Columbus Dilema

From our youth we are taught that Christopher Columbus "discovered" America. He is hailed as a great person in history which is evident merely by the fact of there being a day of celebration in his honor. Discovery would seem to imply that it was new land yet to be found or inhabited. This couldn't be further from the truth. If this had been true than why in 1493 following his so called 1492 "voyage of discovery" did he need to return with 17 ships which at that time qualified as an invasion force? His diaries and other documentation show a glimpse into his wish to overpower and even annilate those who resided on the lands he had came upon and that he desired the riches that was there. He positioned himself as governor over the Caribbean Islands and mainland America. Using Espanola (today's Haiti and Dominican Republic) as his headquarters he instituted slavery and the killing of Native Taino's and in time Native inhabitants on all the lands he took control of. Does this sound like the land he "discovered" was uninhabited?

During my own research of Native studies I've learned that what is taught in school text books given to our children bear only part of the story and even go as far as to glorify the horrible dececration he brought to the original inhabitants of the lands he took occupation of.

The truth is that on the day Christopher Columbus first sailed his ship to the shore and stepped foot on the Western Hemisphere there was an estimated 100 million people living there. From my research it appears that on many levels we Americans have been fed and have embraced a lie.

This merely touches the edge of this topic but I hope others will research for themselves and beware who our children are taught to admire. For all his accomplishments there are many elements that when weighed show him not to have been the person we are taught in youth.