Explorers or Pirates?



Columbus introducing religion to the Amerindians

People given the title of, "explorer" are often regarded in our history books as great people that traverse the seas, discovering new lands, and adding them to the maps for queen and country. In fact, this is how we glamorize Sir Francis Drake, Henry Morgan,  Christopher Columbus. These men were the pinnacle of what it meant to be an explorer. We were taught these men overcame treacherous odds and helped shaped the amerces that we know to this day. that is not the case however, the "explorers" that we knew often behaved more like pirates than men of honor.

 Drake had a reputation for pillaging ships, taking everything the sailors had and then stealing a considerable sum of gold from the queen before giving her a piece of the original amount. Columbus conquered the Caribbean, enslaving the local natives and launching the slave trade in the Americas. Morgan conquered Cuba from the Spanish using ten ships with 500 men total. History has shown us glamorization of these men but, the truth is, they were just as greedy and power-hungry as the people they claimed they were nothing like.

Morgan's attack on the Maracaibo

Their egregious actions, however, shaped the New World into what we know today. I believe their contributions in attacking the natives, and fighting the Spanish, helped England grow its empire into the super power the went well into the 19th century.

Sources consulted:

http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/famous-buccaneers/henry-morgan/

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thevoyagesofcolumbus/a/09columbustruth.htm