Talk:Christopher Columbus

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Former good article nomineeChristopher Columbus was a History good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
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October 21, 2006Peer reviewReviewed
October 29, 2014Good article nomineeNot listed
On this day...Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on March 15, 2004, August 3, 2004, January 4, 2005, March 15, 2005, January 4, 2006, October 12, 2006, October 12, 2007, October 12, 2011, October 12, 2013, October 12, 2022, and September 6, 2024.
Current status: Former good article nominee

Brutality section's citation 318 is erroroneous

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In the Brutality section of the article, citation 318 is a published work by Bill Bigalow called "Columbus Day must be abolished". It says that historian Bill Davidson assigns responsibility to Columbus for African slave trade to the American continent in 1501. Yet, it's well-known (even here on Wikipedia) that the Portuguese were the first to transport Africans across the Atlantic. In 1525, they completed the first transatlantic African slave voyage to Brazil. Columbus died in 1506. He wasn't responsible for what the Portuguese did 19 years after his death. The Spaniards, English, French, Danish, and Dutch, followed what the Portuguese did regarding the transatlantic African slave trade to the American continent. Citation 318 is an erroneous one. D.Gormade (talk) 17:27, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Obviously not. An individual can bear responsibility for precipitating events that they did not directly participate in. Remsense ‥ 论 18:56, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] I agree with D.Gormade. Certainly people can retroactively bear responsibility, but on the continuum of “this reminds me of that” and “this caused that”, I find Basil Davidson’s proclamation to be more guilty-of-everything-bad-because-guilty-of-lots-bad than guilty-by-cause. On the other hand, the citation is notable, and the wording permits the user to decide for themselves whether the blame makes sense. I guess I’ve talked myself out of wanting it removed. Strebe (talk) 20:08, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] I don't agree, as the concrete throughline is fairly clear. Columbus immediately began the enslavement of indigenous Americans in earnest, and the inadequacies of that very same arrangement, passed hand to hand directly from Columbus himself, expressly precipitated the introduction of enslaved Africans to compensate. If this were any other series of economic events, it would not be controversial to assign some blame to the originator of the flawed system for the later developments as such. Remsense ‥ 论 20:36, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] Well, the line as currently written describes Basil Davidson as a "British historian" while the citation 218 describes him as an "African historian". The rest of the sentence claiming that he does this because of the actions of de Ovando doesn't even appear, and, so, must either be in the other references or is a synthesis. I don't like the use of 218 because 1. It is an opinion piece from a newspaper which seems a poor source for a subject so many books have been written on. 2. The opinion piece relies too much on weak references itself, even though it doesn't appear to name them. e.g. The claim, "Columbus ordered that Tainos be “punished,” by having their hands chopped off" likely comes from Zinn, who copied it from Koning, who appears to have fabricated it by synthesis. That said, I think it's indisputable that many people blame Columbus for the slave trade. So, I'd say keep it but check to make sure it's in the other references. A15730 (talk) 21:18, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] Davidson is a British historian of Africa; this article is not about the Portuguese enslavement of Africans; there's no reason I see to assign the provenance of the hand-chopping's claim to Zinn. Remsense ‥ 论 21:30, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] I am simply going by the cited reference's wording "African historian Basil Davidson". It doesn't describe him as British though I am not denying that he is. For the hand-chopping, Davidson is not making that claim, the author of the opinion piece Bill Bigelow, is. Bigelow is described as co-director of the Zinn Education Project. That's why I think he likely got it from Zinn. In any event, it still appears to originally come from Koning and there is no reliable source for it as far as I know. Hence, why I think it is a poor citation, especially when I'm sure that a higher quality reference expressing the same thing can be cited. A15730 (talk) 21:39, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] You're right on the Zinn point, of course. My bad. Remsense ‥ 论 21:40, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] It doesn't matter. As I said, the article claim being made (i.e. That many people regard Columbus as the father of the slave trade) can certainly be substantiated. Best Regards. A15730 (talk) 21:44, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] @ Remsense. No. A person cannot bear responsibility for precipitating events that they did not directly participate in. By the 15th century, the Al-Andalus Iberians (Spanish and Portuguese) were active in African slave trade in Europe. The Portuguese slave traders conducted African slave trade during 1441-1444. That's 51-54 years before Columbus' first voyage to the American continent in 1492. Columbus died 14 years later in 1506. The first African slaves were brought to the American continent by the Iberians in 1525. The Iberians had been well-seasoned in the slave trade of Africans 84 years before they transported the African slaves to the American continent. Columbus did not initiate the Al-Andalus Iberians African slave trade in Europe and America. D.Gormade (talk) 01:07, 6 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] To be blunt, your general position as initially stated is not considered tenable by any relevant authority in the history of ethics as a discipline. Remsense ‥ 论 01:23, 6 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] @ Remsense. Hahaha. You are comically in the dark and inadvertently funny. But you are those things with such perfection. Your giftedness for waxing poetic is definitely there. It's just not verbose enough. Try harder! D.Gormade (talk) 01:51, 6 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] @A15730. You should read up on slavery. The ancient Egyptians were doing it. Calling Columbus the father of slave trade is a gross misnomer. African slaves were being brought to Europe in the 15th century by the Al-Andalus Iberians and, thereafter, to the American continent by the same people. In 1441-1444, the Portuguese were already conducting African slave trade in Europe. That's 51-54 years before Columbus' first voyage to the American continent in 1492. Columbus died in 1506. In 1525, 19 years after Columbus' death, the Portuguese brought the first African slaves to the American continent. The Spaniards, British, French, Danish, and Dutch followed the trend. Columbus did not have African slaves. He had Indian slaves. So did the Spaniards he sailed for. The Iberians and the British were the worst offenders of Indian and African slaves. D.Gormade (talk) 01:29, 6 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] You should read what I actually wrote: That many people consider him the father of the slave trade is definitely true. The citation being discussed names a couple of them. Whether or not he is the father of the slave trade is a different question. I'm fine with it if you want to add some quality, on-point sources to counter that narrative. A15730 (talk) 04:20, 6 February 2025 (UTC)[reply] @A15730. It's not true at all. Atlantic Slave Traders are loosely considered the Fathers of Slave Trade. See the book "Sins of the Fathers: The Atlantic Slave Trade 1441-1807" by James Pope-Hennessy. The Al-Andalus Muslims of Iberia were doing slave trading 51 years before Columbus first sailed for them in 1492. The Muslims had conquered the Iberian peninsula 711-1492 CE. This is known as "Muslim Spain" and "Islamic Iberia". This is why Spanish and Portuguese are so Arabic-sounding. The Muslims had trouble pronouncing the Latino (Latin) that the Visigoths of Spain had maintained after Italy had its Roman Empire and introduced Latino and the alfabeto latino (Latin alphabet) to the rest of Europe a millennium earlier. Considering the Al-Andalus Muslims of Iberia conquered the Native Americans and brought the black Africans to the American continent, it's more than worth mentioning that the oldest known slave society is the Mesopotamian and Sumerian civilizations located in Iran/Iraq between 6000-2000 BCE. Ergo, the Al-Andalus Muslims (Arabs) who conquered Iberia 711-1492 CE and the American continent 1492 CE onwards are the oldest known Fathers of Slave Trade. D.Gormade (talk) 18:22, 8 July 2025 (UTC)[reply] Not to sidetrack too much with the claim about the hands, but it does originate with Koning's 1976 book. There are no references anywhere in the primary or secondary source historical record prior to that book, and Zinn borrowed heavily from Koning for his chapter on Columbus. I wrote an extensively research and cited article that's accessible to all proving beyond any doubt that this claim is not substantiated in the historical record, and I feel that it should be cited on the matter: https://historyinfocus.net/2024/09/27/columbus-and-the-myth-of-severed-hands/ (I am a high school teacher currently in a doctorate of education program, and who has extensively taught World History and Economics) E idelsonNHHistoryTeacher (talk) 12:54, 20 September 2025 (UTC)[reply] You would have to get a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal in order to cite your research; otherwise it is proscribed as original research. I encourage you to take steps to that end. It is vexing that we devote space to slander simply because the author managed to get a book published, but such are the convoluted terms of Wikipedia policy. It is irresponsible that there are no scholarly rebuttals available. I think you can see the invisible pressure of cultural trends at work here. Strebe (talk) 18:23, 20 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 7 December 2025

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The first Europeans in the Americas were Norse Vikings, led by Leif Erikson, around the year 1000 A.D., who established a short-lived settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada. But Their presence went largely unnoticed in Europe until Christopher Columbus's voyages started in 1492, marking the beginning of widespread European colonization and exploration during the Age of Discovery.

Change x: His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America. Into y: The first Europeans in the Americas were Norse Vikings, led by Leif Erikson, around the year 1000 A.D., who established a short-lived settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada. But Their presence went largely unnoticed in Europe until Christopher Columbus's voyages started in 1492, marking the beginning of the Age of Discovery.

 Not done: Doesn't make sense for the lead in this article, which is about Columbus. Since it currently specifies the Caribbean and Central and South America, we don't need to go into Erikson and the Vikings until much later in the body, which we already do Cannolis (talk) 00:50, 8 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

> Exposed to Old World diseases, the indigenous populations of the New World collapsed,

This is brutal and largely outdated depiction of the causes of the Great Dying. Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas has a better (but also vastly outdated but w/e) view.

Semi-protected edit request on 2 February 2026

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I want to write that he is from venice into the first row Vogeluiiii (talk) 06:49, 2 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want made. Day Creature (talk) 17:21, 2 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Port of Departure

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The text misleadingly claims that Columbus left Castile in August 1492, whereas it is well known that the port of departure was Palos de la Frontera in Andalusia. Come on Wikipedia, get it right for God's sake! ~2025-34106-00 (talk) 10:46, 8 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed. The text was changed fairly recently with this edit made on 15 October 2025. Why didn't you fix it yourself? If I see an error on WP, I fix it. The "First voyage (1492–1493)" section does say, "On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships." Carlstak (talk) 16:48, 8 February 2026 (UTC)[reply] The link was not a great idea as Castile (historical region) is an ambiguous concept and is otherwise free of any administrative nature now or the past (and it is not a very useful tool either from a physical geography standpoint). Columbus did leave a place in the Crown of Castile though. And a port town in the Kingdom of Seville in the Gulf of Cádiz. While I don't deem necessary to make explicit a "large polity" of the point of departure, the Crown of Castile would not be the most gratuitous option given technicalities behind the sponsoring. Certainly no more so than "Andalusia". All in all, perhaps the most meaningful detail is that the expedition departed from a royal demesne (realengo) port (half of the lordship including the port was precisely acquired by the Crown in 1492 to that end). I would leave left the port of Palos" and call it a day, given that it is actually commonly mentioned in sources.--Asqueladd (talk) 18:12, 9 February 2026 (UTC)[reply] Thanks for your erudite explanation, Asqueladd (I wouldn't expect anything less;-). I had considered replacing "Castile" with "Crown of Castile", which as you say, although a polity, is technically correct, but introduces nuance that the typical reader wouldn't know. I agree that your solution is best. Carlstak (talk) 00:16, 10 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

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