Americans venerate Christopher Columbus as the man who discovered America. But his reputation has long been under attack for his unscrupulous exploitation of indigenous people and his brutality - not only toward them, but also his own crew, such that his legacy is now significantly tarnished as one of a narcissistic psychopath. Its unsurprising then, that evidence has emerged of his further exploitation of pre-existing knowledge of prior transatlantic crossings - by both Portuguese and French explorers. In this short extract from our documentary "Codfish Heroes: Basques, Vikings and the Fishermen who Discovered America", we take a look at his extraction of information from dying Portuguese sailors on Madeira, as well as the manipulation and character assassination of his chief captain Alonso Pinzon, who had reached Brazil on Jean Cousin's journey of 1488. You can watch the full length video here:    • Vikings, Basques and the Fishermen wh...  
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