already dead when the genocide of the natives by Spain really kicked off. He personallly was peaceful towards the natives of the Bahamas, though he should not have trusted his brother to be in charge but that seems more because of incompetance on his part than maliciousness. ClothCoat (talk) 00:14, 4 February 2015 (UTC)


 * He was certainly considered to be a brutal governor of the early colonies, and Spain tried to have him imprisoned for it.-- Forerunner (talk) 23:19, 11 August 2015 (UTC)
 * does he get blamed for way to much (I've seen numerous times people essentially blaming all of the European caused american-ills on him) sometimes? Yes. Is he a blameless saint who did no wrong? In no such way. There's a reason the focus on him is the finding the americas part and nothing afterwards. --"Paravant" Talk & Contribs 23:56, 11 August 2015 (UTC)


 * I just read some of journal and it's clear that he was involved in the genocide. If anything we aren't harsh enough on him. I don't know where I heard that it was mainly his brothers who were responsible but I was clearly wrong (though his brothers were involved as well). ClothCoat (talk) 18:25, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

Lies told to children
While we're at it, why is this section advocating other lies? He was searching for a route to the 'Indies' not 'India'. His fantastical beliefs aside (ie denying all evidence that he had in fact, not reached the Asian coast), continuing this meme is as bad as the flat earth one. The implication being that knowledge at the time indicated that India was the most East landmass known and that their attempts was even more mistaken than it was.

Further, the most common held view for centuries prior was that the east coast line was in the middle of the pacific ocean approximately where the prime meridian is. While this trip would have likely been impossible, the view which led to the voyage was that this was an underestimation.

The only good continuing false notions is to feel superior to those in the past for being ignornant and/or stupid, where we are so much more enlightened and wise than those backwards people.