After decades of politically charged controversy, the reputation and standing of Christopher Columbus lies battered beneath mountains of misjudgements and distortions. Dr. Robert Royal carefully examines the mind and motives of Columbus, distinguishing him as the greatest explorer of his age, whose courage and vision extended Christian Europe and inspired the American spirit. Dr. Royal examines what actually happened in the decades following 1492 when two widely divergent cultures met and mingled. He explores Columbus's spirituality and the apocalyptic vision that guided him, as well as the disparate ways in which Puritans and Catholics viewed and approached the indigenous peoples. He also discusses what life was really like for them, the truth about Indian environmentalism, the essence of the noble savage, and the soundness of the claim that the native peoples were innocents living in harmony with nature.