Was Christopher Columbus a Good Man?

Christopher Columbus Essay In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on one of the most famous voyages in human history. He was attempting to become the first person to ever reach the East Indies by way of travelling west across the Atlantic to get there. To get to the Indies at the time required one to travel eastward around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Earth was considered by many to be flat and that by travelling west, Columbus would simply fall off the face of the earth. Columbus rejected this theory and set about to prove that he could reach the Indies faster then ever before by going west. He requested funding from various governments and royals, but no one granted him any funds. After years of trying, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I decided to sponsor him on his voyage. He was given three ships: La Niña, La Pinta, and La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción. These ships would change the course of human history forever. On August 3rd, 1492, Columbus began his voyage across the Atlantic. A little over two months later on October 12th, what is probably present day Watlings Island was discovered by Columbus and named San Salvador. He claimed San Salvador for the royal crown of Spain. After this initial discovery, Columbus attempted on numerous voyages to set up a permanent settlement for Spain. His attempts at building a colony failed however, due to the local Native Americans destroying his fort and murdering all within. The Natives felt that the Spanish were taking their land from them, so they rebelled. After numerous years of trying, Columbus finally got a permanent settlement started and what is known as the colonization of the New World began. Unfortunately, Columbus’s arrival in the New World was more like an invasion for those already inhabiting it. His discovery of the New World should be referred to as an “invasion” due to the diseases brought over by the Spanish, how the Spanish thought of and behaved