I realize we celebrate or don't celebrate the accomplishments of Columbus on a different day and I also realize that because we switched calendars since 1492 the day is somewhat deceptive it is still the calendar day that the original landings were made using the calendar of the time.
While once a celebrated event there is a lot of revisionist history indicating how this discovery led to the reduction of the native populations and the exploitation of the Americas by Europeans.
Of course the idea of the voyage was to find a way to exploit the lucrative spice trade with the East not to subjugate the inhabitants, and from that respect it was a tremendous failure, although it changed the world dramatically.
His belief that the world was round and that the east could be reached by sailing west was correct except for the barrier in the way.
It also was farther than he thought it was.
Was he a hero?
In some regards depending on how you define a hero. He was interested in exploiting a new way to make money in the spice trade so he is probably best considered an entrepreneur and opportunist.
Was he a villain?
Probably no more than other Europeans at the time.
Yes his actions led to the brutal death and enslavement of millions of native Americans but certainly that was never his intent. Much like Pandora, once the box was open the consequences were likely inevitable considering the attitudes and differences in technology of the time.
He was at the very least brave enough to lead the expedition and lead it successfully despite the uncertainty of the result.
The world would likely be a very different place without him, although you would think the discovery of the Americas would have happened at some point anyways.
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