What is the real legacy of Christopher Columbus? (part 6)

                         (University of Michigan)

Continued from part 5...

Analysis

Presentism, the notion of using present-day standards to judge past events, is usually utilized in the negative and hostile characterizations of Columbus. This method of historiography may be wrong as it distorts the past, especially since Columbus lived 500 years ago. If today’s standards were used to judge every historical figure from Columbus’ time and back, almost no one would seem “good” with the possible exception of Jesus. The slave trade of Columbus’ day was not appalling or unusual because it was a common practice in the Mediterranean Sea. The captured natives were needed as proof that Columbus sailed to the New World and not Africa, as some of the Portuguese had thought. This is not to say that slavery was “right;” it was just prevalent.

In 15th century Genoa, there was no theory of the separation of church and state, so Columbus’ actions concerning religion should not be judged so extreme. There was no concept of equality or civil rights either, nor was there the concept of diversity. Columbus’ belief in fantasies, myths, and legends may make him seem amateurish or uneducated to the modern reader of his works, but again, such thoughts were common in his time.

Columbus was a failure as the governor of the Hispaniola colony that he established in 1493 and while he was an expert mariner, he was never trained as a colonial administrator. If this colonization started the establishment of the Spanish’s imperial system and if Columbus was such a failure at the administration, can he really be called an imperialist?

During his four voyages, Columbus wanted many titles and privileges given to him. Was he being practical, self-aggrandizing, or greedy? After all, he wanted ten percent of all profits, the title of “Admiral of the Ocean Sea,” and wanted to rule the islands he discovered. Throughout the Diario he wrote about gold, but gold was necessary for his religious quest, to reimburse those who had invested in his first voyage, and to encourage those who would invest in the future voyages. Earlier in his maritime career, he had offered to sail to Medinaceli without any titles or honors.

Columbus has been thought of as brave, naïve, or dumb in his excursions to the New World. In the navigation of the unknown and uncharted Atlantic Ocean, Columbus used “dead reckoning” – a risky procedure where one makes educated guesses based on the last known position, speed, and currents. He risked death countless times both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. He took on armed rebels, “savages,” terrible storms, and mutinous sailors in his voyages. Because of his adventures, some may even call Columbus crazy.

For every “good” quality that Columbus had, he had just as many “bad” qualities. He may have been devoted and loving towards God, but he was far from so to his men. His lifetime experiences on board a ship made him an expert sailor, but his inexperience in the commerce of Hispaniola made him a disappointment as an administrator. Towards the natives of the New World, he was both exploitive and kind. He referred to the natives as friendly and peaceful, as well as greedy and violent. While he believed in mystical and wild tales about the New World, he showed quick intelligence and common sense in his explorations. He was a proponent of slavery and genocide in the New World, yet he was the prelude to countries that would one day outlaw such practices and stand for freedom as well as equality. At times Columbus was too proud and boastful, and at other times he was humble. When he named the islands and rivers of the New World, he never named any after himself. Columbus was just as bad as he was good in his explorations in the New World.

To those that say “Columbus discovered America!” the facts must be revealed. He never set foot on any land that was to become the continental United States. Columbus did not discover a “New World” per se; the natives (such as the Caribs and Tainos) already inhabited the land. Instead, he was the first European to discover a new continent of the Americas, ironically, not named after him. Whether or not one agrees that the Vikings discovered the new continent is the topic for another discussion, but Columbus did what the Vikings could not; he initiated permanent contact between the Old World and the New.

To be continued in part 7...