David Stannard's American Holocaust

In David A. Stannard's book, American Holocaust: Columbus And the Conquest of the New World, Stannard discusses the cruelty he says Christopher Columbus inflicted upon Native Americans and how it was comparable to the genocidal acts of World War II. This debate arose roughly thirteen or so years ago, and before then people thought Columbus could not have possibly done something so horrific. However, there is evidence to support the claims, and the idea that Columbus may have been crueler than previously believed is becoming less and less taboo.

Stannard accuses Columbus of being a religious fanatic with an obsession of eliminating non-Christians, by means of murder, conversion, or at the very least, enslavement. He claims that Columbus