The Dogs of God is a tough read sometimes. Many terrible things happened in late 15th century Europe, all of them caused by humans and their lust for power. Columbus's trip across the ocean was one of them, but only because of what happened as a result of his having discovered this land of abundance within reach of Spanish and other European ships. The trip itself was innocent compared to that. What followed his discovery--the conquests, the devastation, the plunder--was really just another part of the big picture, the ultimate goal. The Spanish King and Queen wanted a wholly Christian Spain and set about making it happen, mostly through murder and war. Conquering the new lands Columbus discovered was just an extension of that. Other European nations soon joined in. Gold was needed to finance all the conquests, or so the monarchs claimed, but before long gold became its own end, as it continues to do to this day. No foreign policy exists that doesn't involve the capture of gold in some form. Nothing has changed. People have not changed and perhaps never will.
