Columbus was exiled from the Spanish Court upon pain of death for repeatedly enslaving Christians which is forbidden under canonical laws. We knew from sources in his own time period that he was a bad guy.
My school taught me that most people in Columbus’ time thought that the Earth was flat and that Columbus would fall off the face of the earth during his voyage.
I’m too lazy to double check now, but afaik the problem with his voyage was the exact opposite. People knew that the earth was round and its approximate radius, so they knew that going all the way around the other side to India would be much too long of a voyage. What they didn’t know was that there was a whole other continent in the way.
I was in college when I learned Columbus thought it was pear shaped, as opposed to the globe idea that was most popular (and true). He though the northern hemisphere was smaller than the southern which is why he expected to sail to India in a relatively short distance.
Not so fun fact, he is said to be the first European to have syphilis as it was originally a Caribbean condition, and he was said to have caused it to spread in Europe, which also means he is the reason everyone started wearing powdered wigs as it went from a way to hide syphilis baldness to a fashion statement. So now you know what to expect (a version of George Washington who looks like Brad Pitt perhaps) if you ever go back in time and burn the Santa Maria.
That Columbus was a good person.
Columbus was exiled from the Spanish Court upon pain of death for repeatedly enslaving Christians which is forbidden under canonical laws. We knew from sources in his own time period that he was a bad guy.
My school taught me that most people in Columbus’ time thought that the Earth was flat and that Columbus would fall off the face of the earth during his voyage.
I’m too lazy to double check now, but afaik the problem with his voyage was the exact opposite. People knew that the earth was round and its approximate radius, so they knew that going all the way around the other side to India would be much too long of a voyage. What they didn’t know was that there was a whole other continent in the way.
I was in college when I learned Columbus thought it was pear shaped, as opposed to the globe idea that was most popular (and true). He though the northern hemisphere was smaller than the southern which is why he expected to sail to India in a relatively short distance.
Augh I hate that myth so much
I was told General Lee was an honorable person.
Not so fun fact, he is said to be the first European to have syphilis as it was originally a Caribbean condition, and he was said to have caused it to spread in Europe, which also means he is the reason everyone started wearing powdered wigs as it went from a way to hide syphilis baldness to a fashion statement. So now you know what to expect (a version of George Washington who looks like Brad Pitt perhaps) if you ever go back in time and burn the Santa Maria.
One more reason to hate columbus!