I've always been interested in history, & the development of knowledge in a wider social context. E.g. the Civil War is proof that it is not always the victor who writes the history. Witness the rise of the "Lost Cause" movement, which glorified southern leadership, removed slavery from the scene & seemed to have influenced Hollywood's rendering of the war.

It's not well known that a source of tension with the Crown was its desire to limit settlements west of the Allegheny's in accordance with their treaties from the French & Indian Wars.

On the other hand, I think most people know the US recruited Nazi scientists. Witness von Braun.

It's also right to characterize Columbus as a founder of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but what was the New World really like? Was it the pre-lapsarian paradise of noble-visaged First Nations? In Mexico the Aztecs created a vast & impressive empire, but in so doing made many enemies, which enabled Cortez to topple the empire with a fairly small force. Is it fair to ask, were the people of Mesoamerica better off for having the Spaniards end some of the Aztecs less appealing customs such as human sacrifice?

I think my point here is no one avoids change. Further north, whites behaved atrociously towards the First Nations. But in best of all worlds, where peace & justice prevail, do language & customs continue unchanged? Do even the most Waspish among us speak Old English, or attend executions performed in a Wicker Man supervised by a High Druid?