Christopher Columbus

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Christopher Columbus

Although nearly every phase of any exploration had its good and bad outcomes the benefits of Columbus' discovery of the New World far outweigh the negative results of that enterprise; because his discovery stimulated further development of both Europe and the New World. His voyage was an epochal and magnificent discovery in that it confirmed the roundness of the earth and gave new validity to science, expanded trade and opened new markets and led to the industrialization of Europe, and opening the doors to a new world because the Old World was overcrowded and torn by strife. Columbus' did not just discover land and resources rather he discovered the New World. A New World that offered hope, freedom, and a new opportunity. Even before Columbus was born, astronomers and mathematicians knew that the world was round. However the common misconception was that the world was square. It would be a myth to say that Columbus set out on the ocean blue with everybody thinking he would fall off the end of the world. Many knew in theory that the world was round, but in actuality there was no real evidence to confirm the roundness of the earth. Even though the theory of the world being round was not thoroughly verified until Magellan's crew sailed completely around the world in 1519-1522, Columbus dared to achieve the unthinkable, and confirmed, to an extent, that the world was round. "Scholars have frequently described the European discoveries as a manifestation of Renaissance curiosity about the physical universe the desire to know more about the geography and people of the world" (McKay, 507). People have always been curious about what lies beyond their apparent reach. The Renaissance initiated a period of q...

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...ns of Western Europe. The result, ultimately, was the United States of America. It was Columbus' discovery for Western Europe that led to the influx of ideas and people on which this nation was foundedand on which it still rests. Though Columbus has been blamed for enslaving the native people of the New World and starting the beginnings of the African slave trade, it is wrong to place these crimes squarely on the shoulders of Columbus. The forces of European expansion had been unleashed before him and were at his time quite beyond his control. He was simply a product of the times. Christopher Columbus was a very accomplished explorer and should continue to be recognized as such.

Works Cited

Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. Humanlind: A Brief History. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004.

McKay, John P. A History of World Societies. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1995

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632 Words | 2 Pages
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Christopher Columbus

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Christopher Columbus