Christopher Columbus

Many people picture Christopher Columbus as a heroic explorer who discovered a new world. This book asks readers to look past that story. During his Caribbean voyages, Columbus and his crews killed and enslaved large numbers of Indigenous people. Spanish authorities later arrested him for the harsh way he ruled the territories he continued to insist were the Indies.

From there, the book examines what Columbus did and what followed from it, including the effects on colonization and on the exchange between cultures. It also traces how his actions still shape the world today.