That's a cop out and you know it.
Columbus was so abhorrent that the Crown not only striped him of his Governorship but actually later jailed him and confiscated his wealth - while he did somehow sweet talk his way out of jail and into getting his wealth back he never was in a position of power again.
This isn't a "product of his times" - his peers found his crimes just as abhorrent as we do now - there are several Scholars of his time who actually published as much... he was a monster and can only be considered that.
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