“All Mankind Is One”

That title is used for a chapter in the book The Discoverers to express the conclusion reached when Christopher Columbus and others found that the native peoples of the Americas were neither the monsters nor the savages Europeans had thought would be encountered by the explorers of that era. Columbus is quoted as having reported:

“In these islands I have so far found no human monstrosities, as many expected, on the contrary, among all these peoples good looks are esteemed.” These “Indians” were “very well built, of very handsome bodies and very fine faces.” He also said:

“They are so ingenuous and free with all they have, that no one would believe it who has not seen it; of anything that they possess, if it be asked of them, they never say no; on the contrary, they invite you to share it and show as much love as if their hearts went with it, and they are content with whatever trifle be given them, whether it be a thing of value or of petty worth.”​—Pages 626, 628.

Though the Europeans were stunned to find that physical beauty as well as kindness and love are reflected in all men, it should have come as no surprise. These things were in the first man, made in God’s image and likeness. What Columbus discovered only emphasized further the truthfulness and accuracy of the Bible account of the creation of one original man from whom all others have descended. (Genesis 1:26-28; 10:32) It is just as the apostle Paul explained 1,400 years before Columbus set foot in the Americas: “From one man he created all races of mankind and made them live throughout the whole earth.” Indeed, all mankind is one.​—Acts 17:26, Today’s English Version.