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500 Years: Rethinking Columbus

By Dave Kettenhofen

The 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's landing in the western hemisphere is to be celebrated this coming year. $89 million in federal appropriations is for the U.S. Columbus Quincentennial Commission for various activities related to the commemoration. Needless to say, this has stirred up much controversy.

Columbus was portrayed as a hero to those of us who grew up in America. He opened the doors to this hemisphere, expanded European civilization, proved the world was round, etc. George Washington is the only figure in U.S. history to have more places named after him than Columbus. More monuments have been erected to Columbus than any other secular figure in the world. It took a great deal of courage to undertake such a voyage as his, but this is ridiculous.

We should take the occasion of the 500th anniversary to reeducate ourselves and our children to history; Columbus shouldn't be deified, but seen for who he was. His voyage ultimately led to 500 years of genocide, land theft, forced assimilation of the Indians and pollution of our environment.

The purpose of Columbus's voyage was to search for gold and spices. The inhabitants of the Caribbean were enslaved and forced to mine gold for their white masters. Resisters were tortured and killed. New diseases brought by the Europeans coupled with massacres led to the extinction of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean.

Columbus's journal gives us a picture of his initial encounters with the natives: "They... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells... Because I saw, as I recognize, that these people are very gentle and do not know what it is to be wicked, or to kill others, or to steal, and are unwarlike and so timorous that a hundred of them would run from one of our people... They would make fine servants... with 50 men they would be all kept in subjection and forced to do whatever may be wished."

We have always been taught history from the white European perspective. But we aren't only white Europeans. We are Native American, African-American, Asian-American, Puerto Rican, Chicano, Latin America and white. All perspectives must be taken into account when teaching our history. One-sided European American perspectives lead to colonialist thinking. It rationalizes our ignoring treaty rights and intervention in Third World affairs. (Vietnam?)

If we continue to teach our children distorted, revisionist history they will get the idea that it's okay to take other's land if you are stronger. There is a difference between coexisting and subjugating. A true picture of our past may provide a brighter future.

New Reference Guide

A group of educators has recently published a reference guide on alternative views to Columbus to give students a clearer picture of the encounter. It is called Rethinking Columbus. It can be obtained from: Rethinking Schools, 1001 Keefe Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53212, 414-964-9646.