Famous people X. Columb

Criticism of Columbus’ legacy has steadily grown over the centuries.
Even in his day and age, his peers criticized him, with even the Spanish Crown seeing him as especially cruel. Even after they restored his properties, they refused to reappoint Columbus as governor and denied him his 10% of profits.
Many Spanish colonists also accused him of scamming them to move the Americas. The criticism became especially pronounced in the 20th Century, with Columbus seen as the one who started the genocide of Native Americans. This had led some states in the USA to abandon Columbus Day, as do some other countries like Peru and Argentina.
Millions died thanks to Columbus’ arrival in the Americas.
Photo by (2009) Viruses, Plagues, and History: Past, Present and Future, Oxford University Press, USA, p. 60 from Wikipedia
Up to 90% of the native population in the Caribbean died within a century after Columbus’ arrival. Scholars note that while slavery and plain cruelty killed plenty of natives, the biggest killer of them all proved the diseases Columbus and the Europeans brought with them.
Smallpox, in particular, proved especially deadly. It had a fatality rate of 80% thanks to none of the natives having even the smallest amount of resistance to the disease.
Defenders of Columbus’ legacy accuse his critics of perpetuating the Black Legend.
The Black Legend involves Protestant persecution and even demonization of Catholics in general, and of Spaniards in particular.
This has led to responses against Columbus’ legacy becoming moderated. For example, in America, many states have rebranded Columbus Day as Italian-American Day, celebrating the Italian-American community’s contributions to America.
No actual reproduction of Columbus’ appearance existed in his lifetime.
Even the most commonly used appearance of Columbus, a portrait by Sebastiano del Piombo, made in 1519, doesn’t accurately depict the explorer. In fact, most reproductions of Columbus’ appearance do not match with the historical written records of his appearance.
He was described as a very tall man with sunburn skin, blue or brown eyes, and reddish-blonde hair. They also described him as having a freckled face, with high cheekbones and a curving nose.