I have been seeing a lot of posts about how Columbus was a horrible person who did terrible things generally and, in particular, that his voyage to the Americas triggered the beginnings of some truly awful times for the indigenous people who were already there. I think some of the vitriol is a little over the top for someone who has been dead for half a millennium. That level of emotional response strongly suggests that a person is using Columbus as a proxy for things they dislike about the present. The time was ripe for some European voyage of exploration to bump into the Americas. So, Columbus or not, I doubt the Americas would have been undiscovered by Europeans for more than another 50 years or so.
The experience of the people indigenous to the Americas wouldn’t have been great no matter who arrived first. Among other things, even with the most egalitarian intentions (which wasn’t going to happen), first contact by anyone from Eurasia or Africa was going to mean the introduction of ravaging diseases. It’s my understanding that the mistreatment by the Spaniards, egregious as it was, paled in significance compared to the deaths caused by disease.
Causing Columbus to carry the baggage for the horrors of European society seems like a heavier load than he deserves. But, even if he was a decent fellow — a claim I don’t make — his feats of exploration don’t seem all that impressive, relative to some others you could point to. My knowledge of exploration is heavily white and European, so I apologize for my lack of familiarity outside of that narrow circle. But, Prince Henry the Navigator had Portuguese exploration accomplishing quite a bit prior to Columbus. Magellan’s voyage sailed around the world (though he did not — Enrique of Malacca may have been the first person to go around the world. Juan Sebastian Elcano should probably be credited with the first circumnavigation.) Sir Francis Drake completed the second circumnavigation and did so while in command the whole time and after capturing a bunch of Spanish gold in the process. (He also came back with over 1/3 of his crew, which wasn’t bad by the standards of the time.) And, if we’re talking about sheer feats of navigation, it’s tough to beat James Cook.
So, I’d happily dump Columbus Day as something we celebrate. But, I doubt it will have a significant impact on the social ills associated with Columbus and continuing observation of the day named for him. On the other hand, it might help a little, and I doubt it would hurt anything.
I have read a most amazing book about Magellan and his voyage.
Many times in fact.
The one I have and like quite a bit is called Over the Edge of the World.
Another one I really enjoy is about Francis Drake called The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake.
Yep. Same book for me. Fascinating.
And I will check out the Sir Francis Drake book.
Thanks for the recommend.
“It’s my understanding that the mistreatment by the Spaniards, egregious as it was, paled in significance compared to the deaths caused by disease.”
I think that is true almost everywhere and every era. The Black Death infamously had a death rate of about 45-50% during the first outbreak in the 1300s. Hard to imagine human activities alone causing that much damage. Even during Columbus’s time the black death kept causing outbreaks with death rates of 10-20% of the population. The Great Plague of London in the 1600s killed a quarter of the population within a couple of years. In our ‘let us plan to live into our 90s because we are disease free’ era it is hard to imagine such devastation.
From my reading it does appear that a lot of the Native American population was wiped out by disease and that the Europeans took advantage of this. “Look, empty land! Let’s make it ours!”
“I think some of the vitriol is a little over the top for someone who has been dead for half a millennium”
Once we drop the federal holiday for him, I’m pretty sure most of us that get snippy about him will quite easily forget about him.
It’s down to the fact that most of us non-government types get annoyed that there is a holiday that is making it a pain to do what we want, and we’re not off work.
Then, we discover it is a holiday for a crappy person.
Combining those two makes people pissed. If it was simply a day in a calendar that no one looked at (like thank your barber day), we also wouldn’t care.
My experience with Columbus Day has been a straddle. I live in Albuquerque, NM for numerous years. As a consultant for state agencies, I got the day off. Working for a flat rate per project, I got the day off. I thought then that New Mexico’s celebration of Columbus Day was a little schizophrenic. On one hand, New Mexico has a relatively large Native American population that was enslaved by the Spanish conquerors. On the other hand, Columbus sailed for Spain, the country from which many New Mexicans claim heritage.
This year, however, Albuquerque was one of the cities that recognized the holiday as a Native American event. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/10/12/columbus-day-becomes-indigenous-peoples-day/73802278/
There is some solace in recognizing Columbus and the Spanish led discovery and occupation. The Spanish pattern was to enslave and convert the indigenous people. The Northern Europeans that occupied North America relied upon tried and true genocide and the use of concentration camps called reservations. At least we don’t have a George Custer day.
This Spanish heritage in Central and South America also informs my view of Mexican immigration. Most Mexicans are mestizo, a mixture of Spanish and Native American ancestory. So as Mexican immigrants come north, a piece of Native America is reclaiming its own.