Christopher Columbus
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In most of North and South America, Cristóbal Colón, or Christopher Colombus in English, is recognized as the most significant of the early European explorers of the Americas.
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[edit] Controversial Columbus
Despite small visits and settlements by earlier explorers, especially from Scandinavia, Columbus was backed by the power of the empire of Spain, opening the door for the large-scale exploration and exploitation of the Americas. To shamelessly quote Wikipedia on the subject He is regarded more accurately as the person who brought the Americas into the forefront of Western attention. "Columbus' claim to fame isn't that he got there first," explains historian Martin Dugard, "it's that he stayed." However, mentioning any previous expeditions by Europeans to the Americas - or even perhaps whatever excursion that caused native Americans to get there - is considered by some to be "anti-Christian", as Columbus was a good Christian boy, therefore worthy of the credit, not some Norse pagans with bad body odor.
Current controversies surrounding Columbus in the U.S. involve the implications of his "discoveries" for the native populations (i.e., enslaving them, genocide).
[edit] Origins
Columbus was born in Genua. His origins are not a subject of debate amongst serious historians, though especially among amateur historians there is the occasional alternative origin theory. Some have pointed out he may have been Jewish, escaping the inquisition that engulfed Spain after the expulsion of the Moors. No evidence for this theory exist however. In fact, since Columbus had plenty of enemies, sooner or later one of them would have pointed out his Jewishness. Though during his lifetime he was accused of a lot of things, being Jewish was not one of them. Others have suggested he may have had Portuguese, Galician, French, Armenian or Greek origins. Coincidentally the proponents of those theories are Portuguese, Galician, French, Armenian and Greek, respectively.
[edit] Lies-to-Children
Schoolchildren are often taught the following rhyme to remember when Columbus found America (even though he thought it was India and was definitely not the one to "discover" it):
- In fourteen hundred and ninety two,
- Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
Another legend and so-called factoid around Columbus is that he sailed around the Earth to prove that it wasn't flat - and that his sailors were fearful that he would cause them to fall off the edge. Thus, before Columbus and Columbus alone, everyone thought the Earth was flat. As it was known to ancient Greeks that the world certainly was round this is, of course, nonsense (although whether common people were aware of the fact is debatable, as many people even today don't think the earth is billions of years old, despite conventional wisdom and modern science saying that it is). The myth further gets confused by conflicting legends that it was Columbus who thought the Earth was flat and that the sailors thought the world was round and they would "slip off the rounded edge" or something.
[edit] Columbus Day
In the United States, Americans have a federal holiday in honor of Columbus on the second Monday of October. This holiday is the subject of minor controversy due to Columbus's rather violent legacy. The Italian-American community often sponsors Columbus Day celebrations, and Native American groups often protest these. However, since it allows many adults to take off from work and gives children a day off from (public) school, not too many people care about the criticism.
