Christopher Columbus was Evil?

Having spent my childhood in the states, I've never thought that Christopher Columbus was an evil person. James Loewen states that Christopher Columbus is falsely portrayed in history textbooks, but I believe that it is not just the textbooks that are the problem, but other media such as television animations also. I remember seeing Christopher Columbus star in Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network shows, and him being portrayed as a hero, and sometimes somewhat like a god. Never did I see or hear anything negative about him. The following video shows exactly what I learned in school and from American television.

Even in Japan, I was taught the exact things that were stated to be false by James Loewen. It might have been that the history teacher I had referenced American history textbooks, but nevertheless I believe the stories of Columbus might not just be an American problem, but a global problem. If the things Loewen stated were true, it is probable that textbooks all over the world have the same problem.

The way Loewen presents the information in this book is very convincing, and makes it seem like all of the stories that appear in history textbooks are fairy tales. I was surprised to read about how the "facts" and stories sometimes have little or no evidence. The way I viewed history has changed dramatically, mainly because in Japan, I was trained to memorize "history" as an absolute fact inf stead of a series of theories.

Having heard and seen only positive things about Columbus, reading a bunch of negative words about him was somewhat shocking. Loewen points out that it is false to view only the positive sides of history. However, we need to be careful not to view only the bad sides of history as well. Loewen puts a spotlight on the negative sides of Columbus because that is the purpose of this book, but there is a need to put things into perspective after reading it. We need to be careful not to believe everything an author of a controversial book says. Otherwise, we would fall for the false information being sold commonly in today's market that tries to deny common sense.