Poll

On 12 October, Columbus Day will be celebrated all over the Western Hemisphere (and in a few places, Dia de la Raza, or Indigenous People's Day). What do you think Columbus's legacy was? Choose from among the following answers.

His legacy was entirely positive. He discovered a New World, brought civilisation and religion to the Natives, and enabled European culture to spread its wings and fly.
His legacy was mostly positive. He did discover a New world, and that led to the end of horrific things like Aztec human sacrifice, but there were abuses in the European system that he had no personal control over, that were very unfortunate.
His legacy was mixed. He should have controlled his own people better. Yes, Europeans stopped abuses, but their influence was more negative than positive.
His legacy was mostly negative. He didn't "discover" a New World, as people lived here. They were used to their own brutalities, and should have been left alone. Europeans should have stayed out of it.
His legacy was horrific. He was a genocidal nutcase who didn't care how many Natives he had to kill in order to get the gold he wanted. Anything that was in his way was to be moved out of the way at any price.
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The legacy of Christopher Columbus.

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Yaakov ben Avraham

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The legacy of Christopher Columbus.
« on: July 12, 2015, 10:14:12 AM »
This is an interesting question. Columbus Day is a very interesting debate nowadays, at least in the United States. Should it be celebrated? If it should, how? Should it be celebrated or reflected upon? What about the man himself? Should he be praised or condemned, or held somewhere in the middle of two extremes? I invite you to answer the question above with your votes, and then comment below. I shall be curious to see your responses.
« Last Edit: July 12, 2015, 10:16:58 AM by Yaakov ben Avraham »
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JohnTitor

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Re: The legacy of Christopher Columbus.
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2015, 12:23:56 PM »
There's not really any excuse for what he did. There's not even grounds for arguing he civilized the people: what he did was far from civilized.
I met the guy (painful miscalculation), he nearly killed me. No sympathy for him whatsoever.
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Yaakov ben Avraham

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Re: The legacy of Christopher Columbus.
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2015, 01:03:20 PM »
John, for some reason, the idea that you were alive to meet the Admiral stretches the imagination past the breaking point. And your claims of time travel are, well, likely to be bilge also. Now, that having been said, your opinion of him is nevertheless as valid as the next, & I thank you for your vote.
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JohnTitor

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Re: The legacy of Christopher Columbus.
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2015, 05:50:28 PM »
Quote from: Yaakov ben Avraham on July 12, 2015, 01:03:20 PM
John, for some reason, the idea that you were alive to meet the Admiral stretches the imagination past the breaking point. And your claims of time travel are, well, likely to be bilge also. Now, that having been said, your opinion of him is nevertheless as valid as the next, & I thank you for your vote.
I'm not immortal, I just mistook the voltage I set. I meant to go back a few decades, but slipped and stayed travelling for too long. It was painful, and it took me a little while to work out where I was.
Still, it's entirely fine if you don't believe me, I just wanted to clarify.
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FalseProphet

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Re: The legacy of Christopher Columbus.
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2015, 12:13:14 AM »
I also met him, using my magical goo machine. He was a stubborn idiot.

I mean, scholars knew the true size of earth since Eratosthenes. But he used a random value just to make sure that India is closer taking the western route instead of the Eastern one. He was ready to risk his own life and that of his whole crew for his idiotic plan.

On the other hand, he was not like Cortez or Pizarro. But he was no nice person either.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2015, 12:55:17 AM by FalseProphet »
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Yaakov ben Avraham

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Re: The legacy of Christopher Columbus.
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2015, 03:52:41 AM »
Well, he did have one scholar that agreed with him, namely, Alfragan the African. As far as meeting him, that is just silly, but its also by the by. Your opinion is what matters.
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FalseProphet

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Re: The legacy of Christopher Columbus.
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2015, 10:15:05 AM »
Quote from: Yaakov ben Avraham on July 17, 2015, 03:52:41 AM
Well, he did have one scholar that agreed with him, namely, Alfragan the African. As far as meeting him, that is just silly, but its also by the by. Your opinion is what matters.

According to my information the calculation of al Farghani was very accurate. Or do you mean somebody else?

The scholar whose miscalculations Columbus deliberately adopted was Toscanelli.

By the way, there IS something great with Columbus. He was the first one who really DID it. I mean planning a journey that required a round earth. Before earth was round only in theory. He made earth round for politics, even for the daily life of people.

But the outcome of the conquista was a disaster, a holocaust lasting for centuries, really the most terrible thing that ever happened in history.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2015, 10:35:42 AM by FalseProphet »
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