Columbus, Friend or Foe?

            
             Christopher Columbus may have not been a smart man, but he sure was a brave one. Not only did he have the courage to sail across the ocean blue, but he also had the guts to get support from the queen in doing so. He did what everyone thought was impossible. He not only proved that the world was round, but found more land in his four explorations. Columbus accomplished great things with his journeys, but many consequences came along with those great things. Many people lost their lives and many people lost their homes.
             Christopher Columbus traveled to the new world four times. Spain supported and financed Columbus" voyages. Mainly due to the queens love for the gifts Columbus would bring back to her. But Columbus gained many new territories for the Spanish Empire. Making the country richer, stronger, and much bigger. The Spanish got many things from the New World; they got wealth, land, and labor. But these things came at a cost.
             Christopher Columbus then brought Europeans to the New World. The Europeans brought their families, their lifestyles, and disease. But, when the Europeans got to the New World they began to take over. Many Natives lost their homes and their lives. The Europeans made the Natives move westward. But the Europeans didn't just ask them to leave. They forced them to move west and to continue to move west. But some Natives were kept around for labor. Natives were fur trappers, farmers, and hunters. But then again Natives began to get wiped out. Diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, settled in and began to get the Natives sick. Many Natives became very ill and many died.
             All in all, Christopher Columbus was a great explorer, but was he a great man? Columbus did a lot for many people, giving them land and a new start. But, he also is responsible for taking the Natives from their homes. Columbus was not a bad person, but he gets blamed for all of this because he found the New World.