Today, Monday, October 12, we will celebrate Columbus Day, which is a holiday to honor the man who “discovered” America. CD is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States. But did Columbus really “discover” America? More on that later.
President Trump has issued an official presidential proclamation for Columbus Day. Federal offices and most banks will be closed, so there will be no mail delivery (although national parks will be open). . On the other hand, financial markets and most schools will be open. Many cities and towns will hold their traditional Columbus Day parade, including NYC for the 82nd year. If you’re planning to drive into midtown today, don’t. There will be many street closures, and the usual heavy traffic will be especially brutal. You would be better off taking public transportation.
The parade, which is to honor those of Italian heritage, has a long tradition of hosting mayors going back decades. It is organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation. It is anticipated that thousands of people will pack Fifth Avenue from 44th to 72nd streets to view the approximately 35,000 marchers, floats, bands, and performers that will participate in the celebration. Some years the weather has put a damper on the festivities, but this year it is a perfect Fall day.
NYC’s celebration of its Italian cultural roots is a tradition that connects those of Italian heritage to their ancestors, who emigrated there. The parade will be broadcast and streamed live on ABC To the dismay of some Italian American New Yorkers and the organizers of the parade a spokeswoman has disclosed that Comrade Zoh will not be marching in the parade. City Hall’s press office declined to explain why, but said he intended to host an Italian American heritage reception at Gracie Mansion in the coming weeks. In addition, on Saturday, Zoh released a video celebrating Italian American Heritage Month, which runs through October. This is an obvious snub, but at this point we should be used to them. As I have said many times this is the person whom NYC voters elected, and you get the government you deserve.
According to City Hall.since taking office Zoh has marched in many parades celebrating, for example, Lunar New Year, and the heritages of West Indian, Ecuadoreans, L.G.B.T.Q, Puerto Rican, Dominican and Sikh communities, That’s fine, but those are very small populaces. By comparison, there are roughly 600,000 residents of Italian descent living in NYC and in excess of 2.6 million in the metropolitan area.
CD has been celebrated in the US since 1792. Originally, it was celebrated on October 12, the date on which Columbus made landfall. FDR proclaimed CD a national holiday in 1937. In 1971 pursuant to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act the date was changed to the second Monday in October where it has remained ever since.
In recent years Columbus and CD have become controversial. Many Native American and other activist groups have denoted his brutality toward the indigenous peoples he encountered, particularly in the West Indies. For example, Kerri Malloy, a professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies at San José State University maintains his arrival to the Americas “triggered a mass genocide of Indigenous People throughout the Western hemisphere,” which included deadly diseases being spread among them, their land being stolen, and being forced into Christianity.
Currently, there is no uniformity with respect to the manner in which the holiday is celebrated throughout the US. According to Wikipedia several states, including Alaska, Hawaii. Vermont, South Dakota, New Mexico, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia, recognize the holiday under a different name such as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Fraternal Day, Native Americans’ Day, or Discovers Day.
For hundreds of years the conventional wisdom was that Columbus discovered America in 1492. Most of us know the basics of the story. Columbus was born in Genoa, which is now part of Italy, in 1451. According to Wikipedia the precise date is not known. He went to sea at around the age of ten and travelled extensively from the British Isles to the West African coast.
By the late 1400s the spice trade between Asia and Europe had become extremely lucrative. The problem was it took too long to travel between the two locations. Either ships had to sail around the “horn” of Africa or caravans had to travel overland through central Asia. Both routes were arduous and dangerous. Columbus became convinced he could find a quicker route. Time meant money, even in the 15th century. He was seeking a “Northwest Passage” to Asia, which would enhance the spice trade between Europe and Asia. His idea that he could find it by traveling west was generally considered radical and unrealistic.
At the time, most people believed the world was flat, and that if one sailed too far west the ship would simply fall off the edge of the earth. It was not until the 16th century, thanks primarily to the research of Copernicus and Galileo that the scientific community generally accepted the notion that the earth was spherical, not flat, and that it revolved around the sun, not the other way around. Columbus “pitched” his idea all over Europe seeking a sponsor. He was subjected to laughter and ridicule until King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain decided to take a chance on him. He set sail in August of 1492 with three ships – the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
On October 12 he made landfall in the current-day Bahamas Islands. He named the indigenous people “Indians,” as he thought he was in India. Of course, he was wrong, but the term Indians to identify Native Americans has “stuck.” As Colonial Governor of the area he became known for his extreme brutality toward the indigenous people. It was so bad that eventually he was removed from his post.
Eventually, Columbus would make three subsequent voyages to Central and South America. He never set foot in any part of North America. And he never did find the elusive Northwest Passage.
Based on new evidence, it is now generally accepted that Columbus did not “discover” America as we were taught in school. He did not “discover” anything. He was not the first person to set foot in America, not even close as you will see below. What he did accomplish was to make Europeans aware of the existence of a “New World,” which was chock full of unimaginable riches. His successful voyages ushered in a new era of exploration, exploitation, conquest, colonization and war that would last for centuries. He was not the first, but one can argue that he was the most significant.
So, who did “discover” America?
- According to historian Michael Bawaya, editor of the magazine, American Archaeology, the original settlers arrived about 15,000 years ago. At that time the Bering Sea, which separates modern-day Siberia from North America, was shallower than it is now. In some areas, there was an actual land-bridge. According to the US National Parks Service the land-bridge “played a vital role” in the spread of flora and fauna between the two continents. Animals such as mastodons, wooly mammoths, Arctic camels, horses and various species of fish and birds moved freely over the land-bridge establishing migration patterns that persist to this day. Of course, humans followed as they went where the food was.
- Archaeologists have discovered evidence of settlements in and around Clovis, NM that are some 11,000 years old. DNA evidence suggests that these inhabitants were the direct ancestors of some 80% of ALL indigenous peoples in the Americas.
- According to Voanews there is ample evidence that the Vikings inhabited Newfoundland and other parts of eastern Canada as early as circa 1100. Two leaders of these intrepid Viking explorers were Leif Erickson and his son, Eric “the Red.” They did not establish any permanent colonies, but there is ample evidence that they used the area as a winter settlement to make repairs to their boats and “ride out” bad weather.
- There is evidence that Chinese and/or Polynesian explorers made their way to parts of South America well before Columbus.
CONCLUSION
In summary, I believe Columbus deserves credit (and blame) for introducing the New World to Europeans and all that followed, but it cannot be said that he “discovered” it. As indicated by his harsh treatment of the natives he was not perfect; none of us is. But I am not a proponent of “revisionist history” as advocated by many on the “left.” Therefore, I do not believe CD should be “canceled.” In my view, Columbus, regardless of his well-documented personal faults, deserves credit for his extensive and significant historical impact, and he should continue to be recognized with a holiday in his memory.
