Did Columbus Deserve His Reputation?

I believe Columbus does deserve his reputation. He faced many challenges, and worked hard through his four voyages. Starting from his first one, according to the movie, Columbus was rejected from the university, he was rejected by the king of Portugal, King John. Yet he did not give up hope, he went to the queen of Spain, Queen Isabella, who finally agreed to sponsor his voyage. Columbus set out without knowing where he was going, the only directional sense he was measuring through the speed of the boat, a very inefficient technique. Finally, when he arrived in the new world, he met the first nations, he was respected their beliefs, and didn’t not force them to become Catholic. According to my research, Columbus was one of the first to discover