On this day 525 years ago, Christopher Columbus and his three vessels full of Spaniards landed in the West Indies. Although he wasn’t the first to “discover” the Americas, he is rightfully the last. For after Columbus, the world would change. His name is even used to separate eras, e.g. Pre-Columbian America is often synonymous with 1491 and earlier. After 1492, everything went badly for the numerous First Nations (the best and most accurate names for the initial settlers) and then inhabitants of West Africa since they would replace the American Indians who died to provide cheap labor to build colonies.
To me, Columbus is a cautionary tale for the human race and how we should never repeat that pattern of conquest should we explore the galaxy…or worse, this may happen to us should aliens arrive on Earth as Dr. Hawking has warned. I think HG Wells illustrated the danger better.
Shitting on Columbus is in vogue in Liberal circles lately. Somehow by ditching his holiday (as if he’ll disappear from History), tearing down his inaccurate statues (no one know what he looked like) and creating Indigenous People’s Day fixes 525 years of the other side getting screwed. No, not really. I’d say certain Liberals are taking the lazy route while forgetting causality; 99% of us wouldn’t be here without his deplorable actions. This doesn’t rectify a damn thing for many Blacks descended from slaves nor the few remaining American Indians. It’s a placebo. The real work to attain say the bright future we dream of in Star Trek is harder and will be plagued with numerous missteps we’ll make along the way. I don’t have the answers neither but I do know the previous actions aren’t the wisest. One thing it does do is put all the blame on one person while overlooking a few inconvenient facts:
- Name any enlightened society in the 15th Century that wouldn’t conquer wherever they went? Quite a stumper.
- Columbus was the beginning of the deluge coming from Europe for the next four centuries. Nothing was going to stop it. Europe was virtually at war all the time as its various polities explored in order to gain any advantage against rivals. Someone like him arriving in the Americas was inevitable.
- Compared to Cortez, Columbus was an amateur. Then again, Cortez conquered Mexico so Americans don’t care.
- The Europeans had African help in enslaving other Africans. They usually pitted African nations against each other in this pursuit.
- Pre-Columbian America wasn’t exactly utopia and getting First Nations to corroborate against rivals happened. For example, the American government paid the Iroquois to clear parts of the Midwest.
Again, this isn’t a defense of Columbus or a Whataboutism argument. I’m arguing for owning up to these deeds and learning from them. Use the opportunity to express more compassion and empathy towards our fellow humans regardless of their origin. The past won’t go away because we stopped having a holiday and tore down statues. We need to find a way to snatch victory from the jaws of despair, hate and revenge. Don’t ignore or edit the past.
Some may try to turn this argument around with the Confederate traitor statues. Not a chance. Firstly, I doubt there are many statues of Columbus in Indian reservations to remind them of “their place.” Secondly, his elevation into the American lexicon is more tied up in getting the Italian immigrants acceptance in WASP America, not confusing people on who won the Civil War. The Italian-American community has succeeded, now it’s time for someone better to take pride in. I personally vote for A P Giannini.
If you want to know more about Christopher Columbus, I would recommend reading Lies My Teacher Told Me. The author covers an entire chapter on the subject.