That Christopher Columbus remains one of the most famous individuals in history can't be denied. But that his historical image has been considerably diminished in the last sixty years can't be denied either. One hundred years ago (in 1907 - when Theodore Roosevelt was President), Columbus was a demigod like figure to Americans. He was the man who proved the world was round. He was the man who brought the proof of a wondrous New World to the attention of the Old World. He was the father discoverer of America. These were the points that people "knew" about Christopher Columbus. In fact, in 1893 - 94 there was a World's Fair in Chicago (the setting of the non-fiction book, THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY by Eric Larson) in honor of Columbus's 400th Anniversary of Discovering America - it was called the World Columbian Exposition.
None of the points people "knew" about Columbus were true. In 1492 most educated people believed the world was round - but they felt that there were untold dangers in the oceans (sea monsters, extremely hot seas that melted the glue and nails that held ships together, violent storms, dangerous cannibals) that prevented going too far out. Seamen like Columbus knew better. Fishermen from England, Scandanavia, and France were fishing off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The Portuguese were going into the Atlantic, and south around the coast of Africa (in 1498, while people were talking about Columbus' voyages, Vasco Da Gama reached India via the Cape of Good Hope).
That was another thing - Columbus never knew he had reached any new world. He kept insisting he was off the coast of China and Japan. His four voyages (which never touched the mainland of North America - he did not see what became the United States or Canada) did take him to the coast of Venezuela and the mouth of the Orinoco in South America.
His four voyages did stimulate and help begin (with the voyages of Da Gama and his fellow Portuguese) the first great age of discovery and exploration. His return with natives to Spain caused considerable discussion and interest. But the negative side was overlooked in 1907. This was that 1) Columbus was looking for wealth (gold, jewels), and was not adverse about how he got it!; 2) he was interested in slaves, and looked at the indigenous populations as a good source of free labor (this view, freely adopted by other Europeans, decimated the Indian tribes - the Carib Indians for whom the Caribbean Sea was named were wiped out by 1530). There was some lip service given to the spread of Christianity, but this really did not protect those tribes too much.
Today, for all these defects (some very serious ones) we respect his abilities as a sailor, particularly as he did succeed in what has been called one of the great long-shot bets of history. No he did not reach the wealth of the East Indies and Cathay, but he did bring an entire new area for exploitation by Europe for the next three hundred years. As for his greatness for his abilities as a governor (he was dreadful and arbitrary), or his abilities in knowing what was worth looking at in these new lands (questionable - he kept thinking he was looking at Asia, which is why the indigenous people are known as Indians), these points are not as widely held anymore.
One final point - especially connected to this episode: We do not know which island in the Caribbean was "San Salvador". About a dozen islands have been considered and analyzed by experts, but nobody really can tell to this day.
None of the points people "knew" about Columbus were true. In 1492 most educated people believed the world was round - but they felt that there were untold dangers in the oceans (sea monsters, extremely hot seas that melted the glue and nails that held ships together, violent storms, dangerous cannibals) that prevented going too far out. Seamen like Columbus knew better. Fishermen from England, Scandanavia, and France were fishing off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The Portuguese were going into the Atlantic, and south around the coast of Africa (in 1498, while people were talking about Columbus' voyages, Vasco Da Gama reached India via the Cape of Good Hope).
That was another thing - Columbus never knew he had reached any new world. He kept insisting he was off the coast of China and Japan. His four voyages (which never touched the mainland of North America - he did not see what became the United States or Canada) did take him to the coast of Venezuela and the mouth of the Orinoco in South America.
His four voyages did stimulate and help begin (with the voyages of Da Gama and his fellow Portuguese) the first great age of discovery and exploration. His return with natives to Spain caused considerable discussion and interest. But the negative side was overlooked in 1907. This was that 1) Columbus was looking for wealth (gold, jewels), and was not adverse about how he got it!; 2) he was interested in slaves, and looked at the indigenous populations as a good source of free labor (this view, freely adopted by other Europeans, decimated the Indian tribes - the Carib Indians for whom the Caribbean Sea was named were wiped out by 1530). There was some lip service given to the spread of Christianity, but this really did not protect those tribes too much.
Today, for all these defects (some very serious ones) we respect his abilities as a sailor, particularly as he did succeed in what has been called one of the great long-shot bets of history. No he did not reach the wealth of the East Indies and Cathay, but he did bring an entire new area for exploitation by Europe for the next three hundred years. As for his greatness for his abilities as a governor (he was dreadful and arbitrary), or his abilities in knowing what was worth looking at in these new lands (questionable - he kept thinking he was looking at Asia, which is why the indigenous people are known as Indians), these points are not as widely held anymore.
One final point - especially connected to this episode: We do not know which island in the Caribbean was "San Salvador". About a dozen islands have been considered and analyzed by experts, but nobody really can tell to this day.
