Kialo requires JavaScript to work correctly.
Was Columbus a hero?
Loading Discussion
Selected claim, opposing its parent
Columbus never set foot on mainland North America. Contrastingly, Italian explorer
John Cabot
landed on modern-day Newfoundland in 1497 under the commission of Henry VII of England.
Pros
Cons
Pro claim 1
The myth of Christopher Columbus was
built several centuries after his voyages
by American colonists looking for a heroic figure of their past who was not associated with the British.
Con claim 1
Cabot's crew
did not journey far
into the land they found and, thus, could not explore the area. Columbus, by contrast, gave Europeans significant information about the lands he found.
Con claim 2
Cabot's voyage happened five years after Columbus' first voyage, meaning Columbus was the first European explorer to reach the Americas.