Is Columbus “the greatest navigator in human history”? Columbus “discovered the new continent of America” changed the course of history. Whose course of history?
In October, while commemorating “Columbus Day” in many parts of the world, there were more and more reflections and examinations of the history of Christopher Columbus “discovering the new continent of America” more than 500 years ago.
In Belgrave Square in central London, someone poured paint on the statue of Columbus on the square; this statue was a gift from Spain to the United Kingdom in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America. Robert Poll, the founder of Britain’s “Save Our Statues” rights protection campaign, criticized the smearing of the statues as “an attack on Western civilization.”
In Mexico City, the city government has decided to replace the Columbus monument with an unnamed female aboriginal sculpture.
In the United States, President Biden announced that this year’s “Columbus Day” will also be commemorating the United States‘ “Indigenous Peoples Day.”
The US White House issued an announcement before “Columbus Day” stating that Columbus was the first Italian explorer to reach the Americas more than 500 years ago. During the centuries after him, many Italians came to America to find a better life. Now millions The planned Italian-Americans continue to contribute to the country and society.
However, the announcement also emphasized: “Today we also acknowledge the painful history of many European explorers’ mistakes and atrocities against tribal and indigenous peoples. One of the criteria for measuring whether a country is great is to see whether we deliberately cover up its shameful past. It depends on whether we face it honestly, whether we let them out of the world, whether we do our best to deal with them.”
“For the natives of the Americas, Western expeditions have brought devastating shock waves: natives encounter violence, native tribes are displaced due to occupation of their homes, diseases are introduced and spread, and so on.”
Columbus and its people
The most common historical record believes that Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy between August and October 1451. His father was a weaver and a small businessman. When he was a teenager, Columbus went to sea and traveled around, and finally settled in Portugal. In Portugal, he initially hoped to seek the King’s funding for his “Indus Islands business” to find the East.
In addition to Portugal, he has also won the support of France and the United Kingdom, but none of them succeeded. In the end, he was sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain and embarked on the first expedition to find India and China.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus led his three ships to set sail on the Atlantic Ocean. Ten weeks later, they saw the land.
On October 12, Columbus and his expedition set foot on an island later known as the Bahamas. They believe that they have arrived in India, so they call the locals “Indians.”
The initial contact between the Columbus expedition and the local aborigines was friendly, but the aborigines across the New World soon suffered devastating damage due to their contact with Europeans.
Columbus made four voyages to the Americas and died on May 20, 1506. Although he was wealthy for “discovering America”, his dream of finding the East was never realized in his lifetime.
In recent years, scientists have hoped to verify Columbus’s life through DNA and solve the mystery of whether he is Italian, Portuguese or Spanish, which has lasted for hundreds of years.
In May 2021, the University of Granada, Spain (the University of Granada) began a new round of genetic research, and the results are expected to be announced in October this year.
Columbus controversy
In the history textbooks of many countries around the world, Columbus is known as the explorer who “discovered the new continent of America”. However, this argument is not without controversy.
First of all, explorers from Europe arrived on the North American continent long before Columbus, and Columbus was not the first person to “discover the Americas”. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the 11th-century Nordic Viking explorer Leif Erikson (Leif Erikson) once visited North America, 500 years before Columbus.
Second, the Americas have had aboriginal people since ancient times. The so-called “discovery” of Columbus refers to the “discovery” of the Americas by Europeans. However, this discovery completely changed the history of the Americas.
As US President Biden said, after Columbus “discovered the Americas,” the natives of the Americas suffered a disaster due to the invasion, plunder and diseases brought in by European colonists.
Nowadays, the human rights atrocities committed by European colonists after Columbus “discovered the Americas” have become more and more known, and more and more people have raised objections to the commemoration of “Columbus Day”.
In many Latin American countries, the anniversary of the landing of Columbus is called the “Day of the Race” (Day of the Race), celebrating the diverse roots of Spanish culture.
In 2002, Venezuela changed the name of “Columbus Day” to “Day of Indigenous Resistance” (Day of Indigenous Resistance) to commemorate the indigenous people and their experiences.
More and more cities in the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Oregon, as well as Denver, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, no longer commemorate “Columbus Day.” Aboriginal people’s history, culture, and recognition of the status quo that has been neglected for hundreds of years.
Colonial international competition
After Columbus “discovered the New World“, European expeditions arrived in North America, Central America and South America, and began an international race to establish colonies.
European countries such as Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands (Netherlands) have competed with each other for nearly 400 years in order to gain economic advantage in overseas territories. In the end, they established colonies in Africa, India, Southeast Asia and East Asia, Oceania and the Americas.
In the eyes of Europeans who have just discovered the “New World“, the Americas are a huge wilderness area with infinite economic potential. Before the Europeans went to the Americas, the many natives living in the Americas had more than 800 different languages, ranging from nomadic hunters to gathering-centered cultures, highly developed empires and sizable cities, and mainly farming. Agricultural society.
The “Encyclopedia Britannica” website that provides information for young people’s learning has the following description of what the European colonists did in the American continent:
“Europeans who want to settle in the Americas and control their wealth do not think that the Indians are the masters of the land. In their view, the Indians are primitive and barbaric and will benefit from the civilization and religion introduced from Europe. Europeans colonize the Americas for the Indians. And the life style of the Indians brought devastating changes. The Europeans also accidentally brought diseases into the Americas, reducing the population of the Indians. The Europeans also reduced a large number of Indians to slaves, seized their land, and Try to destroy the culture and religion of the indigenous people.”
Before Columbus arrived in 1492, the number of people in the American continent has always been a question of academic research. The highest estimate is more than 100 million, and the most conservative estimate is more than 50 million.
In the book “Native American Population in 1942” compiled by William M. Denevan, a professor of geography and environmental sciences at the University of Wisconsin in the United States, it is stated that whether it is the highest of 112 million or the lowest of 8 million, “to In 1650, the native population (in the Americas) fell to less than 6 million”.
The most famous American empires that collapsed during European colonization include the Aztec Empire (Aztec) centered on Mexico and the Inca Empire (Inca) in the Andes of South America.
History and reality
In the eyes of observers, the current reflections on the history of Western colonists, including Columbus, in various parts of the world, especially in the Americas, are the continuation of the “Black Lives Matter” (Black Lives Matter) campaign that began in the United States last year.
Many historical figures who participated in the trafficking and exploitation of slaves in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe in the past were protested and condemned by the people, and the reflection and liquidation of the history of European colonialism have also been traced back to an earlier time.
Columbus, the hero who was once hailed as the “world‘s great navigator”, and the great figure who was once set up by the United States for Federal Memorial Day, has finally reached a historical moment when he is facing a comprehensive reflection and liquidation.
In March 2019, Mexican President Obrador sent a letter to the King of Spain and Pope Francis, calling on them to apologize for human rights violations committed 500 years ago when Europe conquered the Americas.
He said: “There have been slaughters again and again… The so-called requisitions are swords and crosses. They built churches on the ruins of temples.”
“We regard these as violations of the human rights of the indigenous people. Although it is time for reconciliation, we should apologize first!”
Spain rejected the request for an apology from the Mexican president and stated: “500 years ago, the Spanish came to the present Mexican territory and cannot judge the past according to contemporary standards. Our two fraternal countries have always known how to disagree with a constructive perspective. Bring anger to interpret our common past.”
However, some people have already apologized for that period of history.
When Pope Francis visited Mexico in 2016, he shouted to the indigenous people: “Some people think that your values, your culture and traditions are inferior to theirs. There are others who have been deceived by power, money and market trends and have stolen yours. The land has polluted your land. What a sad thing.”
“If each of us examines our own conscience and learns to say’forgive me,’ how meaningful it should be!”