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Was Columbus a hero?
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Selected claim, opposing its parent
Columbus committed violent and immoral acts upon the native population in the parts of the Americas he visited.
Pros
Cons
Pro claim 1
Columbus and his men enslaved the local population and subjected them to immense violence. (
Source
: Letter from Bartolome de las Casas)
Pro claim 2, children below
Columbus and his team brought
new diseases
to their colonies, which killed significant numbers of native people.
Con claim 1, children below
Columbus's behavior, while violent, was similar to what other explorers and colonizers of the time were expected to commit.
Con claim 2, children below
Many of the worst crimes committed against indigenous people occurred after Spanish settlers forced Columbus to relinquish control, giving individuals the ability to control their own land and slaves.