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When I was a kid we would say "Columbus discovered America" and it definitely gave me the impression that no one knew it existed before him. It erases the fact
by jccalhoun 3y ago
When I was a kid we would say "Columbus discovered America" and it definitely gave me the impression that no one knew it existed before him. It erases the fact that lost of people knew about it because they lived there for generations.
- jahewson 3y agoI don't think it erases anything. Most places that have been discovered by explorers have been populated. I've never in my life heard of somebody who thought America wasn't populated upon its discovery. The label used for the next group of Spanish visitors is literally "Conquistadors" which could not be more clear as to what it involved.