History vs Christopher Colambus

Many people in the United States and Latin America have grown up celebrating the
anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage, but was he an intrepid explorer who
brought two worlds together or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and
slavery? And did he even discover America at all? It's time to put Columbus on the
stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus. "Order, order in the court. Wait, am I
even supposed to be at work today?" "Yes, your Honor. From 1792, Columbus Day
was celebrated in many parts of the United States on October 12th, the actual
anniversary date. But although it was declared an official holiday in 1934, individual
states aren't required to observe it. Only 23 states close public services, and more
states are moving away from it completely." <i>Cough</i>

"What a pity. In the 70s, we even moved it to the second Monday in October so
people could get a nice three-day weekend, but I guess you folks just hate
celebrations." "Uh, what are we celebrating again?" "Come on, Your Honor, we all
learned it in school. Christopher Columbus convinced the King of Spain to send him
on a mission to find a better trade route to India, not by going East over land but
sailing West around the globe. Everyone said it was crazy because they still thought
the world was flat, but he knew better. And when in 1492 he sailed the ocean blue, he
found something better than India: a whole new continent." "What rubbish.

First of all, educated people knew the world was round since Aristotle. Secondly,
Columbus didn't discover anything. There were already people living here for
millennia. And he wasn't even the first European to visit. The Norse had settled
Newfoundland almost 500 years before." "You don't say, so how come we're not all
wearing those cow helmets?" "Actually, they didn't really wear those either."
<i>Cough</i>

"Who cares what some Vikings did way back when? Those settlements didn't last, but
Columbus's did. And the news he brought back to Europe spread far and wide,
inspiring all the explorers and settlers who came after. Without him, none of us
would be here today." "And because of him, millions of Native Americans aren't here
today. Do you know what Columbus did in the colonies he founded? He took the
very first natives he met prisoner and wrote in his journal about how easily he could
conquer and enslave all of them." "Oh, come on. Everyone was fighting each other
back then. Didn't the natives even tell Columbus about other tribes raiding and taking
captives?" "Yes, but tribal warfare was sporadic and limited. It certainly didn't wipe
out 90% of the population." "Hmm. Why is celebrating this Columbus so important
to you, anyway?" "Your Honor, Columbus's voyage was an inspiration to struggling
people all across Europe, symbolizing freedom and new beginnings. And his
discovery gave our grandparents and great-grandparents the chance to come here and
build better lives for their children. Don't we deserve a hero to remind everyone that
our country was build on the struggles of immigrants?" "And what about the
struggles of Native Americans who were nearly wiped out and forced into
reservations and whose descendants still suffer from poverty and discrimination?
How can you make a hero out of a man who caused so much suffering?" "That's
history. You can't judge a guy in the 15th century by modern standards. People back
then even thought spreading Christianity and civilization across the world was a
moral duty." "Actually, he was pretty bad, even by old standards. While governing
Hispaniola, he tortured and mutilated natives who didn't bring him enough gold and
sold girls as young as nine into sexual slavery, and he was brutal even to the other
colonists he ruled, to the point that he was removed from power and thrown in jail.
When the missionary, Bartolomé de las Casas, visited the island, he wrote, 'From
1494 to 1508, over 3,000,000 people had perished from war, slavery and the mines.
Who in future generations will believe this?'" "Well, I'm not sure I believe those
numbers." "Say, aren't there other ways the holiday is celebrated?" "In some Latin
American countries, they celebrate the same date under different names, such as Día
de la Raza. In these places, it's more a celebration of the native and mixed cultures
that survived through the colonial period. Some places in the U.S. have also renamed
the holiday, as Native American Day or Indigenous People's Day and changed the
celebrations accordingly." "So, why not just change the name if it's such a problem?"
"Because it's tradition. Ordinary people need their heroes and their founding myths.
Can't we just keep celebrating the way we've been doing for a century, without
having to delve into all this serious research? It's not like anyone is actually
celebrating genocide." "Traditions change, and the way we choose to keep them alive
says a lot about our values." "Well, it looks like giving tired judges a day off isn't one
of those values, anyway." Traditions and holidays are important to all cultures, but a
hero in one era may become a villain in the next as our historical knowledge expands
and our values evolve. And deciding what these traditions should mean today is a
major part of putting history on trial.