@@shadowninja6689 Yeah, and in his "exploration" he "discovered" my birth place (Caribbean island) that was already lived by indian natives, so his mates and government decided that the natives were savages and proceeded to "colonize" as in genocide, rape, infecting my people with all sorts of diseases, looting rivers full of gold, slaving, etc... All that because he wanted people to believe him... Maybe im a little biased, but to me he wasnt a hero, just an excuse of a man with too much ego.
@@ivelissesierra5842I’ve read his letters back to Spanish royalty in my AP Spanish literature class, I’m afraid you’re not biased, I believe an exact (translated) quote from one of them is “these people would make good slaves” - he was incredibly racist
I was also taught this in school as a Gen X. I do at least give my teacher credit for sharing with us before it was an absolute confirmation, that scientists believed the Vikings reached the new world much earlier than Columbus.
And actually, the more you think about it, it doesn’t even make sense if he thought the world was flat. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there was already a way to get to India from Europe by going around Africa. So Columbus wanted to find a faster way, which means, if he thought the world was flat, that his thought was to go off the edge of the earth and somehow get back up on the other side.
Columbus was an excellent navigator and understood this inherently. His fault lies with Ptolemy and how his studies let him to believe that the Earth was 1/4 its actual circumference. Hence, believing the shorter route was across the Atlantic to get to India.
I'm only 11 years old and Im going into 6th grade and in 5th grade my teacher had just taught our class that Christopher Columbus thought the world was flat
Chris wanted to sail to Asia by sailing west toward America. He knew the earth was round, but was wrong about the size. The ancient greeks not only knew the earth was round, their estimate was only off by a few percent.
What i was taught is that Christopher Columbus tried to tell the people where he lived that the earth was round and they thought it was flat and Christopher Columbus thought that he would prove them wrong about the earth being round and he did Just that
My academic mentor amused me in freshman seminars by picking up a globe and shaking it in front of all of the students and saying, “they used globes back then!”
They’re still teaching that to this day in elementary school I remember learning that like 4-5 years ago and multiple teachers in multiple towns and states every school I have ever been to has said that and I have been to 4 schools
The TV show "Curse of Oak Island" has proved over and over that Vikings were often on the Island 1k years ago, BUT Roman coins were also found on the island last year, along with relics from 600-800 AD
I was taught that he new it was round but thought it was much smaller and that he thought he had sailed around the globe to India. And that's why Native Americans are called Indians to this day. He called them that because he thought they were the people of India.
Yep! He went on a hunt for a quicker and cheaper way to get spices to Europe that didn't involve sailing around the horn of Africa or traipsing for months through the various war zones of Europe and the Middle East.
I too learned that Chris C proved that the world was round and not flat. Not from school, but through a Bugs Bunny cartoon and the Electric Company from PBS/CTW
I was taught (in the 1960’s) that Columbus believed the world was round which was contrary to the opinion of the time. He set out to prove his belief by sailing in the opposite direction. (I think it was west to get to the east.)
I was not taught that he thought the world was flat. I was taught that he died never realizing that he made it to a "new" land . Between that and the fact that the Vikings made it here first, I always had an issue with us having a holiday for him 🤷♀️
Only thing my teacher said about Christopher Columbus was he thought world was flat but we all know its round enough about him time to study about George Washington she said Christopher Columbus is not on the learning plan for the history classes this year😊
I was in 2nd grade, my 3nd grade teach had an elaborate explaination using a magazine of how people like Columbus thought the world was as flat as that magazine. Then continued the lesson explaining his journey and how he hadnt pacled enough supplies because they thought the journey would not be so long.
I was taught, that people from his era thought the world was flat and Christopher Columbus thought it was round and his voyage was done to prove that it was round. I learned that back in like 2nd or 3rd grade in a Mexican school. Idk if that makes a difference, but there you go.
There are people today who think the world is flat. Or that it is round, but a flat round disc. Also, I was taught that the people in medieval Spain (King and Queen in particular) thought the world was flat, and Columbus was the one to tell them it was round (sphere).
Around 330 BC, Aristotle maintained on the basis of physical theory and observational evidence that the Earth was spherical, and reported an estimate of its circumference. The Earth's circumference was first determined around 240 BC by Eratosthenes.
I was taught that he was trying to find a shorter/faster route to India. That is why when he reached America he called the Native Americans “Indians.” He thought he had reached India and was seeing the people of that country.
I wasn’t taught if he thought it was flat or round all I was taught that he ended up in modern day Florida but thought it was India so thought the native Americans were Indians
As a historian, this one makes me shake my head the most. It’s all based on a fictional book by Pinkerton Washington. I am glad my school stopped sharing this myth by the time I reached fourth grade. There was no argument about the planet being round or flat. That is a 20th century myth perpetuated in poor education systems. In the 1930s, Italian groups asserted Christopher Columbus as a founding figure of the United States because ethnic Italians in America were often the targets of white supremacist organizations and discriminatory policies. He was not the first European to discover America. And of course, indigenous civilizations were here 20,000 years prior.
I was never taught Christopher Columbus thought the world was flat and that was in part why he did his famous voyage. It wasn’t til I got to college that I learned he wasn’t the hero he was made out to be.
I was taught that everyone else thought the world was flat and he did it to prove it wasn't. I learned long ago when I found out what a monster he was the real reasons.
I wasn't taught that. I knew he thought it was round. We actually went through some of his writings on the subject and Rebecca's right. He legitimately thought Asia was 3,000 miles east from Spain.
I was taught that everyone else thought the world was flat, that everyone was scared of sailing too far out and falling off the edge, and he was laughed at for thinking it was round, and therefore could be circumnavigated.
No one taught that Christopher Columbus thought the Earth was flat. We were taught that his detractors thought the Earth was flat, while he thought the Earth was round. In actuality, their disagreement was about the size of the Earth, not its shape. His detractors thought he'd run out of supplies long before he'd reach the Indies. As it turns out, his detractors were correct about the size. They just didn't account for another land mass being between Europe and the Indies.
I was taught that nobody would give Christopher Columbus the funding he needed to go on his expedition because EVERYONE ELSE thought the world was flat, but he didn't, and eventually he convinced Spain to give him funding and then he got to the Americas and thought it was India. Which is why we call Native Americans Indians.
Astronomers in ancient Greek did more then just established the Earth was round. If they made the earliest attempts at calculating the circumference of the Earth and the estimates were very accurate although not perfect.
No one was taught that. The reason for his voyage was to go around the world and land on India as another route. Hence when he landed in America he called the natives Indians. He thought he ended up in India
It was also pretty unusual for people to think the world was small enough to sail around it. The ancient greek philosophers had a decent measurement of the size. Columbus was using a controversial theory on how big the ocean was.
I was walking across my college campus, where a gentleman always stands and argues that the earth is flat. His argument was that when you look at pictures from Australia, the kangaroos are not upside down. Therefore, the earth must be flat and not spherical!
I was taught that he discovered that he discovered america. Not sure how you can discover a place when people already live there, but go on history teacher 😂
He was trying to get to India, thats why Native Americans ended up being called Indians. He couldn't have been trying to do that if he thought the Earth was flat
When i was Really young they did teach at my school that he wanted to prove the world was round It wasnt til like 5th grade that it was taught very clearly to me that he didnt think that It wasnt til i was an adult that i also learned he was genuinely an idiot who was bad at math and thought the world was Pear shaped, not round
Did Christopher Columbus think the earth was pear shape or that was how he pitched to the monarchies. Basically saying there is a certain section was smaller than the rest. Thus making traversing the world possible to India
I was taught that he was the guy who *didn't* think the world was flat but all of his contemporaries were like "pfft no chris you cant reach india by sailing west you'll fall off the edge" and he was like "okay but I'll do it anyway just watch me" and then he did, and found the americas and thus was responsible for centuries of genocide But obviously his contemporaries weren't doing that other than maybe some church crazies. They just thought thay his journey would be too dangerous.
I thought he wanted to prove the world WASN’T flat, but round like an orange. Isn’t that why Native Americans (at least historically) used to be called “Indians”? Because Christopher Columbus intended to travel westbound to India but he found Native Americans thinking he was already there? Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. That’s just what I remember I was taught in school growing up.
He thought he could get to the far east by sailing west and it would be a shorter route…smaller earth beliefs not flat, astronomy and geometry had already learned that earth was round
I mean I never really thought about it, but uh, wasn't the entire point of the mission to sail AROUND the world to get to India the other way in hopes it's shorter? How would that even work if he thought it was flat?😅
I was not taught that Christopher Columbus thought the world was FLAT‼️ I was in grade school in the 80's. I moved here, when I was 14 (9th grade)‼️MOST schools HERE in Hawai'i don't teach MUCH ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY 💔‼️ In 4th grade you START LEARNING ABOUT HAWAIIANA (ANYTHING TO DO WITH HAWAI'I)‼️I taught our kids ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY‼️I DID have a history class in 10th grade, BUT I knew everything that was being taught, so I was allowed to read & JUST took the tests👍🏻, passed the class with a STRAIGHT A. My teacher was so impressed with WHAT I was reading of my own volition that he GAVE me EXTRA CREDIT‼️When our 3 kids were in Highschool, they didn't have a History Class that was anything like what I had💔‼️ Their Highschool had ACADEMIES/PATHWAYS... our oldest son was in the STEM PATHWAY... which unfortunately wasn't available for either of our younger kids 💔‼️ They BOTH chose the BUSINESS PATHWAY. EACH PATHWAY/ACADEMY has classes that are meant to HELP/BUILD that PATHWAY/ACADEMY to it's potential and get you where you NEED to be for graduation‼️ 💞 ALOHA FROM HAWAI'I 💞🌹 LYSSA 🌹
I was taught that in public school too and the reason we call natives Indians is cuz in search of a new trade route he assumed he landed in India when he met the natives
@@foeloko yeah I was taught that too, calling native Americans, Indians is just straight up not true and it’s stupid that that was the name that lasted the longest (don’t get at me, I actually have native American ancestry)
@@tessette what’s the largest indigenous organization in the United States? I’ll give you a hint. It’s the American Indian Congress. The second battle for wounded knee was a part of the American Indian movement. Plenty of native descent claim this title with pride.
@@tessette to some it may be. Its complicated. Technically, words like American, sovereignty, nations, indigenous are all colonial terms widely adopted even in native communities.
@@eliteduardooit was in the Adam Ruins Everything episode about Columbus, at like 1:11 in the video it says that Columbus thought the earth was pear shaped with a nipple on top.
