The quincentennial, or 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in America in 1992, raised many new questions about the man. Once nearly universally regarded as a hero, Columbus today also conjures up brutality, violence, and the destruction of Native Americans and their culture. However, rather than rushing to judgment one way or another, we need to consider him in the context of his times.
For a long time historians believed that Columbus was the son of a poor Genoese weaver and that before going to sea he had been a trader of African slaves in Spain. His marriage to the daughter of a prominent Lisbon merchant gave him many connections to the royal court. More recently other scholars have argued that Columbus was too prominent to have come from such humble beginnings.
Part of Columbus's desire to explore was to bring.....
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