Columbus as hero

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Was Columbus a hero who ushered in economic well being throughout the world? That's an interesting question, and it can be looked at in two different ways. For the Native Americans (especially the ones who met and dealt with the Europeans and their descendents during the first four hundred years or so after Columbus), who were, from what studies and history have shown, overall happy and content with their lives before meeting the Caucasians, the answer (based on the way the Native Americans overall viewed and perhaps still view things such as the world's economy and its well-being), the answer is most likely no, and they (at least a good majority of them now), would not look at Columbus as a hero and one who brought economic prosperity throughout the world. Because of Columbus, and the related, large and rather (historically speaking), fast growing amount of explorers, missionaries, soldiers and settlers that came to the new world, their lives were totally changed forever, and for the most part not in a good way at all.
I would also say that the Africans whom were forced into slavery, their economic well being in their world (what they mostly new about the world and its economy, much like that of the Native Americans, almost in its entirety for both groups, was based on what they knew about the prosperity and happiness of their tribe and perhaps tribes in a rather relatively small geographic community), was certainly not improved by Columbus and the consequentially following destruction of their lands, forced into slavery, negative exposure to European diseases (more so for the Native Americans than the Africans), political instability (especially for the Africans), and introduction of weapons and greed (again more for the Africans here than the Native Americans), forced relocations and abuse and destruction ...