Christopher Columbus Character Analysis

Christopher Columbus was a merchant who infamously sailed west from Europe to prove that the Earth was spherical rather than flat, accidentally sailing to (and subsequently colonizing) America along the way. For Harari, Columbus’s infamous voyage marks the start of the European Empire. He thinks the European Empire was different than previous empires because its conquerors saw themselves as scientists who were exploring, discovering, and learning about the world. The rulers of former empires, Harari thinks, saw themselves as spreading established doctrines and creating unity over disparate people and territories.