After spending some time discussing Early American History with high school students and touching on it in conversation with an elder generation it has become apparent that little is known about the true doings of one Christopher Columbus and his first voyage to the New World. Many cliches are today used to teach this man and his history to school children and it is important that they be addressed at some point other than in an AP History class or other college requirement.
Firstly, no educated person in the late 15th century believed that the world was flat and that a ship might fall off the edge and be devoured by dragons and whatnot. If the world was thought to be flat then Columbus' intentions to sail westward to find East China would more than explain the rejection he suffered at the hands of the monarchs. Furthermore, Columbus messed up his calculations and he messed them up badly. One of the reasons he was turned down for his voyages was the fact that the Council of Portugal whom he met before believed his calculations to be off. They knew that the world was not near as large as he painted it to be, the only problem here is that no one had charted that large expanse. Perhaps some of Columbus' crew believed that the world was flat and that could explain why he kept two log entries of their travels. If the crew didn't know how far they had traveled, worrying about the edge of the world seemed pointless.
Further, too often are the true exploits of Columbus forgotten amongst his findings. Yes, the discovery of the New World changed the world, but the treatment of its people changed an entire culture. The Colombian Exchange would reap all the gold Europe could possibly want, along with the labor to find it and work the lands. Never again would such a plague ravish the New World as the one that absolutely crippled the Native Americans whose home was rightly here.
To some scholars this information is likely easily recognized as what truly happened, however it's importance cannot be underestimated. What really happened in history is too often a far cry from what is remembered and an event such as Columbus' voyage has become so wrought with fairy tales that the truth is only known to those who actively study the subject. Columbus was not necessarily a bad person or a good person, historians have the responsibility of making others see the facts. Columbus was merely an explorer looking for wealth and fame, and he found it, his methods however need to be remembered by all.
For more info on Columbus:
http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/columbus.htm
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/christopher-columbus.htm
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Howard Zinn presents an interesting picture of Columbus in his book "A People's History of the United States".
ReplyDeleteHe is upset that many history books ignore or minimize Columbus, because he feels that to do so is to accept the cruelty and tragedies wrought on the Native Americans as a result.
It was interesting to learn that even though we are taught that people living in this period believed the world was flat, but we are not informed that the educated were aware of the acutal earth's surface. We are also not informed of the struggles he had to go through in order to even go on a voyage. As children we are taught that it was just a simple voyage; he just packed up his ship and went on his way, and discovered a whole new world.
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