Christopher Columbus: Another Point of View

1. Christopher Columbus: Another Point of View Columbus Day and Dia de la Raza

2. Purpose of this lesson • In the United States we celebrate today as Columbus day, but in many hispanic countries today is known as “El Dia de la Raza” or the day of the races, a day to celebrate the diverse ethnic and cultural identities of Spanish speakers. • This lesson will show a different point of view of this “American Hero.”

4. We bring culture, education, Progress! • Then what’s the sword for, teacher?

7. Starter Questions • Who was Christopher Columbus? • Why did he make his voyage? • Who discovered the Americas? • How many voyages did CC make to the “New World?” • What were the people like that CC discovered? • Is he a hero, in your opinion?

8. IN 1492 Ninety sailors were on board; Some men worked while others snored. Then the workers went to sleep; And others watched the ocean deep. Day after day they looked for land; They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand. • In fourteen hundred ninety-two • Columbus sailed the ocean blue. • He had three ships and left from Spain; • He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain. • He sailed by night; he sailed by day; • He used the stars to find his way. • A compass also helped him know • How to find the way to go.

9. The First Discoverers • Siberians – Populated both N & S America: first Indian tribes. • Greenland, Iceland – founded Labrador, Newfoundland • West African – Evidence seen on the coast of Mexico (Olmec statues), and in the Caribbean islands. • Other evidence says, some Asian explorers.

10. Christopher Columbus: the Early Years • Christopher Columbus was born in Italy or Spain, no wait, Greece……. • Very, Very little is known of Columbus’ early life. Even when and where he was born is disputed by historians. • Some even believe that he was born a Jew in Spain and was later converted to Christianity. • A more recent claim says his family may even have been Scottish.

11. The Early Years, con’t. • Most seem to think he was raised in Italy, perhaps around Genoa. • But in Calvi, a town on the north coast of Corsica, France, which used to be part of the Genoese Empire, one can see the ruins of a house that locals believe to be Columbus' birthplace.

12. Funding for the Voyage • Tradition holds that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella first refuse to fund Columbus, but the Queen later decided to fund him privately with her jewels. • Truth – Half of the expenses were financed by Italian investors; the other half by Spain who hoped to make money from the riches Columbus promised he would find.

13. Promises to the King • “To sum up the great profits of this voyage, I am able to promise, for a trifling assistance from your Majesties, any quantity of gold, drugs, cotton, mastic, aloe, and as many slaves for maritime service as your Majesties may stand in need of. “ Christopher Columbus

14. Urban Legends of the Voyage • Proving the Earth was round – “His belief in the roundness of the Earth had been proven [by his voyage], for he had done what many of the wisest men of his time had declared impossible.” • Sailors had “feeling[s] of dread” because of “the unknown dangers ahead” and were “refusing to obey Columbus.”

15. The Trip to Discovery • He left with 3 small ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. • The trip took 4-5 weeks. • According to Columbus’ log, they enjoyed calm seas and great weather. • He was not among the first to believe the earth was round.  This had been known for centuries. 

16. His Accomplishments • Columbus was a magnificent navigator and naval commander.  He does have the distinction of being the first European (that we know of) to make conscious repeated journeys while mapping his route to the Americas.   • Columbus also established the first European government in the islands and became governor. - By Richard Vasquez

17. Columbus Discovers Cuba? • Columbus couldn’t have “discovered” any of these lands as they were already inhabited by various Indian tribes. • Later in the voyage, Columbus and his crew landed on Cuba, which he named Hispanola. • There he encountered the Arawak indians who inhabited many of the islands they investigated.

18. Conversion to Christianity • One of Columbus’ avowed purposes for the trips was to convert the Indians to Christianity. Here’s what he read upon meeting new tribes (Normally not given in a language they understood.): • “I implore you to recognize the Church as a lady and in the name of the Pope take the King as lord of this land and obey his mandates. If you do not do it, I tell you that with the help of God I will enter powerfully against you all. I will make war everywhere and every way that I can. I will subject you to the yoke and obedience to the Church and to his majesty. I will take your women and children and make them slaves…. The deaths and injuries that you will receive from here on will be your own faultand not that of his majesty nor of the gentlemen that accompany me.”

19. Early American Opinion(From a 1917 history book) • In describing this great land, one historian wrote: • “Not a single white man lived in all this land. There were some queer-looking red-skinned people here…” • “Four hundred years have passed since his great deed was done, yet to-day the name of Columbus is known and honored all over the world. LIE

20. Los Indios – The Indians • The Indians were peaceful and even helpful; not nearly the barbarians or savages that many books might depict. • Columbus kidnapped 10-25 of the natives and took them back to Spain (only 7 survived), along with gold and trinkets. • Spain was so excited at the thought of riches; they sent Columbus back with 17 ships, 1200 men, weapons and attack dogs. • When they returned, the Indians were enslaved and forced to dig for gold. • If an Indian committed a minor crime, he had his ears or nose cut off; if he tried to escape he was pursued and killed by attack dogs.

21. Enslavement of the Indians • The slave trade destroyed the tribes. Those who escaped, fled to the mountains; many indians were killed by disease or starvation. Many committed suicide. • Those enslaved were frequently separated from tribes and families and taken to different islands. • Some women would even drown their own newborn baby so the child would not be a slave. • When the local population was too small to support the work, slaves were brought in from other countries, including Africa.

22. His voyages • Columbus made 4 voyages to the “New World.” • He primarily landed in the Caribbean Islands. • Columbus didn’t discover North or South America until his final 2 voyages landing in what is now Mexico and Venezuela. • He was once arrested and deported back to Spain by the king and queen; they were very unhappy with his not finding more wealth for Spain.

24. Columbus’s Later Years • Columbus made 4 voyages to the “New World.” • He was once arrested and deported back to Spain by the king and queen; they were very unhappy with his not finding more wealth for Spain. • He died in Spain in 1506, a sick, broken man who never received the fame he thought he deserved for his discovery. • His body is buried in the Cathedral in Seville, Spain.

25. Columbus’ Gravein theCathedral of Seville, Spain

26. Contemporary Opponents • In the case of Columbus, his primary moral opponents were Fray Bartolomé de las Casas and Queen Isabella.  • Queen Isabella was a strong advocate of Columbus, but she would also finally come to question his policies and would later have him arrested. • De las Casas himself left a legacy of paradoxes.  He did own Arawak slaves, but was the first to document the atrocities against the native.  He argued that they had souls and should be treated with dignity.  • Unfortunately, he also was one of the first to recommend using Africans instead of the Arawak as slaves.

27. Columbus’ Politics – Indian Point of View • The government of Columbus was brutal and violated human dignity and the moral senses of his contemporaries.  He was the first to establish institutions of slavery and brutal conquest that would lead to the demise of the nations and people who already called the Western Hemisphere their home.  • BUT…. • He is also responsible for completing the modern Latin American identity by introducing Europeans, Africans and Asians to the family identity of the Americas.  -- Bonnie Hamre

28. Historical Irony • It is an irony that the only two individuals celebrated with national holidays in the United States of America are Columbus, a man who ended his career in disgrace for his policies over Spanish subjects and cost many their lives, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who gave his life fighting for the dignity of every man.   • --by Richard L Vázquez--

29. Mexican Opinion of Columbus • Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day are reviled in places because he is blamed for bringing the evils of slavery, the encomienda system and the diseases of Europe to Latin America. He was avaricious, cruel and paved the way for the conquista [conquest of the Americas]. • Now, over 500 years later, we recall his deeds and celebrate not Columbus the man, but the actions and influences of all the people who came after him, who melded their European culture with the indigenous cultures and, with difficulty, blood and years of battle, misunderstandings and treachery, have created the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society we now celebrate with the Día de la Raza. • Bonnie Hamre

30. El Dia de La Raza • El Día de la Raza is celebrated on Columbus Day. • It was originally conceived of as a celebration of Hispanic influence in the Americas, as evidenced by the complementary celebrations in Spain and Latin America. • El Día de la Raza has come to be seen by indigenous activists throughout Latin America as a counter to Columbus Day • Even as a celebration of the native races and cultures and of the resistance against the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.

31. El Día de la Raza El Día de la Raza celebrates the birth of our current identity, with its bittersweet history and contradictions.  Our ancestors fought against each other sometimes, fought together other times and created families from the very beginning.  Columbus Day won't find me celebrating Columbus, the man, but I will be grateful that I have all the ancestors I do, from all over the globe. --by Richard L Vázquez–

32. El Dia de La Raza • It is celebrated on the 2nd Monday of October in the United States. • It is celebrated on October 12 in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.

33. El Dia de la Raza

34. And it’s catching on in the U.S. • http://www.aol.com/article/2014/10/06/seattle-replaces-columbus-with-indigenous-people/20973574/?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl22|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D541377&hpt=hp_bn16

35. Sources “Dia de la Raza” .Richard L Vázquez. www.lasculturas.com.(2004) Lies My Teacher Told Me (Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong).James W. Loewen The Beginner’s History of Our Country. Harry F. Estill (1917) “Dia de la Raza”. Bonnie Hamre on About.com

36. What do you think? • Was Columbus a hero or a villain? Why do you think this? • Has your opinion of him and his accomplishments changed? Why or why not? • Winston Churchill once said “History is told by the winners.” Given what you have learned here and in history class about the discovery of the new world, explain this statement. Is this statement true in your opinion? Why or why not?