[Alberta's Child]

Regardless of how he's viewed, there's no getting around the fact that Columbus was a mediocre explorer at best.

He actually thought he had reached the East Indies when he landed in the New World, which means his estimate for the size of the globe was off by thousands of miles.

[Names Ash Housewares]

"Columbus was a mediocre explorer at best."

In those days, if you came back alive, you were a great explorer.

[Teacher317]

He actually thought he had reached the East Indies when he landed in the New World, which means his estimate for the size of the globe was off by thousands of miles.

Since most of the rest of the world's populace had the same expectations at the time (and many of those with other ideas still thought the world was flat), it's hard to fault him for that misconception.

[GSlob]

"Columbus was a mediocre explorer at best. "
Well, for his times he was OK. Magellan he was not, but for his times I'd say he was a solid B+.

[Jacquerie]

Columbus was a mediocre explorer at best.

The guy that opened up the entire western hemisphere to civilization was mediocre? Few sailors today would venture to sail his three crude 15th century "ships" across Lake Erie. He was an incredibly intellectual merchant who studied the east Atlantic climate, currents and bet big on finding land to the west.