History Memes

Explanation: Christopher Columbus, a self-taught Italian navigator, eventually managed to convince the monarchs of Spain to fund an expedition west in the hopes of finding a new trade route to Asia for those delicious, delicious spices. In the process, he stumbled on the Americas. While not recognizing that this was a new land, Columbus did recognize that the people lacked the military technology of Europe, and set to promptly massacring and enslaving them.

While the Spanish crown 'overlooked' this initial treatment, when he was appointed governor of the new region, his excesses became so incredible that the Spanish crown itself recalled him and stripped him of his position. This was not because the Spanish monarchs were bastions of humane treatment so much as that Columbus's behavior was far beyond even what Europeans considered acceptable even at the time.

Unfortunately, the Spanish Empire would develop more towards Columbus's view as their colonization efforts expanded, placing native peoples in an increasingly degraded state and making wide use of slavery.