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Finally they came to land in the West Indies (October 12, 1492). When they explored a little they found the native Arawaks to be friendly and wrote such in his diary: "They offered to share with anyone, and when you ask for something, they never say no."   

Finally they came to land in the West Indies (October 12, 1492). When they explored a little they found the native Arawaks to be friendly and wrote such in his diary: "They offered to share with anyone, and when you ask for something, they never say no."   

They found many new things that no European had ever seen before. Columbus thought he had landed in India, so he called the native people "Indians" - a designation which remains common to this very day. As they prepared to return to [[Spain]] the Santa Maria ran aground on a coral reef and could not be repaired. Further establishing the kindness of the Arawaks, Columbus noted that the they were so kind, that after the shipwreck, the Arawaks labored for hours to save his cargo, and were so honest that not one thing was missing.  Columbus saw the shipwreck as a sign from God and established a trading outpost he called Navidad (after the Christmas holiday).  

They found many new things that no European had ever seen before. Columbus thought he had landed in India, so he called the native people "Indians" - a designation which remains common to this very day. As they prepared to return to [[Spain]] the Santa Maria ran aground on a coral reef and could not be repaired. Further establishing the kindness of the Arawaks, Columbus noted that they were so kind, that after the shipwreck, the Arawaks labored for hours to save his cargo, and were so honest that not one thing was missing. For his part, Columbus hoped to build good relations with the tribe, writing in his journal, "I want the natives to develop a friendly attitude toward us because I know that they are a people who can be made free and converted to our Holy Faith more by love than by force."<ref>Hans Koning, ''Columbus: His Enterprise: Exploding the Myth'' (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1991), 51</ref> Carefully reciprocating the Arawaks' honesty, he instructed his men not to take anything from them "without giving something in exchange."<ref>Robert H. Fuson, trans., ''The Log of Christopher Columbus'' (Camden, Maine: International Marine, 1987), 76.</ref> Columbus saw the shipwreck of the Santa Maria as a sign from God and established a trading outpost he called Navidad (after the Christmas holiday).  

However he still had the Nina and Pinta, and so he took most of his crew up the Windward Passage and onward to Spain. The king and queen were amazed by the colorful birds and strange foods that Columbus brought with him. Columbus was then called Admiral.

However he still had the Nina and Pinta, and so he took most of his crew up the Windward Passage and onward to Spain. The king and queen were amazed by the colorful birds and strange foods that Columbus brought with him. Columbus was then called Admiral.

Columbus was a devout Christian, according to the teachings of Spanish church at the time.  A fact that is often downplayed and ignored is that he was rumored to never have sworn—something unusual for a sailor at that time. On his ship his shipmates would frequently engage in religious worship. After his death it was thought he should have been named a saint for bringing the Christian faith to half the known world while Spain sent thousands of missionaries to the America's. It is because of Columbus that Latin American has the highest number of professing Christians.<ref>http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1992/issue35/3502.html</ref>

Columbus was a devout Christian, according to the teachings of Spanish church at the time.  A fact that is often downplayed and ignored is that he was rumored to never have sworn—something unusual for a sailor at that time. On his ship his shipmates would frequently engage in religious worship. After his death it was thought he should have been named a saint for bringing the Christian faith to half the known world while Spain sent thousands of missionaries to the America's. It is because of Columbus that Latin American has the highest number of professing Christians.<ref>http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1992/issue35/3502.html</ref>

Thanks to the left-wing history book ''[[A People's History of the United States]]'' by communist [[Howard Zinn]], however, Columbus had been falsely demonized by anti-American scholars as being a slave-trader, a mass-murderer against Native Americans, and a man who, were he alive in the current age, would have been tried for crimes against humanity.

Thanks to the left-wing history book ''[[A People's History of the United States]]'' by communist [[Howard Zinn]], however, Columbus has been falsely demonized by anti-American scholars as being a slave-trader, a mass-murderer against Native Americans, and a man who, were he alive in the current age, would have been tried for crimes against humanity. As was common practice in his works, Zinn made this argument with misleading quotations of Columbus and over-reliance on sources of questionable objectivity. For example, he used the explorer's statement on first encountering the Arawaks, "They would make fine servants," to suggest Columbus intended from the start to enslave the natives, when in fact he was commenting on their docile nature and the apparent efforts of neighboring tribes to enslave them.<ref>Mary Grabar, ''Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation Against America'' (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2019), 11-12.</ref>

==Further reading==

==Further reading==