Today in Histroy

Well as many of you know Sunday was Columbus Day(observed on Monday). That is the day that we in the Western Hemisphere recognize Christopher Columbus's discovery of what is today called the Americas.


There is a lot to be said about good Ole Christoforo. For starters he is touted as a great sailor and explorer. He is the man that finally convinced someone of significance to back him in his trip "around" the world. He in fact was able to convince Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain that the world was indeed round and that it would be most lucrative to explore this alternative route to the East. Boy was he right about the lucrative part.Well I guess the whole round part too. I digress. The gold, silver and other natural resources of the Americas made Spain the richest country in the history and helped to insure Spain as the preeminent Super Power of the world. That would remain true for some three hundred years.

In that three hundred years and today, the influence of Spanish culture as instigated by Columbus's discovery and the subsequent colonization of the Americas can still be seen today all over the western hemisphere. And I am not talking about hidden artifacts buried under layers of dirt(although they do also exist). Spanish Cultural influence dominates most of the sovereign nations in the Americas and the Caribbean where Spanish is the official language. Even in the USA where the culture base is dominated by Northern European customs and where we speak English, one can see where Spain made it's mark. Many major U.S. cities have Spanish names from when the were part of the Spanish Empire. E.g. San Francisco, Las Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, El Paso, San Antonio, Colorado Springs, Sacramento, Santa Fe just to name a few.

However, pointing out Spain's influences as something positive should be left to the public school history books of the past century(do I detect a bit of irony). The truth of the matter when concerning Spain and specifically Columbus is that those influences came a great cost. Let's face it. Columbus was a tyrant. He was so eager to please his leaders, obtain power and line his personal coffers, that he set forth a precedent of slavery, genocide, and thievery that is arguably unrivaled to this day. He, (according to Howard Zinn) would mandate that the natives of Caribbean nations bring back gold and silver(which did not exist on their island in any significant amount) or he would chop off their hands. And he did. It wasn't until later that the Spanish discovered that all the true treasures lay on the continent. He enslaved them, took their land and destroyed their families and lives.

Today in our lives we look at the man, this tyrant and thief as a hero. We take the day off. Our public offices close their doors, and in some spots we celebrate with big parades. Sure, in recognition of who Columbus truly was, some groups have changed the name of the holiday to "Indigenous People's Day", but in reality, the people that benefit the most are NOT indigenous people at all. Now some of you may think that this whole Columbus thing is a bit played out. But I disagree. People need to understand their pasts so that when it comes for a change to the future, that we do not make the same horrible greed driven decisions of those in the past.

We could have learned so much from those that were destroyed, but now all we have is Club Med and a bullshit holiday.

Just my thoughts?