PRO: Columbus was a man of his time, his achievements are worth celebrating
Monuments honoring Christopher Columbus are being defaced and destroyed. This year's
Columbus Day celebrations will spark strong debate over the explorer's legacy, but by looking at
Columbus in the big picture of history, one can see today's anti-Columbian fury is either
misguided or part of a blind political agenda to demonize early European activity in the New
World
First, let's consider the matter of European disease transmission, principally smallpox, which is
estimated to have killed 70 to 80 percent of Native Americans. While those numbers are
staggering, the deaths happened over many decades. Holding Columbus responsible is beyond
preposterous. Further, calculating an actual number of deaths is impossible because estimates of
pre-Columbus populations vary enormously. In Hispaniola, for example, the range runs from
250,000 to 3 million.
I
It's also worth remembering all other epidemics. The Black Death, originating in Central Asia,
killed 40 percent or more of the European people --- some 50 million souls , between 1346 and
1353. This is a negative consequence of the interaction and advancement of civilizations.