Did Columbus trade slaves and commit genocide

[teamventure]

All I've been hearing is that Christopher Columbus traded slaves, committed genocide, and even rape, however that info is being pushed by cancel culture so it makes me skeptical.
So naturally I came on here to get a balanced answer. Was Columbus a really bad dude? Why or why not?

 

[michaelvpardo]

First, Christobal Colon (Columbus) was an explorer and adventurer hoping to find a westward route to India, to make trade simpler and more profitable. He wasn't a slave trader, but did bring captive natives back to Spain, possibly introducing a potential source of slaves. All expedition was motivated by profit, not just some desire to advance knowledge.
Second, there is some speculation that Colon was of Italian Jewish descent and that his voyages were in part a search for safe haven for the Jews of the diaspora. He sailed on his first voyage in 1492, the same year as the Spanish "expulsion ", when the 800 year "reconquista" was declared won and non Catholics were ordered out of the country. Many Jews became catholic in name only to avoid persecution by the religious authority under the Spanish Inquisition (the conversos), and some of these took the first opportunity to distance themselves from the religious authority.
During the Spanish civil war, many churches were burnt to the ground, and with them birth and historical records, so a large portion of Spanish history was simply destroyed and beyond the reach of researchers and historians. Those who are deeply offended by the history of slavery tend to vilify everyone associated with its history except the natives involved in selling captured neighboring tribesman into slavery as profit from their warfare. You don't hear much about the Moroccan slave traders, the role of the Ottoman empire in the slave trade, or that of the Moors.
The current social justice movement is primarily concerned with the western colonial powers and their role in slavery and indigenous exploitation, not the history of slavery as a whole (which spans all of history as part of the spoils of war,)

Hernan Cortez is more well known as a conquistador and adventurer that did wage war against the indigenous peoples of central America for profit. The poorly educated might simply lump Columbus together with Cortez, Pizarro, and the other government sponsored conquistadors, because he made their conquests a possibility through his "discoveries." That's a bit like blaming Albert Einstein for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Historically, the conquistadors were responsible for more death through disease than through warfare, by introducing viruses that were new to the "New world" like syphilis and acne vulgaris (common acne was originally a plague that took many lives, but left the surviving population with natural immunities.) Angry liberals are less concerned with facts than feelings and so we have new and distorted perceptions of history.

 

[Desire Of All Nations]

From what i understand so far, there is plenty of reason to believe Columbus was heavily involved in the Trans-Atlantic slavery business from an entry he apparently made in his journal about how the Taino should be enslaved to mine gold for the Spanish empire. If there is any truth to this and his alleged history of being violent towards the slaves he shipped across the Atlantic to Spain, then i'd say he was definitely a monster who was never worth the adoration he regularly receives from society and that Columbus Day should definitely be canceled.

I understand cancel culture has been busy going after historical figures with the purpose of tearing them down and rewriting history, but the fact of the matter is that as human beings, we also tend to romanticize the exploits of evil people without knowing or acknowledging the truth about them and their deeds. This is especially true when it comes to religion.

 

[RR144]

He was a Spanish Jew

 

[michaelvpardo]

From what i understand so far, there is plenty of reason to believe Columbus was heavily involved in the Trans-Atlantic slavery business from an entry he apparently made in his journal about how the Taino should be enslaved to mine gold for the Spanish empire. If there is any truth to this and his alleged history of being violent towards the slaves he shipped across the Atlantic to Spain, then i'd say he was definitely a monster who was never worth the adoration he regularly receives from society and that Columbus Day should definitely be canceled.

I understand cancel culture has been busy going after historical figures with the purpose of tearing them down and rewriting history, but the fact of the matter is that as human beings, we also tend to romanticize the exploits of evil people without knowing or acknowledging the truth about them and their deeds. This is especially true when it comes to religion.

In case you missed it,
10 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God. Romans 3:10-11

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. Luke 18:19

Cancel culture is an ill informed exercise in self righteousness, a bad joke at best, a damning delusion at worst.

 

[Desire Of All Nations]

In case you missed it,
10 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God. Romans 3:10-11

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. Luke 18:19

Cancel culture is an ill informed exercise in self righteousness, a bad joke at best, a damning delusion at worst.

Read my post again, and this time do it carefully. In no way, shape, or form did i endorse or promote cancel culture going after historical figures simply on the basis that they did something wrong. My whole perspective was based on what the Bible says, and the Bible only. I clearly stated that i had a problem with cancel culture tearing historical figures down and trying to rewrite history.

The fact remains is that Columbus was a monster, no matter how anyone wants to trot out Rom. 3:10-11 and Luk. 18:19 as an excuse to defend the guy. It's true that no one but God is good, but that doesn't mean monsters shouldn't be called what they are/were just because everybody else has sinned. Would you use these verses if Hitler, Vlad the Impaler, Charlemagne, or Genghis Khan's actions were equally scrutinized?

 

[LouisWilliams]

All I've been hearing is that Christopher Columbus traded slaves, committed genocide, and even rape, however that info is being pushed by cancel culture so it makes me skeptical.
So naturally I came on here to get a balanced answer. Was Columbus a really bad dude? Why or why not?

In truth, he probably did commit crimes from our modern perspective, and I understand why many criticize him. Nevertheless, I don't think we should try to judge or hate anyone for what they did in the past, that is not the way of a true Christian, even if we do not have to glorify or excuse them necessarily.

That being said, without his exploration -- the United States would not even exist today, most likely, and the Puritans would have had no "New World" to call their second home, away from religious persecution in Europe. Yes, many Native Americans died -- but we also have a great and diverse experiment, in which nations and cultures from all over the world can come together as one country, in one grand melting pot for centuries to come.

So I guess, it depends, perhaps, whether you think America's foundation was overall a positive or negative thing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Pythagorean12]

Myth.
10 Things People Get Wrong About Christopher Columbus

 

[teamventure]

Myth.
10 Things People Get Wrong About Christopher Columbus

Thank you this is just the info I was looking for. I'll geet back in it in a bit.

 

[michaelvpardo]

Read my post again, and this time do it carefully. In no way, shape, or form did i endorse or promote cancel culture going after historical figures simply on the basis that they did something wrong. My whole perspective was based on what the Bible says, and the Bible only. I clearly stated that i had a problem with cancel culture tearing historical figures down and trying to rewrite history.

The fact remains is that Columbus was a monster, no matter how anyone wants to trot out Rom. 3:10-11 and Luk. 18:19 as an excuse to defend the guy. It's true that no one but God is good, but that doesn't mean monsters shouldn't be called what they are/were just because everybody else has sinned. Would you use these verses if Hitler, Vlad the Impaler, Charlemagne, or Genghis Khan's actions were equally scrutinized?

Ok, but your standard of judgment will be applied to you. I would hope that your judge has more than a a few paragraphs about your life and that you're as righteous as you imagine yourself to be.

 

[LouisWilliams]

Ok, but your standard of judgment will be applied to you. I would hope that your judge has more than a a few paragraphs about your life and that you're as righteous as you imagine yourself to be.

And in all objectivity - by today's "secular" moral standards, most of the Old Testament prophets and figures might also be considered very controversial figures. Look how many people Moses, Joshua or David killed, for example, some people in America might even call them "imperialist colonizers" or something.

 

[Mantis]

It doesn’t matter if he was involved with slaves or not. If he has anything to do with America he will be vilified.

 

[Truman]

I don't know, I wasn't there. I do know, however, that there were white slave traders that transferred the chigoe flea from the Americas to Africa with this result affecting millions of the poorest of the poor.
I was going to post a video but decided they're too graphic. If you'd like to see what this is about, check out: Rise Up Society on YouTube. Ignore all the negative propaganda, I can assure you it's false. You never hear about this on the nightly news. Hmmm.

 

[LouisWilliams]

It doesn’t matter if he was involved with slaves or not. If he has anything to do with America he will be vilified.

I've gone to a fairly liberal college -- and there, most students are taught "post-modernism" - a variation of secular liberalism, where you feel that not only CAN you question everything, but you SHOULD actively do so as well, in everything you have been raised to believe in your culture or upbringing. This approach is basically encouraging students to constantly attack, challenge and heavily "de-construct" everything, including the entirety Western civilization and its ancient institutions, moral systems and traditions, and that everything is basically subjective and based in counter-establishment rebellion, victimhood, and change (even some liberals have criticized this, because this also goes against some established scientific methods).

Now, this might be valid for non-Christians, and we should NOT be afraid to be criticized or challenged - but as Christians, we DO hold that there is objective and higher truth, and values which do NOT change regardless of how our culture and society might evolve now or in the future, constant and timeless and objective principles that are beyond any complicated ideology of this world.

I don't disagree with Columbus Day being renamed "Indigenous People's Day" - I was a bit surprised, but if they really want to do that, that is fine, I suppose, Native Americans are also part of our society. But I do think we should be balanced in our criticisms also.

 

[Mantis]

I've gone to a fairly liberal college -- and there, most students are taught "post-modernism" - a variation of secular liberalism, where you feel that not only CAN you question everything, but you SHOULD actively do so as well, in everything you have been raised to believe in your culture or upbringing This approach is basically encouraging students to constantly attack, challenge and heavily "de-construct" everything, including the entirety Western civilization and its ancient institutions, moral systems and traditions, and that everything is basically subjective and based in change (even some liberals have criticized this, because this also goes against some established scientific methods).

Now, this might be valid for non-Christians, and we should NOT be afraid to be criticized or challenged - but as Christians, we DO hold that there is objective and higher truth, and values which do NOT change regardless of how our culture and society might evolve now or in the future, constant and timeless and objective principles that are beyond any complicated ideology of this world.

I don't disagree with Columbus Day being renamed "Indigenous People's Day" - I was a bit surprised, but if they really want to do that, that is fine, I suppose. But I do think we should be balanced in our criticisms also.

Really? I think we should call it Columbus Day and all these cry babies should go be upset at something worth being upset by. I think this generation has been fully indoctrinated by idiot teachers. My daughter thinks Columbus was a racists but she can’t tell me why. I am watching these people freak out over everything, be offended at nothing and then be mad at the outcomes. It’s so stupid it makes my brain hurt.

 

[michaelvpardo]

And in all objectivity - by today's "secular" moral standards, most of the Old Testament prophets and figures might also be considered very controversial figures. Look how many people Moses, Joshua or David killed, for example, some people in America might even call them "imperialist colonizers" or something.

What moral standards exist today? Lots of people have religious standards and sometimes those religious standards include moral standards, but there are no worldwide universal beliefs in anything, not even in those things that people see with their own eyes, or hear with their own ears.

 

[Spirit_and_Truth]

All I've been hearing is that Christopher Columbus traded slaves, committed genocide, and even rape, however that info is being pushed by cancel culture so it makes me skeptical.
So naturally I came on here to get a balanced answer. Was Columbus a really bad dude? Why or why not?

David Barton from Wallbuilders.com explains this nicely

 

[Cristo Rei]

All I've been hearing is that Christopher Columbus traded slaves, committed genocide, and even rape, however that info is being pushed by cancel culture so it makes me skeptical.
So naturally I came on here to get a balanced answer. Was Columbus a really bad dude? Why or why not?

Their trying to say the same thing about other famous explorers like Cook and Gama...

Its all rubbish... These guys were explorers, they weren't involved in the slave trade that happened after them...
The English and Portuguese were much bigger slave traders than the Spanish, they had no territory in Africa...

Columbus is the most over rated explorer ever... Did he find America? I guess he did but he never claimed it.
His mission was to reach India
In his first voyage he claimed he reached Japan
In his second voyage he claimed he reached China
And in the third voyage he claimed he reached India
He had absolutely no idea where in the world he was and which natives he was engaging

 

[Josho]

Their trying to say the same thing about other famous explorers like Cook and Gama...

Its all rubbish... These guys were explorers, they weren't involved in the slave trade that happened after them...
The English and Portuguese were much bigger slave traders than the Spanish, they had no territory in Africa...

Columbus is the most over rated explorer ever... Did he find America? I guess he did but he never claimed it.
His mission was to reach India
In his first voyage he claimed he reached Japan
In his second voyage he claimed he reached China
And in the third voyage he claimed he reached India
He had absolutely no idea where in the world he was and which natives he was engaging

They may have, but that's history, unfortunately slavery would have been considered normal in the Western World not so long ago.

History has not always been pretty.

 

[teamventure]

David Barton from Wallbuilders.com explains this nicely

Sounds interesting. I'll check it out.