After reading Howard Zinn's article, "Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress", it's hard to think that Christopher Columbus, who Americans supposedly love and celebrate, is anything but a crazy murderer. It only took a few articles and library books to realize that a lot of historians agree with what Zinn thought. Although Columbus supposedly discovered America, there was already people living in America so he was definitely not the first person here. Also, even if he had not discovered America, somebody else would have. Just because he did it before someone else got the chance doesn't make him a hero. Also, Columbus was greeted with open arms and grand hospitality by the Native Americans living in America, and he thanked them by killing them because of his greedy search for gold. His initial massacre of Native Americans set the stage for a long standing tradition of racism and discrimination against Native Americans. Columbus was absolutely not a hero, in fact, he embodied everything that one thinks a villain would be.
Hernan Cortes (pictured above) was also an explorer, like Columbus. His expeditions caused the fall of the Aztec Empire, much like Columbus' expeditions caused the fall of many Native American tribal societies.
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