I’ve heard the claims, that he raped and pillaged. He fed Native American babies to dogs. I don’t necessarily doubt these things, but where are the primary sources? How do we know these things? Also, I feel like a lot of what the Catholic Church was doing at the time gets attributed to Columbus. For example, was it him that decided we have rights to any lands not colonized by Christians, or the Church? Or his government?
I know Columbus’s journals have some oft cited quotes that I think are taken out of context a times.
Thanks!
There is a very similar question that was asked on /r/AskHistorians before that has some great responses. Give it a read here.
Specifically relevant to you is the comment by /u/Itsalrightwithme
In addition to the material already provided, here are some items I have written pertaining to Columbus:
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day, everyone!
Follow up question: How did Columbus compare to contemporaries/ other explorers in regards to his human rights record? How much of the backlash against Columbus can be attributed to a backlash against the Age of Discovery?