Pros And Cons Of Christopher Columbus

An inspirational quote belonging to Christopher Columbus reads as follows: "By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." With this attitude, Columbus prevailed over an abundance of his problems; although, there are modern tools that would have assisted in said triumphs greatly. Shipwrecks, scurvy, and superstition were amongst the variety of obstacles Italian explorer Christopher Columbus faced throughout his voyages to the New World during the 15th century. Countless inventions have come to life during the years after Columbus’ last journey in 1502. Many of these innovations could have served useful to the explorer as he faced problems on the open sea. Three particular inventions

Because of small, confined spaces and conditions permeated by frigid temperatures, lice, rodents, grease, and dirt, maladies were unavoidable. All those aboard Columbus’ ships throughout the duration of his numerous voyages were subject to disease. Sicknesses such as typhoid fever, carbon dioxide poisoning, scurvy, dysentery, malnutrition, and syphilis were detrimental to the wellbeing of every ship’s party; and substantially more detrimental to the “90 percent of the first Americans [that] died between 1492 and 1650” (McNeill 2008) because of the Columbian Exchange- an event that originated from Columbus’ arrival in the New World. Concerning the preceding afflictions, there is a 20th-century solution: the bacterial infection deterrent, the antibiotic. Alexander Fleming is credited with the invention of antibiotics in 1928 with his discovery of penicillin, but according to Dr. Rustam I. Aminov, Senior Researcher at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), antimicrobial chemotherapy, treatment courses involving the destruction of microbes by antimicrobial agents to combat disease, has been in existence since 1907 with Alfred Bertheim and Paul Ehrlich’s discovery of arsphenamine to treat syphilis. Fleming’s penicillin alone has saved an estimated 200 million lives (New World Encyclopedia Contributors 2013). Not only would antibiotics combat 50 percent of common illness threatening seamen, but also would prevent any potential bacterial infections brought on by environmental ailments like carbon dioxide poisoning, scurvy, and malnutrition. Though antibiotics are not a safeguard against any contractible sickness, they are an explicit defense against bacterial infections, which were the most common form of infection among