Why does controversy surround Christopher Columbus?
Not only was Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) wrongly credited with discovering the Americas in 1492 (the Vikings are thought to have reached North America in the tenth century), he subjected native peoples to harsh treatment, and he was an incompetent governor. During his second voyage, in 1493, he established a Spanish settlement called Isabela on the island of Hispaniola (an island in the Caribbean; present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), which he had claimed for Spain on his first voyage to the Americas in 1492. Governing the colony with his brothers Bartholomew and Diego, Columbus instituted a tribute system that required Taino males over the age of fourteen to deliver a certain amount of gold to the Spaniards every three months. Those who did not pay the tribute would receive severe punishment such as having their…
