Several weeks ago, I read a lengthy biography of Christopher Columbus - Admiral of the Ocean Sea, by Samuel Eliot Morison, published in 1942. This book was published before all the modern controversies excoriating Columbus for enslaving the Caribbean Indians (which he did indeed do), so it doesn't shy away from calling the reader's attention to Columbus's virtues, using that word. I'm glad - I'd heard other people call my attention to Columbus’s vices, and I wanted to find out what sort of person he was to a more sympathetic eye.
If you want a newer pro-Columbus book, I saw a YouTube about this one. Columbus, according to the book, wanted to fund a crusade to recapture Jerusalem. He thought the Chinese were Christ-curious and thought he could enlist their help and use proceeds from trade to fund it. Most of the atrocities happened because Columbus couldn't keep a leash on his men, not because he wanted them to happen. (I'm not arguing for one interpretation or the other)
If you want a newer pro-Columbus book, I saw a YouTube about this one. Columbus, according to the book, wanted to fund a crusade to recapture Jerusalem. He thought the Chinese were Christ-curious and thought he could enlist their help and use proceeds from trade to fund it. Most of the atrocities happened because Columbus couldn't keep a leash on his men, not because he wanted them to happen. (I'm not arguing for one interpretation or the other)
https://www.amazon.ca/Columbus-Quest-Jerusalem-Religion-Voyages/dp/1439102376