Columbus was a cruel 'tyrant', new documents show
Monday, July 17, 2006

MADRID, Spain (AFP): Explorer Christopher Columbus was a cruel and greedy tyrant who ruled the first land he annexed in the New World with a brutal disregard for humanity, according to documents published here Friday.

The documents, discovered in 2005 at the Simancas Archives in Valladolid, northern Spain, quotes 23 contemporary witnesses to Columbus's brutality after he subjugated what is now the Dominican Republic in 1492.

They provide further evidence of the "hidden face" of the man lauded in the West as the so-called discoverer of America, according to Spanish historian Consuelo Varela.

She said the explorer "ruled the colony in a tyranical fashion" and demonstrated "great greed".

In one example, she said Columbus ordered that a woman have her tongue cut off and be paraded nude on the back of a donkey because she dared to say that he came from an inferior class.

He "applied justice without judgement, would not distribute supplies to the colonists and would not allow natives to be baptised so that they could be used as slaves", the historian told reporters.

The island of Santo Domingo, as it was known then, became the launching pad for Colubus's exploration and conquest of the Caribbean and America.

In decades following Columbus' arrival, between 12 and 20 million native Americans were killed or fell victim to diseases brought in by the Spanish.

Ancient civilisations such as the Maya, the Aztecs or the Inca were destroyed, while the continent saw its mineral riches pillaged and its cultural dignity violated.

Bitterness over the destruction lives on, 500 years after Columbus' death in Valladolid on May 20, 1506, at the age of 55.

Spain organised a slew of commemorative events to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of the "The Great Navigator".
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000023/002380.htm

Guess I need to move now -- San Pedro sounds good!

Boo hoo....he brought eventual civility to what would have been 3rd world cultures. 10 dollars and a donut that ol' Consuelo is one of those bleeding heart historians/fiction writers who believes the world would be better if we paid reparations to all the victims (aka "the conquered").

In looking at the case of the woman who had her tongue cut out and paraded nude through town. It was distasteful to have her tongue cut out. I find no fault in Part 2 of the sentence however.

Agreed....I'm all for nudity as long as it's done tastefully.

As far as her tongue being cut out....that is a little extreme. If she was talking too much they could have just taped her mouth shut.

Damn I'm gonna get in trouble for that one. hahaha

I'm seeing somewhat of a dichotomy in the previous post.

In these same documents it outlines Columbus as the one to retake Jerusalem, rebuild the church and bring on the apocalypse. He just happen to run into The Americas before he found the route to the holy land.

Ohio should be ashamed to have a city like that :p

No seriously. He's dead. Nothing we can do about it now. It is interesting tho.

After re-thinking, I agree with TannedBanana... taping her mouth shut would be a better idea. You never know when she would need her tongue.