Much has been written about the violence perpetrated on the natives of the islands where Columbus landed in 1492 and during his subsequent landings from 1493 to 1504. According to these authors, Columbus is responsible for the torture and genocide of – what some claim – may be millions of natives and is also blamed for initiating slave trade.

Authors who vilify Columbus do their best to demean him, mocking him for his background, his numerous attempts for funding, his lack of suitable connections, his insistence on a title and percentage of compensation, his miscalculations and error in believing he landed in India or China, and his, now in quotes, discovery of the New World. Apply these attributes – difficult background, early failures, rejection, limitations, mistakes, but with a sense of worth – to just about any accomplished person today and the descriptive words change to hard working, a will to succeed, persevering, didn’t give up, didn’t fit in, a believer.