Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus  (born 31 October 1450 or 30 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) is known for his accidental discovery of the Americas when he was trying to search for the East Indies. He was also credited for spreading the Christian religion to the inhabitants of the island upon which he thought were the East Indies. However, he also had a dark side. Christopher Columbus was charged with the torturing and the genocide of most of the natives in the Bahamas, and he's also believed to have initiated in slave trading with other people involving the Natives of the Bahamas archipelago. Because of these accusations, he was relieved from his duties as the governor of the West Indies, and his job was then transferred to Henceforth Nicolas de Ovando y Caceres. When he arrived in what he wrongly believed to be India and the Orient in 1492, he thought the native people to be savages.

History
Born in Genoa, Columbus became interested in the problems of the Ottoman powers controling all the trade routes from the east. Believing there to be a sea route to the silk and spices of Asia, Columbus pettioned to multiple monarch's in Europe. Eventually King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to support him, using borrowed Money, Collumbus set off on his journey. He commited his first true act of villainly before arriving even arriving. The Monarch's of Spain offered a lifetime pension to the first man to spot land. Another salior made it, but Columbus sole the discovery claiming he had spottted a light earlier, which must have been a fire so he got the reward. Arriving in the East Indies and finding Gold, Columbus declared his discovery a success, he declared the island spanish property and then he took arround a hundred natives back to Spain, planning to sell all the natives into slavery to help repay his debts. However King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, forbid him from enslaving there new subjects. Likewise it soon turned out there was little gold on the island, as such his great achievement was lessened considerably.

Never the less Columbus was given support for a second voyage and was apointed Governor of this new colony. But upon arriving he abused his power, mistreated and slaughtered the natives, and ruled like a tyrant over the colonists. Angry at these crimes they complained back to Spain. Hearing these shocking reports of abuse and negligence the Monarch's recalled Columbus and stripped him of his titles, he was imprisoned for a short while. But he quickly built himself back into there favour and was allowed to go on two further voyages, however he never had his powers returned to him and was never a governor again. His fourth voyage prooved to be a dismal failure. And after Queen Isabella's death he fell from favour, he never went on another voyage again and died in relative obscurity.

Columbas died, believing he had found the east coast of Asia, and was not far from India, being on an island near Japan. Many other scholars and explorares soon realised he had found a completely knew continent, but Columbas refused to believe it to his dying day. After his death, his descendants brought the matter of his inheritance to court and were allowed several of his titles back.

Links
Christopher Columbus on Real Life Heroes wiki