Columbus Day
My Italian friends love Columbus day. This day celebrates the great contributions that the Italian people brought to the new world.
My Native American friends do not celebrate Columbus day. For them Columbus day represents the beginning of the end of their culture that was replaced by the White Europeans.
As for me I am somewhat of an armchair historian. As an armchair historian I wanted to take an opportunity to set straight two urban legends about Columbus that are believed to be true but are only myths that have endured through time.
First of all it is widely believed that European society at the time of Columbus thought the world was flat and Columbus proved the world was round. We are taught in history that Columbus wanted to take on this great voyage to prove the world was round. This is a fallacy. By the 1490's people of learning knew that the world was round. Sailors new that they were not going to fall of an imaginary edge. The world had been proven round by several people over the last thousand years before Columbus. This was not in debate. Columbus wanted fame and wealth. That was the bottom line. He was much like the Rock Star of the 1490's.
The second history blunder is Columbus's so called affair with the Spanish Queen. Never happened but it makes a great romantic story. We love the love. The love angle may take off a little of the roughness off the edges. Columbus was a product of his time. He was what he was. He brought riches of never seen before proportions to Spain. Because of Columbus Spain changed and became a world super power. But Columbus bought this wealth at the cost of the Native Tribes. Do a little research and we learn that Columbus was not a nice guy. He was a smart guy. He took a gamble that was a huge risk and it paid off well. His accomplishments are many. He was an amazing guy, but he was not a nice guy.
These are only a couple the myths of Columbus that we accept as fact. There are many more. But I digress....
My Native American friends do not celebrate Columbus day. For them Columbus day represents the beginning of the end of their culture that was replaced by the White Europeans.
As for me I am somewhat of an armchair historian. As an armchair historian I wanted to take an opportunity to set straight two urban legends about Columbus that are believed to be true but are only myths that have endured through time.
First of all it is widely believed that European society at the time of Columbus thought the world was flat and Columbus proved the world was round. We are taught in history that Columbus wanted to take on this great voyage to prove the world was round. This is a fallacy. By the 1490's people of learning knew that the world was round. Sailors new that they were not going to fall of an imaginary edge. The world had been proven round by several people over the last thousand years before Columbus. This was not in debate. Columbus wanted fame and wealth. That was the bottom line. He was much like the Rock Star of the 1490's.
The second history blunder is Columbus's so called affair with the Spanish Queen. Never happened but it makes a great romantic story. We love the love. The love angle may take off a little of the roughness off the edges. Columbus was a product of his time. He was what he was. He brought riches of never seen before proportions to Spain. Because of Columbus Spain changed and became a world super power. But Columbus bought this wealth at the cost of the Native Tribes. Do a little research and we learn that Columbus was not a nice guy. He was a smart guy. He took a gamble that was a huge risk and it paid off well. His accomplishments are many. He was an amazing guy, but he was not a nice guy.
These are only a couple the myths of Columbus that we accept as fact. There are many more. But I digress....
No matter what your feelings are towards Columbus we all have to agree on the fact that he was a vital figure in history. He opened the way to the New World for all Europeans. This was a tremendous change for all cultures that were involved, whether it be for good or for ill.
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