With today being Columbus Day, I think I must have seen at least a dozen post's by people that where running down Christopher Columbus. Here is a perfect example:
Sure...looking at the history books, some horrible, horrible things happened to the native cultures as the Europeans moved into the Americas. Disease was spread, whole cultures were wiped out for their land and precious metals and gems. But, you know what? Prior to coming to the America's, the European's had done that to themselves for centuries. Little things like the Crusades, and the Inquisition, and the Roman's keeping the early Christians down(not to mention destroying Carthage).
Meanwhile, the peaceful Native's of North America were not exactly clean as the driven snow. When the Nahua(founders of what would become the Aztec Empire) moved into central Mexico, they 'dislocated' the unorganized tribes who lived there. They also brought the whole 'human sacrifice' thing to new levels, sacrificing an estimated 20,000 people a year, with some occasions, such as the consecration of the Great Temple at Tenochtitlan calling for extra blood...an estimated 80,000 people over the course of 4 days.
But yes...let's all feel bad, and be mad at Columbus...because he did it all. Hell...I don't think any serious historians even believe that Columbus deserves any real credit for being first anymore. Maybe for being the loudest and proudest...but not first.
I mean...would all these folks rather live in an over crowded, disease ridden Europe(waiting for a plague to pop up once a century), while a resource rich continent sits here under-utilized?
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