The Critics of Columbus: The Character Assassination of a Great Explorer

By Richard Di Giacomo

Some people think that anti-Columbus sentiment is a fairly recent phenomenon, but this book demonstrates that it has been going on for more than five hundred years. This book outlines the various forms of attack upon Columbus over the centuries, an ever-growing list of the Critics of Columbus. There has been a systematic attempt to assassinate the character of Columbus by a long line of people, not working in conjunction, but nonetheless building upon one another cumulatively over the years. It began with the contemporary enemies of Columbus who sought to steal his glory and his wealth and continued with later historians who sought to impugn his reputation in response to the hero worship that grew up around him in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Every aspect of Columbus’ life has come under attack, from his origins, his study and preparations, his proposals for the great ventures of exploration, his claims of discovering America first, his conduct towards the Native Americans and the Spanish settlers, his endless quest to find gold, the nature and primacy of what he discovered, and his role in the history of slavery, genocide, and environmental destruction.
His legacy has been contested in a literal, legal sense in a lawsuit between his heirs and those who wanted to steal his fame and wealth. These appeared in the Pleitos Colombinos, or Columbian Lawsuits, which are examined in detail in this context for the first time in this book. It has also been contested in the literary and historical sense by a long succession of historians, who have sought to make a name for themselves by digging up more dirt on Columbus and further discrediting him.
All of the various attacks on Columbus over the centuries will be discussed in this work and thoughtful and well-researched rebuttals will be given to them, including to some of the most outrageous and unfair claims. The purpose of this book is not to defend Columbus, but to call for a more mature and balanced treatment of him by historians and the general public. This is not merely a Columbus apologist treatment. It is a plea that Columbus be understood in the context of his times and that his accomplishments be given equal weight with his faults.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Di Giacomo
• Release date: May 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463402306

Richard Di Giacomo

Richard Di Giacomo graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Ancient and Medieval history, a B.A. in Social Science and an M.A. in American History. He has been a teacher for over 20 years and has taught in a variety of schools from private and continuation schools to public high schools. He has taught everything from at risk and limited English students to honors and college preparatory classes. The subjects he has taught include U.S. and World History, Government, Economics, Bible and Ethics, History of the Cold War, and Contemporary World History.He has been a reviewer and contributor to textbooks, and a frequent presenter at social studies conferences on the use of simulations, videos, and computers in education. Rich's love for role-playing and strategy games led him to develop his role-playing simulations. He has also written books on renaissance explorers, California Indians, history movies, humor, and ELL instruction. Teachers enjoy his books because they are written by a teacher for other teachers. Students like the activities contained in them because they are interesting, challenging, fun, and very different from traditional instructional methods.

Book preview

The Critics of Columbus:

The Character Assassination of a Great Explorer

By Richard Di Giacomo

Table of Contents

Chapter One: What Type of Man Was Columbus?

Chapter Two: Attacks on Columbus by His Contemporaries

Chapter Three: No Peace Beyond the Grave Chapter Four: The Best Defender of Columbus

Chapter Five: The Faithful Son

Chapter Six: The Testimony of The Early Chroniclers

Chapter Seven: The Making of a Hero

Chapter Eight: Taking the Hero Off of His Pedestal Chapter Nine: Respect from a Fellow Sailor

Chapter Ten: The Challenge of the Revisionists and The

Under-Celebrated Anniversary

Chapter Eleven: Recent Critics: Slavery and Other Controversies

Chapter Twelve: The Charges of Sex Crimes

Chapter Thirteen: How Then Shall We Teach the Children?

Chapter Fourteen: Hope for More Balanced Scholarship in the Future

Chapter Fifteen: Conclusions and Recommendations

Preface

The character and conduct of Christopher Columbus has come under more criticism than almost any other historical figure. How is it possible that the same person whom the Renaissance humanist Clenardus called a god among men, and whom the Spanish historian, Francisco Lopez de Gomara said was second only to Christ in his impact on history, is today reviled on the internet as a monster, rapist, and genocidal maniac? How can it be that the same man who has had thousands of places named for him, and to whom statues and monuments have been erected, is now the subject of a widespread campaign to have his name erased and those statues torn down? How can it be that in the 1890s, the whole world gathered to an exposition made in his honor and today he is denounced worldwide? Why are school children being taught today to revile his name when, for generations, hundreds of children’s books, textbooks, plays, and songs were written extolling his praises as an ideal American and bold hero?

Some people think that anti-Columbus sentiment is a fairly recent phenomenon, but I will demonstrate that it has been going on for more than five hundred years. This book will outline the various forms of attack upon Columbus over the centuries, an ever-growing list of the Critics of Columbus. There has been a systematic attempt to assassinate the character of Columbus by a long line of people, not working in conjunction, but nonetheless building upon one another cumulatively over the years. It began with the contemporary enemies of Columbus who sought to steal his glory and his wealth and continued with later historians who sought to impugn his reputation in response to the hero worship that grew up around him in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Every aspect of Columbus’ life has come under attack, from his origins, his study and preparations, his proposals for the great ventures of exploration, his claims of discovering America first, his conduct towards the Native Americans and the Spanish settlers, his endless quest to find gold, the nature and primacy of what he discovered, and his role in the history of slavery, genocide, and environmental destruction.

His legacy has been contested in a literal, legal sense in a lawsuit between his heirs and those who wanted to steal his fame and wealth. These appeared in the Pleitos Colombinos, or Columbian Lawsuits, which are examined in detail in this context for the first time in this book. It has also been contested in the literary and historical sense by a long succession of historians, who have sought to make a name for themselves by digging up more dirt on Columbus and further discrediting him.

Columbus has been called a lowborn uneducated imposter, a pirate, usurper, rapist, mass murderer, poor sailor, accidental discoverer, bumbling fool, tyrant, liar, greedy gold hunter, religious fanatic, hypocrite, evil slaver, bloodthirsty and indiscriminate killer, and a raving lunatic. This is just to name a few of the attacks made on him. It is difficult to understand why a single man has drawn such opprobrium when similar contemporary historical figures are not as harshly criticized. It is equally difficult to understand why Columbus has been singled out as the sole individual origin of the sins of an entire generation in first exploiting and then wiping out the Native Americans that he encountered.

All of the various attacks on Columbus over the centuries will be discussed in this work and thoughtful and well-researched rebuttals will be given to them, including to some of the most outrageous and unfair claims. The purpose of this book is not to defend Columbus, but to call for a more mature and balanced treatment of him by historians and the general public. This is not merely a Columbus apologist treatment. It is a plea that Columbus be understood in the context of his times and that his accomplishments be given equal weight with his faults.

Some would call Columbus a hero. I do not go that far. He certainly possessed some heroic traits, and many of his actions and motivations were exemplary, but he also had some flaws and misdeeds that we must accept honestly. We should not idolize him, nor should we dismiss his accomplishments simply because some of his actions do not match up with modern moral standards. Columbus is hardly alone as a historical figure in that regard. Columbus is also not the villain that is portrayed in contemporary popular literature. The way in which he is currently demonized is unfair and inaccurate.

Since my days as a graduate student, when I wrote my dissertation on the Italian discoverers and their connection to Renaissance Humanism, I have been fascinated by Columbus. Over the years, I have seen a series of increasingly more outrageous attacks on Columbus, which I knew were based upon misinterpretations or omissions of the facts. I have decided to speak out against them at last. As an educator, I have always maintained that the documented facts and the complexity of a historical controversy are far more interesting and worth studying than the glittering generalities and broad-brush denunciations of those who would misuse primary sources and quote them out of context. It is my hope that this work will generate a new dialogue about Columbus and challenge educators to use the Columbus controversies as a way to properly instruct students in the use of primary historical sources and historiography.

Chapter One: What Type of Man Was Columbus?

Now I am here and the basest man thinks nothing of abusing me. -- Christopher Columbus, Letter to Juana de Torres, 1500.

Few characters in history generate as much controversy as Columbus. Perhaps this is why the list of his biographers is seemingly endless and the historiography of his exploits contains books that describe him as everything ranging from saint to fool. How could the same person be alternately so revered and so reviled? What happened to his story that makes people either love or hate him? Is it possible to know the truth about the historical Columbus? How will he be viewed by future generations?

Much can be learned about the historiography of Columbus that is useful to understanding how evidence is gathered, examined, and interpreted. Beginning with the Spanish monarchs’ attempts to deny Columbus and his heirs what was promised to him, through a series of critical biographers over the centuries, a pattern of sniping at Columbus emerged. Each new generation has taken a new angle of attack upon his reputation in an attempt to diminish his contributions. They are what I call the Columbus Critics. By examining this process, a picture of the true historical Columbus can begin to emerge. By looking at how we continually redefine historical truth, we can learn a lot about the historical method and about ourselves.

To begin with, whether a person loves or hates Columbus, there is no denying his role as a great figure in history. The changes that he brought to the Europeans’ knowledge of the New World, whether made consciously or unconsciously, would never leave the world the same. In a sense, all of the speculations of who might have preceded him as the original discoverer of America are moot because, regardless of who got to America first, no one else brought lasting change to the New World or the Old until Columbus. The achievement of Christopher Columbus undeniably made a great contribution to the emergence of the modern age and placed him firmly among the great men of the Renaissance.

Like other Renaissance