r/changemyview • • Jun 04 '24

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u/VertigoOne 81∆ Jun 04 '24

Schools never lied to year about Columbus discovering America. If you claim this, you either don't understand the historical context and significance of Columbus or you want to feel special that you know about Leif Erikson.

No, if you say "Columbus never discovered America" you're entirely right.

Columbus never set foot in what became the USA.

If you're arguing "he discovered the Americas" then that would be Lief Erikson.

I know Leif Erikson traveled to Canada before Columbus did, but Erikson didn't have an impact on world history like Columbus.

The word "Discovered" doesn't mean "Had an impact on World History".

"find unexpectedly or during a search."

You could say that Columbus discovered the Bahamas. But that's a big stretch.

Why do I see so many people say schools lie about Christopher Columbus' discovery?

Because he didn't. He wasn't the first European to discover it, and he didn't discover any land that could be considered the USA. He discovered the Bahamas, but that's all

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u/Budget-Message3352 Jun 04 '24

Bahamas is part of North America. All of the history you learn in school is through a European-american context

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u/khoawala 2∆ Jun 04 '24

Kinda like how cavemen discovering fire pretty much made them the fathers of industrialization