Columbus Day: Italian, American and Under Attack

Columbus Day: under attack

Yes, this is the obligatory Columbus Day post on an Italian website. However, this is a post with a twist. 
Columbus Day represents many things to the Italian American community. The first is that it honors a man who was hell bent on proving that the horizon consisted of more than just water. He gambled and he won, and we consistently recognize his accomplishment. There is truth in the old phrase "Fortes fortuna adiuva"- "Fortune favors the bold."


But Columbus is more to the Italian identity than some guy who discovered new lands. He is the man the Italian American community rallied around when they arrived in the lands he helped found. The first waves of immigrants began to unify by establishing a common bond of culture in America. Columbus was picked as a piece of that unification- the first occasion being in New York City on October 12, 1866. 

We, as a community, have rallied around Columbus not just as a fellow Italian, but rather as a recognition of a monumental man who happened to be Italian. If Italians wanted to lobby for an "Italian" heritage day they could have chosen anyone- Michelangelo, Da Vinci, heck even Julius Caesar. But the fact is, they keyed in on an Italian who influenced America. Columbus Day is as much a celebration of how America came to be as it is a recognition of Italian heritage. You simply cannot have one without the other.


Yet, what we are beginning to see is that there is a massive push for this holiday to not exist- or if it is to continue to exist, to be limited in size and scope. It will be relegated to an "ethnic holiday" and be little more than another parade for another ethnic group. Why the lashing out? Because other groups are using Columbus Day as a means to get on a soap box: Native Americans believe his coming here marked the beginning of the end for their dominance on the continent, other have labeled him a slave trader, and yet others simply state "he did not discover America."

Here is how I'd like to address those three stances, starting with the "He didn't discover America" position. America and the Americas are, for all intense and purposes the same thing here. Back in 1492, there was no distinction between Puerto Rico and say, Florida. One land mass found quite close to another land mass was lumped together into the same land mass- for the sake of furthering discovery. To even hint at the thought that Columbus' discoveries did not lead to the colonization of America is ludicrous. Just 30 years after Columbus' maiden voyage, Spain had made contact with Mexico (Aztecs) and Peru (Incas). Prior to Columbus, there had been no such contact by Europeans. The evidence is clear that Columbus' discoveries precipitated  extensive contact with the Americas by Europeans.


Before Columbus, there were two schools of thought: 1) No land might be found or 2) Even if there is land, its too far away to travel by boat to get there.Without Columbus, we can never really say how long it would have taken Europe to learn of the new world, delaying colonization by decades-even centuries. If you still doubt this hypothesis, ask yourself this question: If Columbus never returned to Spain and died on his maiden voyage, do you think Europeans would have thought that there was land to be found and riches to be made? Probably not until sailing achieved a greater technological status, which could have delayed discoveries by many years and altered the history of America.


#2-"Native Americans believe he led to their end" is also questionable. One man does not cause the downfall of an entire people. To achieve the downfall of an entire people, you need the support of society and civilizations as a whole. The myth that Columbus was the reason for all of the pain suffered by natives is nonsense- after Columbus' reign was over, other people picked up where left off. The fact that enslavement and the domination of Native Americans continued long after Columbus was dead is proof that he was not a "lone monster" lurking in the shadows of Indian villages. He was the product of society at the time, which was quite intolerant of other people.  Europeans had a hard time getting along with each other- so you can imagine how they viewed "new people" from distant lands. 
 
If you give credence to Native Americans, and have Columbus Day taken away- then you might as well have Independence Day taken away as well.The American government did more to contribute to the downfall of the Native tribes than Columbus and his sailors ever did. 

#3- Columbus as a slave trader - is at best, inaccurate and at worst a bold lie. While spotty proof exists that Columbus did send back to Spain a small number of natives, there is no proof that these individuals were made slaves. Columbus alluded to their usefulness as servants- because they were eager to help and provide for him and his crew readily.

Why did he send people back to Spain? Was it to create a slave market? No- not at all. Anyone who believes that Columbus was creating a slave trade is missing a very large part of history: This happened in the 1490s, before picture messages, email and twitter. He needed to send proof that what he said he encountered was real. Why would he describe the people as "good servants" and eager to please? To entice the Spanish to continue funding expeditions to the area. If Spain knew or thought that natives were hostile and colonization would be fraught with battles and wars- they would have been less enthused to press further. Columbus was a business man, and his business was getting money to sail.

And, even if a slave trade did begin as a direct result of Columbus (it did not) we cannot, in 2010, believe that the social mores of the present apply to the past. Moreover, we cannot look back in horror of what was commonplace at the time. Having slaves, and enslaving people was an unfortunate reality of the past. The desire to find new lands was driven by the desire for great wealth. Unfortunately, people were a commodity- and they were in great supply. But this is something that was commonplace, and lasted (in the Americas) until the 1860's. Again, you need to point the blame at society and not to one individual.

If Columbus had been this "lone nut" who was putting natives in shackles and forcing them to work, I'd have to relent and say that he was a terrible person. However, just because he didn't act contrary to what society expected of him does not make him a villain. Have we demonized Thomas Jefferson or George Washington for their actions in conformity with the times? Has there been a movement to stop celebrating Washington's birthday? Absolutely not. And, yet a strong argument could be made that some of the founding father's were a bit hypocritical- they were fighting for freedom while slaves worked their lands.  I've yet to hear the "Don't celebrate Independence Day" argument though. 



In sum, do not let these groups or stances against Columbus Day deter you from celebrating it. And I urge you to fight to keep it alive, however you can possibly do so. It should not be relegated to a mere "ethnic celebration." As I stated above, it is as much an American holiday as it is an Italian one. Never let anyone make you think otherwise.