History UsefulNotes / ChristopherColumbus

Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish: Cristóbal Colón, Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo, French: Christophe Colomb), born circa 1451 and died 20 May 1506, is a famous historical figure, known as the sailor who wanted to [[BoldExplorer find an easier trade route from Europe to Asia]] (NOT to prove the Earth was round, contrary to popular belief) only to discover UsefulNotes/TheAmericas during his travels.

As you probably know, he was ''not'' the first European to discover the Americas [[note]]The credit goes to Leif Erikson and UsefulNotes/{{the Viking|Age}}s some 500 years before Columbus. Ultimately their settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland (Canada) failed and were largely forgotten until more recent times.[[/note]], but it was his efforts that led directly to the the Colombian Exchange, through which European exploration colonization shaped the Western Hemisphere, and with it the entire world, into its current form. An inestimable boon for the nations of Europe, though [[ThePurge considerably less advantageous]] for the [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans American indigenous natives]] [[note]]Albeit mostly for [[ThePlague reasons not intended by anybody]] - it's estimated that up to an ''[[AfterTheEnd apocalyptic]]'' 90% of the pre-Columbian American Natives were wiped out by diseases [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom unwittingly brought]] by Europeans, against which the Native populations had no antibodies due to animal domestication never reaching the scale it did in Europe, Asia and Africa, where it exposed human populations to more pathogens that would build up their immune systems. In an era before germ theory nobody could have thought of this, and the results would have been the same if an African or Asian made the trip instead of a European[[/note]].

Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish: Cristóbal Colón, Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo, French: Christophe Colomb), born circa 1451 and died 20 May 1506, is a famous historical figure, known as the sailor who wanted to [[BoldExplorer find an easier trade route from Europe to Asia]] (NOT to prove the Earth was round, contrary to popular belief) only to discover the Americas during his travels.

As you probably know, he was ''not'' the first European to discover the Americas [[note]]The credit goes to Leif Erikson and UsefulNotes/{{the Viking|Age}}s some 500 years before Columbus. Ultimately their settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland (Canada) failed and were largely forgotten until more recent times.[[/note]], but it was his efforts that led directly to the the Colombian Exchange, through which European exploration colonization shaped the Western Hemisphere, and with it the entire world, into its current form. An inestimable boon for the nations of Europe, though [[ThePurge considerably less advantageous]] for the [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans American indigenous natives]] [[note]]Albeit mostly for [[ThePlague reasons not intended by anybody]] - it's estimated that up to an ''[[AfterTheEnd apocalyptic]]'' 90% of the pre-Columbian American Natives were wiped out by diseases [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom unwittingly brought]] by Europeans, against which the Native populations had no antibodies due to animal domestication never reaching the scale it did in Europe, Asia and Africa, where it exposed human populations to more pathogens that would build up their immune systems. In an era before germ theory nobody could have thought of this, and the results would have been the same if an African or Asian made the trip instead of an European[[/note]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Toonsylvania}}'' has a Melissa Screetch segment where Melissa is assigned to do a report on Columbus' voyage and decides to write her own interpretation of events where she is a crew member of Columbus who organizes a mutiny against him.
* ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'' has a segment where the Warner Siblings sing a TheVillainSucksSong about Columbus that sheds light on his atrocities and questions whether he deserves to have a holiday named after him.

As for his legacy, several things in the new world were named for him, including the [[{{UsefulNotes/Colombia}} Republic of Colombia]], [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC The District of Columbia]] (no relation to the Republic), the Territory of Columbia (no relation to the District) which later became the state of Washington ([[LondonEnglandSyndrome no relation to the city located in the District]]), the cities of Columbus in Ohio and Columbia in South Carolina (each the capital of their respective states), and [[NationsAsPeople Columbia]], the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the United States of America (before she was overshadowed by Uncle Sam). UsefulNotes/PreColumbianCivilizations refers to American indigenous cultures before the European conquests starting at the tail end of the fifteenth century with him, as he was the first of that era to venture westwards. Ironically, he did not get to name the whole America, this honor belonging, possibly unknowingly so, to his associate UsefulNotes/AmerigoVespucci.

As for his legacy, several things in the new world were named for him, including the [[{{UsefulNotes/Colombia}} Republic of Colombia]], [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC The District of Columbia]] (no relation to the Republic), the Territory of Columbia (no relation to the District) which later became the state of Washington ([[LondonEnglandSyndrome no relation to the city located in the District]]), the cities of Columbus in Ohio and Columbia in South Carolina (each the capital of their respective states), and [[NationsAsPeople Columbia]], the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the United States of America (before she was overshadowed by Uncle Sam). Ironically, he did not get to name the whole America, this honor belonging, possibly unknowingly so, to his associate UsefulNotes/AmerigoVespucci.

** 1978's ''Il était une fois... l'Homme]]'' (''Once Upon a Time... Man'') about human history has an episode about the Spanish Golden Age where he appears.

* French {{edutainment}} series ''[[WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois Il était une fois... l'Homme]]'' (''Once Upon a Time... Man'') has an episode about the Spanish Golden Age where he appears. The 1996 episode ''Il était une fois... les Explorateurs'' (''Once Upon a Time... the Explorers'') naturally has an entire episode dedicated to him.

* ''Anime/TheAdventuresOfChristopherColumbus'', a 1992 French-Japanese anime film.

* He was portrayed by Creator/GerardDepardieu in the 1992 Creator/RidleyScott film ''Film/FourteenNinetyTwoConquestOfParadise'' (released for the [[MeaningfulReleaseDate 500th anniversary]] of Columbus' transatlantic voyage).

* In a case of BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy, he appears in a short but crucial role in the ''[[Film/AssassinsCreed2016 Assassin's Creed]]'' film, played by Gabriel Andreu.

* Portrayed in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicVoyage'', a [[SoBadItsGood strange]] [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory very-loose adaptation]], where he's voiced by Creator/DomDeLuise.

* ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'': In ''Tiempo de lo oculto'', he shows up in 1485, just as he begins his plans to convince the Monarchs of Castile to fund his enterprise.
* In a ''[[VideoGame/WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego1997 Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?]]'' level, one of Carmen's time-traveling thieves leaves Columbus and his crew marooned in the Caribbean. You, the player, have to cross the Atlantic in order to find and rescue them. This is often regarded as ThatOneLevel, due to the tedious nature of the ocean-crossing MiniGame. And you have to play it ''twice'', first to reach the Caribbean and then to return to Spain afterwards.
* A sketch in ''AudioPlay/StanFrebergPresentsTheUnitedStatesOfAmerica'' depicts Columbus's discovery of America, played purely for RuleOfFunny. Turns out, the reason he didn't discover any gold in the New World was that the banks were all closed for Columbus Day.

As you probably know, he was ''not'' the first European to discover the Americas [[note]]The credit goes to Leif Erikson and UsefulNotes/{{the Viking|Age}}s some 500 years before Columbus. Ultimately their settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland (Canada) failed and were largely forgotten until more recent times.[[/note]], but it was his efforts that led directly to the the Colombian Exchange, through which European exploration colonization shaped the Western Hemisphere, and with it the entire world, into its current form. An inestimable boon for the nations of Europe, though [[ThePurge considerably less advantageous]] for the [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans American indigenous natives]] (albeit mostly for [[ThePlague reasons not intended by anybody]]).

On his most famous voyage, the 1492 transatlantic trip in the ships ''Niña'', ''Pinta'', and ''Santa Maria'',[[note]]These were not the actual names of ''Niña'' and ''Pinta'', but the crew's nicknames. Spanish ships at the time were generally named for saints, and ''Niña''[='=]s real name was ''Santa Clara''. ''Pinta''[='=]s real name has been forgotten by history, but the nickname is short for "la Pintada" (literally "the painted one" but in context "the prostitute").[[/note]] he was searching for a route to "India", which at the time meant Asia--specifically, he was hoping to find Japan. When he finally reached land, all he could tell was that the natives were neither Japanese nor Chinese, and so he was at a loss to figure out where he really was. Figuring he'd landed on some previously-unknown part of Asia, he referred to the natives generically as "Indians", and the island chain as the "East Indies". (Today, we've corrected this second mistake, and refer to these islands as the ''West'' Indies.) On his third voyage, in 1498, he realized he'd found a hitherto-unknown continent (South America), but he never learned that he hadn't come close to reaching Asia.

After returning to Spain, Columbus was given 1500 men and 14 ships, and sent back to set up a colony. However, not all natives were {{Noble Savage}}s, and the measures Columbus and his brother Bartholomew had to take to survive against hostile tribes soon extended to a regime where enslaving and brutalizing natives became too usual, even although Queen Isabella had explicitly forbidden this and ordered to treat the indigenous as full-fledged vassals. Even Spaniards started complaining that the Columbus brothers were acting like tyrants, and when Isabella got tired of being disobeyed, she had Columbus and his entourage brought back to Spain in chains. Though he was released and his property was returned to him, he did not get his governorship back and basically fell out of grace in Spain.

After returning to Spain, Columbus was given 1500 men and 14 ships, and sent back to set up a colony. However, not all natives were {{Noble Savage}}s, and the measures Columbus and his brother Bartholomew had to take to survive against hostile soon extended to a regime where enslaving and brutalizing natives became too usual, even although Queen Isabella had explicitly forbidden this and ordered to treat the indigenous as full-fledged vassals. Even Spaniards started complaining that the Columbus brothers were acting like tyrants, and when Isabella got tired of being disobeyed, she had Columbus and his entourage sent back to Spain in chains. Though he was released and his property was returned to him, he did not get his governorship back and basically fell out of disgrace in Spain.

Many historians have credited Columbus for the European colonization of the Americas, which involves [[HegemonicEmpire many Europeans battling each other for colonies and land in the New World]], [[RapePillageAndBurn looting and destroying many tribes for gold and valuable resources]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic massacres of populations to take their land]], and [[CulturePolice forced destruction of native cultures]]. Most Indian victims, however were claimed by the European diseases, which their immune systems could not handle. Although obviously, how the Europeans approached the New World and the Native American tribes varied.[[note]]The Spanish and the Portuguese ruled over and intermixed with the natives; meanwhile, the French and Dutch were less interested in taking control of the natives lands and more [[ProudMerchantRace establishing lucrative trading relationships with them]]. The English were mostly fleeing from political persecutions in their home country, and intentionally separated themselves from neighboring native tribes. It should be noted that although Columbus ''was'' ironically much more brutal than many of the conquistadors that came after, most of the atrocities of any empire happened well after Columbus arrived, [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade so people blaming them all on him might not be entirely fair]].[[/note]] For much of the 20th century, Columbus Day was a popular holiday celebrated in many New World countries on October 12th, though as modern sensibilities bring more light to Columbus' true nature, the tradition has begun to be downplayed (in some parts the United States, it's taken on the new name of Indigenous People's Day, for obvious reasons).

In 1492, hurting for cash after defeating Muslim Granada, UsefulNotes/TheCatholicMonarchs of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, decided to give him what he wanted (although Isabella initially turned him down). Most likely, [[SnipeHunt Ferdinand didn't think he'd come back]]. However, Columbus was an experienced sailor and was fully aware that the trade winds could carry across the Atlantic with ease. While many would say that Columbus just got lucky, in actuality his feat was impressive. He had to sail in open waters for over a month (longer than anyone else in history up to that point) and had to quell his mutinous sailors who knew less about geography and were afraid they were too far out from land. Eventually, against the odds, they reached land.

He landed first in the Bahamas, and the natives he met there were peaceful. However, not all natives were {{Noble Savage}}s.

After returning to Spain, Columbus was given 1500 men and 14 ships, and sent back to set up a colony. After it was set up, he left his brother in charge to explore more. In his absence, the other Spaniards brutalized the natives and he was blamed for it. He was sent back to Spain in chains, but Queen Isabella soon had him released. Though his property was returned to him, he did not get his governorship back. He explored more, landing in Venezuela and sailing along the Panama coast in search of a strait from which he could dial to Asia, but found none.[[note]]You probably know that the Panama Canal was man-made and opened in the early 20th century, four centuries after Columbus. Bypassing Panama as a trade option instead of having to circumnavigate the entire South America was only viable to the Spaniards after the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire in 1521, when they achieved control of both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of Central America.[[/note]]

Many historians have credited Columbus for the European colonization of the Americas, which involves [[HegemonicEmpire many Europeans battling each other for colonies and land in the New World]], [[RapePillageAndBurn looting and destroying many tribes for gold and valuable resources]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic massacres of populations to take their land]], and [[CulturePolice forced destruction of native cultures]]. Most Indian victims however were claimed by the European diseases, which their immune systems could not handle. Although obviously, how the Europeans approached the New World and the Native American tribes varied. [[note]]The Spanish and the Portuguese ruled over and intermixed with the natives; meanwhile, the French and Dutch were less interested in taking control of the natives lands and more [[ProudMerchantRace establishing lucrative trading relationships with them]]. The English were mostly fleeing from political persecutions in their home country, and intentionally separated themselves from neighboring native tribes. It should be noted that most of the atrocities occurred after Columbus arrived, [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade so people blaming them on him might not be entirely fair]].[[/note]] For much of the 20th century, Columbus Day was a popular holiday celebrated in many New World countries on October 12th, though as modern sensibilities bring more light to Columbus' true nature, the tradition has begun to be downplayed (in some parts the United States, it's taken on the new name of Indigenous People's Day, for obvious reasons).

As for his legacy, several things in the new world were named for him, including the [[{{UsefulNotes/Colombia}} Republic of Colombia]], [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC The District of Columbia]] (no relation to the Republic), the Territory of Columbia (no relation to the District) which later became the state of Washington ([[LondonEnglandSyndrome no relation to the city located in the District]]), the cities of Columbus in Ohio and Columbia in South Carolina (each the capital of their respective states), and [[NationsAsPeople Columbia]], the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the United States of America (before she was overshadowed by Uncle Sam).

As you probably know, he was ''not'' the first European to discover the Americas [[note]]The credit goes to Leif Erikson and UsefulNotes/{{the Viking|age}}s some 500 years before Columbus. Ultimately their settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland (Canada) failed and were largely forgotten until more recent times.[[/note]], but it was his efforts that led directly to the the Colombian Exchange, through which European exploration colonization shaped the Western Hemisphere, and with it the entire world, into its current form. An inestimable boon for the nations of Europe, though [[ThePurge considerably less advantageous]] for the [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans American indigenous natives]] (albeit mostly for [[ThePlague reasons not intended by anybody]]).

* In a ''[[VideoGame/WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego1997 Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?]]'' level, one of Carmen's time-traveling thieves leaves Columbus and his crew marooned in the Caribbean. You, the player, have to cross the Atlantic in order to find and rescue him. This is often regarded as ThatOneLevel, due to the tedious nature of the ocean-crossing MiniGame. And you have to play it ''twice'', first to reach the Caribbean and then to return to Spain afterwards.

After returning to Spain, Columbus was given 1500 men and 14 ships, and sent back to set up a colony. After it was set up, he left his brother in charge to explore more. In his absence, the other Spaniards brutalized the natives and he was blamed for it. He was sent back to Spain in chains, but Queen Isabella soon had him released. Though his property was returned to him, he did not get his governorship back. He explored more, landing in Venezuela and sailing along the Panama coast in search of a strait from which he could dial to Asia, but found none.[[note]]You probably know that the Panama Canal was man-made and opened in the early 20th century, four centuries after Columbus.[[/note]]

Many historians have credited Columbus for the European colonization of the Americas, which involves [[HegemonicEmpire many Europeans battling each other for colonies and land in the New World]], [[RapePillageAndBurn looting and destroying many tribes for gold and valuable resources]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic massacres of populations to take their land]], and [[CulturePolice forced destruction of native cultures]]. Most Indian victims however were claimed by the European diseases, which their immune systems could not handle. Although obviously, how the Europeans approached the New World and the Native American tribes varied. [[note]]The Spanish and the Portuguese ruled over and mixed with the natives; meanwhile, the French and Dutch were less interested in taking control of the natives lands and more [[ProudMerchantRace establishing lucrative trading relationships with them]]. The English were mostly fleeing from political persecutions in their home country, and intentionally separated themselves from neighboring native tribes. It should be noted that most of the atrocities occurred after Columbus arrived, [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade so people blaming them on him might not be entirely fair]].[[/note]] For much of the 20th century, Columbus Day was a popular holiday celebrated in many New World countries on October 12th, though as modern sensibilities bring more light to Columbus' true nature, the tradition has begun to be downplayed (in some parts the United States, it's taken on the new name of Indigenous People's Day, for obvious reasons).

In 1492, hurting for cash after defeating Muslim Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella decided to give him what he wanted (although Isabella initially turned him down). Most likely, [[SnipeHunt Ferdinand didn't think he'd come back]]. However, Columbus was an experienced sailor and was fully aware that the trade winds could carry across the Atlantic with ease. While many would say that Columbus just got lucky, in actuality his feat was impressive. He had to sail in open waters for over a month (longer than anyone else in history up to that point) and had to quell his mutinous sailors who knew less about geography and were afraid they were too far out from land. Eventually, against the odds, they reached land.

Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish: Cristóbal Colón, Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo), born circa 1451 and died 20 May 1506, is a famous historical figure, known as the sailor who wanted to [[BoldExplorer find an easier trade route from Europe to Asia]] (NOT to prove the Earth was round, contrary to popular belief) only to discover the Americas during his travels.

* George Corraface portrayed him in ''Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'', which, like ''1492'' above, came out in 1992, also for the 500th anniversary]] of Columbus' voyage.