Thursday, August 24, 2017
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT: Columbus Must Go
Originally Published in the blog TalkFrank
I’m pretty much as Italian-American as they come — all of my ancestors come from there (Sicily mostly). And, I damned proud of it, too. But, I’m not blind or stupid. So, despite the stern objections by many Italian-American organizations who see him as a great hero, I still support the logic behind the current efforts to remove statues dedicated to Christopher Columbus.
Please follow my logic.
BACK STORY: In light of the violence that surrounded the proposed removal of memorial statues dedicated to Confederate Civil War heroes in Charlottesville, Va., awareness has been raised as to exactly WHOM we choose to honor with these statues. Many argue that those who supported slavery and oppression are certainly not worthy. Columbus, a hero to many, is also acknowledged as a slaver and oppressor of the indigenous people he encountered on his journeys of discovery and would fall into this category. Others claim that we cannot erase history and his accomplishments.
First, for those Italian-American organizations who see Columbus as intrepid navigator and the discoverer of the Americas. Well, he may have been born in (or, near) Genoa, Italy, as Cristoforo Colombo, but that, in a sense, was simply an accident of birth. At that time, there was no Italy as we know it today. It was a series of independent city statues or republics, of which Genoa was one. AND, it was controlled by the Kingdom of Spain. When Columbus attempted to secure funding, he originally went to the Kingdom of Portugal. When he failed there, he then successfully petitioned Spain. So, he sailed under a SPANISH FLAG with the majority of his crew being SPANISH sailors. In fact, judged by his writings, scholars believe that Columbus probably spoke Spanish more than Italian (or, even its Genovese dialect)! He was even given a Spanish name; Cristobal Colon. Why do you think most of South and Central America speaks Spanish?! Columbus’ descendants have served with distinction in the Spanish navy ever since. Well, there goes your Italian pride.
Second, Columbus NEVER set foot in what we know call North America. He landed on the island of modern Haiti and they called Hispaniola. He never made landfall anywhere near what is now America (which, by the way, is named after the cartographer Amerigo Vespucci — NOT Columbus). So, it really is a stretch to say that Columbus actually discovered America. In fact, it is believed that the Vikings actually reached NORTH America hundreds of years before Columbus.
Third, Columbus was a brilliant navigator but a shitty leader. No one can question his skills as a sailor. In fact, they are legendary. However, his lack of leadership qualities haunted him. His crews were almost always on the verge of mutiny. And, his brutal treatment of indigenous people was abhorrent. He used and abused them, solely for the advancement of his own fame and fortune. He was personally responsible for the deaths and enslavement of tens of thousands. This is hardly laudatory behavior!
So, When You Think About It, what’s to memorialize — a man credited with discovering a country that he did not — an Italian who was more Spanish than Italian — and, a man who, for his own fame and fortune, caused immeasurable suffering among millions?
No, my friends, I would have no problem with the statues gone and Columbus relegated to where he belongs — in museums and history books. In this way, we can preserve history and still the honor the truth of what really happened.
