Columbus & Cortez, Conquerors for Christ

The controversy, the conquest, the mission, the vision. Columbus - conquistador or Christ-bearer? Did Christopher Columbus exploit the people of America, or did he evangelize them? What were his true goals, his motives, his reasons for undertaking the dangerous voyage? Cortez - militarist or missionary? Did Hernando Cortez subjugate the people of Mexico - or did he liberate them?

And why all the controversy over these explorers? Is it really to correct the historical record? Or is it an assault on the values of Western Civilization and Christianity which is the source of those values?