26.10.2021
animated movie

“History vs. Christopher Columbus”

TED-Ed animation by Alex Gendler

Christopher Columbus, as a historical persona, is familiar to most Europeans. We have long been taught that Columbus was an intrepid explorer who discovered unknown lands, catalyzing a “golden age” of global expansion. However, this is a simplistic and one-sided narrative that fails to examine this period of history in all its dimensions, including the iniquities spawned by conquest and colonization. In his animation, Alex Gendler sheds light on aspects of the story that schools have long turned a blind eye to.