The Historical Case Against Columbus Day

The discovery of the Americas is perhaps the most consequential event in world history. I’ve long defended acknowledging Columbus on those grounds — that despite who he was as a person, his bold journey forever shaped our world. Not only did he link the major continents of the Earth, these discoveries led to an embrace of curiosity, indirectly paving the way for science and the human progress that followed. For that alone, I argued, he should be recognized.

But further inspection gives Columbus way too much credit here. In fact, if Columbus had not been so bold, or if the Spanish crown had not decided to fund his journey, things might not be all that different. Another explorer would have likely discovered the Americas within a decade of Columbus’s first voyage.