4 paranoia about Christopher Columbus

Columbus was not the one who found America and did not bring syphilis back to Europe. Here are the most popular misconceptions about Christopher Columbus, according to LiveScience .

>>> The famous adventurer has spread diseases?

Columbus proves the earth is round

If Columbus proves it, he will still be slower than others for 2,000 years. Ancient Greek mathematicians have successfully demonstrated that the Earth is round and not a plane. Pitago mathematician in the 6th century BC (CN) was one of the first to initiate this idea and by the 4th century BC, Aristot in turn provided physical evidence to prove , such as the Earth's shadow on the moon or the Earth's curvature that all sailors know well when entering the mainland.

And in the 3rd century, Eratos identified the shape and circumference of the Earth with basic geometry calculations. In the second century AD, Claudius Ptolemy wrote ' Almagest ', a treatise that mixed mathematics and astronomy with respect to the shape and motion of the Earth. This treatise is very famous in the elite and European intellectuals of Columbus's time.

Meanwhile, since knowledge was self-taught, Columbus judged that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than reality, while the area of ​​Europe was considered too wide. Columbus also claimed that Japan was far away from China. Precisely because of all the above reasons, he thinks it is possible to go to Asia by going west - a view that most European intelligentsia at that time considered to be extremely silly. Not because of the flat Earth but Columbus's calculation was too wrong. However, Columbus was lucky to still find the mainland, although it was obviously not Asia.

Columbus found America

Let's ignore the fact that millions of people have settled on the land that was later named the Americas, that is, they discovered America the whole millennium earlier. And also temporarily forget the journey of Leif Ericson to Greenland and Canada in 1000 AD. If Columbus was the first to find the real America, he himself did not know it. Until his death, he still claimed to have set foot in Asia.

In fact, the location Columbus found was the Bahamas and the great island of Hispaniola (now split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Later, he made several trips south to Central and South America, so Columbus never approached America.

But why does America honor Columbus solemnly - who always thought he had found a new way to Asia and the land Marco Polo described? That's because the early America fought against British invaders, not the Spanish. John Cabot (British) had ' found ' Newfoundland in 1497 and paved the way for the British landing almost to North American territory. Therefore, Americans turned to Columbus as heroes and turned away completely from Cabot. For this reason, the US capital is Washington DC, with DC being the abbreviation for the District of Columbia, not the District of Cabot.

Columbus brought syphilis to Europe

This is a concept that causes a lot of controversy. Syphilis is a common disease in the Americas before Columbus, however, the history also shows that the disease has existed in Europe since the past millennium, although it is not properly understood and noted correctly. The ancient Greeks described many " injuries " very much like syphilis and unknowingly, an outbreak of syphilis broke out in Naples in 1494 during the French invasion, just two years after Columbus. returning from America to the homeland.

Columbus died in anonymity and poverty

Perhaps Columbus was not well-off when he died in Spain at the age of 54 in 1506. However, he was not as destitute as in the history book. He lived quite comfortably in an apartment in Valladolid, except for the pain caused by severe arthritis. Columbus was arrested many years ago for being accused of tyranny and exploiting Native Americans. However, he was released by King Ferdinand after only six weeks in prison. He also refused most of the blessings promised by the king and queen.

Even so, after he died, his family sued . the royal family. This is a very famous and named Columbian lawsuit, which lasted for nearly 20 years. The descendants of Columbus finally won many possessions and wealth from the king's hands.