Racism is not the same as personal bigotry. Whether Columbus was “racist” or not is irrelevant. European society was still developing racism as a system back in the 1400s. The concept of blood quantums, however, was developed around the same time Columbus was alive. So yes, there was systemic racism in Europe during Columbus’s time, but there wasn’t a “white race” concept at the time. It was mostly smaller races of different countries and what bound them all together was Christianity. White was explicitly codified as a concept in law in the Americas.
You have to explain that your basing the definition of racism from a sociological textbooks. The Oxford definition does not require the prejudice race to be in control of the society of the persecuted race.
Racism is not the same as personal bigotry. Whether Columbus was “racist” or not is irrelevant. European society was still developing racism as a system back in the 1400s. The concept of blood quantums, however, was developed around the same time Columbus was alive. So yes, there was systemic racism in Europe during Columbus’s time, but there wasn’t a “white race” concept at the time. It was mostly smaller races of different countries and what bound them all together was Christianity. White was explicitly codified as a concept in law in the Americas.
You have to explain that your basing the definition of racism from a sociological textbooks. The Oxford definition does not require the prejudice race to be in control of the society of the persecuted race.