Letter to the editor: Columbus was remarkable

Letter-writer Louis D’Emilio (“Columbus Day feature biased,” Oct. 20, TribLIVE) doesn’t fully capture the remarkable achievements of Christopher Columbus. Enduring 13 years of rejection before finally receiving his commission from the Spanish throne, he began the first of his four voyages at age 40. By 15th-century standards, he was quite old.

He maintained lifelong Christian faith that many today fail to admire. His innate “dead reckoning” skills are thought by maritime scholars to be unmatched. Navigation at the time was primitive, and Columbus was often lost. As fleet commander, exhibiting doubt or uncertainty would have meant instant failure, mutiny, even death. His seafaring instincts, bolstered by his faith, saved his life and those of his men many times.

The environmental history of our planet, and life overall, was reshaped by his pursuits; it is known as the Columbian exchange. The “old world” was physically separated from the Americas. Life on the divided planet developed in isolation for 150 million years since the breakup of Pangea into the continents of today. It wasn’t Columbus alone, but the genie he rubbed out of the bottle.

The events he put in place 500 years ago irrevocably changed the world. Critics like to cherry-pick disease and slavery, but those negatives are greatly overshadowed by the positives. Agriculture and livestock enjoyed worldwide today did not previously exist, and the exchange of ideas, language and technology that began the world over, continues to this day.

Joe Schmidt

Lower Burrell