Why Should Christopher Columbus Be Praised

Why is Christopher Columbus undeserving of any praise?

I am Italian and he is somewhat of an important person to Italian Americans but Columbus day is just a reason to celebrate your heritage, really.But I am not that educated about what he did to the point I can say he does deserve praise for anything, he sailed to some islands and committed atrocities like genocide and who knows what else.Which would, in my opinion, negate anything good that could be said about. I definitely would never utter the words “praise Cristobol Colon (his name to the Spanish and I think what he went by)” because of this fact alone. Genocide is something that condemns a person, in my eyes, they need God's forgiveness, though, not mine.What did he do? He inaugurated a bicoastal generations long genocide that lasted and involved many European nations, to do what, impress some Spanish royals? They were the epitome of evil in the year 1492, why would he work with them if he was a man worthy of praise, it's unethical to work for people who commit genocide and kill heretics and non Catholics or forcefully convert them.It's denied, but does it not appear obvious that colonization is either named after him or the reason he was called Colon? I don't see much resemblance to Columbus or Colombo, 3 letters, and it is odd because Columbus is the male version of Columbia, the Englishmans Isis or Demeter, the pagan goddess. American “elites” are obsessed with ancient Egypt and pagan deities, it is not just that they think pyramids with eyes at the top are “cool” and thus should be on the dollar with a phoenix or “bald eagle” and the Washington monument, a symbol of dismembered penis of Osiris is “neat” and all of this is just a funny coincidence.America talks a good game of rhetorical sophistry but is responsible for a lot of atrocities now and then that it just pretends are justified or invokes from the past, condemns and to score points. This country is founded by the sword and gun, and it will probably end that way, too. But if Chris Col-ON (another name for Osiris) is who started it all and even though I would not be alive if he didn't, I don't think he did anything worthy of praise, to answer your question, which is just my opinion, as will any answer be.

How is Christopher Columbus good?

I tend to be rather liberal when it comes to judging people — everyone is redeemable. History has taught us that many who made major mistakes in their youth, learned from the errors of their way, and became just the right person, with the needed skill set, at a crucial time.Where Columbus is concerned, he is to be admired (as well as his crews), for their perseverance. Explorers, even today, are of strong character and optimism. What I take issue with is how, and other explorers, or blazers of untraveled trails, are deified in history, when, in many cases, they sort of bungled their way into what is considered worth remembering.Columbus did not know, for sure, where he was going, where he was when he got there, nor where, exactly, he had been, when he returned home. He, like most other European explorers, left a trail of cruelty, destruction, and disease. Their arrogance, and short sightedness, that led them to believe they were superior because they had white skin, were “educated,” and were “Christians,” was appalling by today’s standards, and certainly nothing to laud, nor honor. Their “firsts” really were not. Their “discoveries” really were not knew. They are not deserving of the hero status we attribute them.Columbus opened an exchange of ideas, food, flora, and fauna. In his path, he left destruction, disease, death, and a cruel invasion of beautiful cultures that had existed far longer than his. I do not see anything about him that is worth honoring. If anything, it is his victims we should remember for the price they paid. Like so many of his day, and today, he sought glory and gold. He deserves neither.It is no accident that the establishment of “Columbus Day” coincides with a huge Italian immigration to this country, a time when they, like Muslim, or Latino, immigrants of today, were hated, suppressed, and were scapegoats for the nation’s troubles of the time. Giving them a hero, and special day on the calendar, just as was done for the Irish (St. Patrick’s Day), and African Americans (MLK Day), was appeasement in the relative current time.

How do Italians feel about Christopher Columbus?

He is generally seen as a historical figure of huge significance and a man of inspiring perseverance, and little more. To the best of my knowledge, he is not really “revered” as he is in America. He is a good example of the talent there was in Italy in those wonderful years, and of the weird trait many Italians in history seem to have had, ie. doing something nobody else has ever even tried and changing the world. Oh, and being completely overlooked in his own country while given a chance to flourish abroad, that's one thing that makes him very relatable to today’s Italians.As for whether he should have benefited Italy, well, to “benefit Italy” he’d have had to wait 370 years, and that’s a bit too much to ask even the staunchest patriot; the Republic of Genoa had nothing to profit from his enterprise, since the Mediterranean Sea would be cut off from Atlantic trade routes, as it came to be; besides, if he was sent by Queen Isabel, I guess that means his countrymen weren't really interested. His accomplishments are not things you are usually proud of either: one takes pride in a great countryman testifying to the nation’s smarts, but the accomplishments themselves are his own merit; ie., you are proud of his life, his faith in his own idea, and the accomplishments only make that life more noteworthy. I don't know how they see him in Genoa, though.As far as I know, Marco Polo is more interesting to Italians (maybe I say so because I live near Venice, who knows), perhaps because he is more of an intermediary between two capital cities, while Columbus discovered a continent that was to be explored by others (Spaniards, Portuguese, Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Englishmen, etc.); and Italy (bar the two Cabotos) was actually cut off from that exploration.He started the Golden Age of Spain, Portugal, the UK, the Netherlands, and an age of utter decline for Italy, which was until then the heart of Europe; but that’s fine, you can’t hold progress back only because your home turf is going to fall behind.

How could Christopher Columbus have 'discovered' the Americas if there were already people living there for thousands of years?

This is a simplified version of what Columbus did, intended for school children. People who take history courses in high school and university are expected to learn a more nuanced view of the events of 1492.If you look through any history book or book on scholarly or scientific “discovery,” the word means “added to the body of knowledge of Western or Eurasian civilization.” That is what Columbus did.Columbus’s voyage in 1492 was, for good or ill, one of the most important events in all of history. The societies of Asia, Europe, and Africa had been trading culture, genes, and disease vectors for fifty thousand years. The societies of the Americas had been doing the same for about fifteen thousand years. Columbus joined those two separate creations of human civilization together, finally and permanently. The only large-scale human social complexes not part of that new creation were those of Australia and highland New Guinea.You can praise his achievements or denounce his crimes, but the world was changed forever by Christopher Columbus.

How did Christopher Columbus influence the world?

He united two worlds. Before him, Humanity had been divided and separated in two grand masses of land. He created was the responsible for bringing the world together.For the bad parts. He was personally an asshole. And the consequences of the discovery are silly to discuss, in my opinion. What happened was the logical outcome either we like it or not. Civilizations rise and fall as they get in contact with other more advanced ones.In any case, he could be an asshole, but the world is complete now thanks to his accomplishment. We should credit him for that.