Comments on: 10 Intrepid Travel Tips From Christopher Columbus

By: Suzie Jones

Suzie Jones — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:53:03 +0000

Researching the life of Columbus I actually found the fact that he was jailed for his atrocities quite extraordinary considering colonialism and slavery were viewed as the very aim of a kingdom during his lifetime and would remain so for many centuries…

Unfortunately serious travel were not undertaken by many nice folk back then so in order to compare travel across a half millennium I had to take what was on offer!

(Also curious how brutality has survived the centuries as a trait shared by many successful people.)

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By: Ian MacKenzie

Ian MacKenzie — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:01:19 +0000

While I personally enjoyed this article for its “tongue-in-cheek” tone – there are many sides to every person. In Columbus’s case, no doubt he was a racist barbarian. Yet at the same time, he was one of histories most important explorers (if only because we still remember him in the mainstream). And because of that, every traveler can learn from the positive sides of his exploits.

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By: Allen Varney

Allen Varney — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:35:18 +0000

In the context of the Columbus expeditions, “think opportunity” is either blackly humorous or grotesquely tasteless. Columbus ran slaves, coerced the natives’ conversion to Christianity, and “followed his heart” with the sole objective of dominating and subjugating them.

Ah, but I see you have derived from this dismal episode the important lesson of “minding your manners.” So all is well.

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