Why Christopher Columbus is a Hero

I believe Christopher Columbus was a hero in his time, and in ours. But before I can go any further I want to say that what was right and common sense in 1492 was different then in 2011. It is unfair to say he was a villain based on standards and morals that came 500 years later. Also, another thing we forget is the world was different back then. Europe was starting its Renaissance and each country was trying to top the other in development to become the most powerful country. So, there was a lot of competition going on. Besides, the planet was not very well known. The people of the time only knew of Asia, Africa, and Europe. They did not even know the continents they were aware of very well. They were mistaken in many of their beliefs about the world that they did know. They had seriously underestimated the size of Asia, therefore thinking the world was 2/3s smaller than it really was. However, it was a time of great exploration. People were starting to map out the world, partly for trade routes. With those mistaken beliefs: the need to explore, and the Renaissance, you can see what drove Columbus across the ocean blue. I think he is hero for many reasons: he discovered two “new” contents and took the risk of crossing the Atlantic into unknown waters and defying what people said was impossible. Also he was being heroic to Spain by finding gold and killing non-Christians.
Christopher Columbus may not have been the first European to find out about North America and South America. For instance, the Vikings came before him but then why did people in Africa, Asia, and Europe not know about the achievement or the new continents? It’s because the Vikings did not tell anyone. Nor did any other people who came to America before Columbus. But Columbus did. He told the world. Therefore, Christopher Columbus is a hero in the same way Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, or Neil Armstrong are heroes. Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon. Someone would have done it sooner or later, but he did it first. Same with Columbus. He told the world! He is responsible for not only for where Western world is today, but the whole world. He did horrible and inexcusable things, but he also did great and wonderful things as well.
The Spanish Inquisition was one of the most deadly inquisitions ever. It was when Spain thought that only Catholics should be allowed to live in Spain. They began killing or kicking out all non Christians out of the country there by “purifying” Spain. The Inquisition started about the time Columbus was born. Later Columbus offered to spread the Catholic faith and find a trade route to India and China if Spain would give him money for the trip. Since their way of solving problems was killing, and killing was going on his whole life, it makes sense why he thought he could solve his problem (that he promised he king and queen gold, but could not find very much) by killing people. Therefor Christopher Columbus was truly a man of his time.
Without the bravery of a few men and women the world would be nowhere near to where we are today. And one of those men is Christopher Columbus. He put one foot before the other and set out to explore the unexplored. He intended to find a trade route across the Atlantic, but found something 100 times better, the new world.