In the 50s, I learned that he was all that. I had a historical biography book filled with fabricated stories, from which I learned that Columbus got into the exploration business because, as a child, he really liked candies that Marco Polo had brought back from China. Or some such shit. Then he discovered America, wrecked the big boat, and ended up dying in prison.
My children, in the 90s, learned that he was pond scum.
21 here… I remember actually being told Columbus “discovered America” by my parents. In school though, they went fairly in-depth on the subject and made it pretty clear that he didn’t.
Just another reason I couldn’t trust them.
And it was also in the 60’s that the Vinland Map hoax was building up steam, picking up where Hjalmar Holand left off with the Kensington Stone. Evidence seemed to be building, but didn’t hold up. L’Anse aux Meadows is about all we’ve got left after the dust has settled.
C.C. was more than a little cynical. He was always trying to con people, including his friends, sponsoring royals, and crewmen.
His pitch for exploration money was based on maps he knew were wrong, but he fudged his data to get funded. Most he approached saw through it but he just kept trying until someone bought the premise.
He did a trick with drawing lots out of a hat and he’s always the odd man out. Funny how that works, when it’s his game and he’s holding the hat.
And he escaped from Indian captivity by “predicting” an eclipse, presenting it as a form of ESP. He didn’t fool the witch doctor, but the crowd was impressed so they let him go and gave him a canoe.
And he kept writing letters to Isabella sucking up to her desire to convert pagans.
He intentionally sank the Santa Maria, which had run aground but was probably salvagable, just because he didn’t want the crew to fix it and return to glory before he did. They stayed behind and all died in wars with the Indians while waiting for his return.
I have read the first globe ever made was in 1492. The round earth story is not true. It was known to be round long before C.C.