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| Christopher Columbus |
The first landing in the New World by Columbus is generally considered to be on the Bahamian island of San Salvador. Columbus ultimately set sail for the New World three more times over the remainder of his life. However, he never understood that he had discovered the Western Hemisphere. Until his death in 1506 he always believed that he was navigating among the East Indies close to the Asian continent.
Ironically, despite the fact that Columbus is credited with discovering America in most school textbooks, he never set foot on any of what is now the United States of America.
This map shows the paths of the four voyages of Christopher Columbus.
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| The voyages of Christopher Columbus Credit: Wikipedia |
Amerigo Vespucci is generally credited as the first person to correctly speculate that the places he and Columbus had sailed to were actually part of a new continent previously unknown to Eurasians. His reward was to have his name placed on the two major continents. I guess we are all fortunate that the name was based on his first, rather than last name.
The Columbus name got very little mention and credit for his discoveries for over two hundred years until the American colonists were looking for a hero to celebrate other than someone associated with Great Britain. Wikipedia provides some background.
Historically, the British had downplayed Columbus and emphasized the role of the Venetian John Cabot as a pioneer explorer, but for the emerging United States, Cabot made for a poor national hero. Veneration of Columbus in America dates back to colonial times. The name Columbia for "America" first appeared in a 1738 weekly publication of the debates of the British Parliament.[104] The use of Columbus as a founding figure of New World nations and the use of the word "Columbia", or simply the name "Columbus", spread rapidly after the American Revolution. Columbus's name was given to the federal capital of the United States (District of Columbia), the capital cities of two U.S. states (Ohio and South Carolina), and the Columbia River
Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1937. However, the latest trend rejects Columbus Day and replaces it with what is referred to as Indigenous People's Day. This is based on the argument that Columbus did not discover the Americas because people were already living here. Further, they point to the fact that other Europeans (the Scandanavians) had also previously landed on the Western Hemisphere.
The city of Berkeley, California (is this a surprise?) was the first to recognize an Indigenous People's Day in 1992 "to protest the historical conquest of North America by Europeans, and to call attention to the losses suffered by the Native American peoples and their cultures through diseases, warfare, massacres, and forced assimilation." I could not find any information on the full composition of the Berkeley City Council in 1992. However, the mayor's name was Loni Hancock. That does not sound like a indigenous person's surname. In fact, it is an English surname. It makes you wonder how and why Loni Hancock was in Berkeley, California and not back in England in the first place considering her views.
The Indigenous People's Day movement has picked up considerable momentum in the last couple of years. The state of Vermont and Alaska both joined the movement this year. These are cities or universities who now also celebrate that day, many in place of Columbus Day. Note that many of the cities that have joined the movement are college towns.
- Denver and Boulder, Colorado
- Evanston, Illinois
- Cambridge, Amherst and Northhampton, Massachusetts
- Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Grand Rapids, Michigan
- St. Paula and Cook County, Minnesota
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Albuquerque and Sante Fe, New Mexico
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Eugene, Oregon
- Spokane, Washington
- Seattle, Washington
- Brown University
- Cornell University Student Assembly
The city of Cincinnati, Ohio failed to approve the replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day by one vote. That vote was 4 votes for...and 5 abstentions! The political courage of most politicians is really something to behold isn't it? And people wonder why Donald Trump was able to gain the GOP nomination?
We have so many pressing problems today at all levels of government and yet our politicians have time to spend on things like this? I guess if you can't make education better, fix the roads, fund underfunded pension plans or fight crime, you work on major issues like this.
Enjoy Columbus Day. It might not be here much longer.
Of course, do most people even care?
I never had a job where I got Columbus Day as a paid holiday. It is much different for government workers, educators, students and bankers among others.
Do they care about who they are honoring? I dare say they do not. What they care about is the day off with pay.
I think our politicians ought to really get serious about this if they really care. Here is a suggestion to really put some substance behind the day.
Let's eliminate Columbus Day as a paid holiday and replace it with Indigenous People's Day. However, everyone will work that day to show their solidarity and gratitude to indigenous people and all earnings on that day will be taxed and donated as reparations to their heirs.
How many votes would that get in Berkeley, California?
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