Cristóbal Remembered
Columbus
Once upon a time there was an Italian,
And some people thought he was a rapscallion,
But he wasn't offended,
Because other people thought he was splendid,
And he said the world was round,
And everybody made an uncomplimentary sound,
But he went and tried to borrow some money from Ferdinand
But Ferdinand said America was a bird in the bush and he'd rather have a berdinand,
But Columbus' brain was fertile, it wasn't arid,
And he remembered that Ferdinand was married,
And he thought, there is no wife like a misunderstood one,
Because if her husband thinks something is a terrible idea she is bound to think it a good one,
So he perfumed his handkerchief with bay rum and citronella,
And he went to see Isabella,
And he looked wonderful but he had never felt sillier,
And she said, I can't place the face but the aroma is familiar,
And Columbus didn't say a word,
All he said was, I am Columbus, the fifteenth-century Admiral Byrd,
And, just as he thought, her disposition was very malleable,
And she said, Here are my jewels, and she wasn't penurious like Cornelia the mother of the Gracchi, she wasn't referring to her children,
no, she was referring to her jewels, which were very very valuable,
So Columbus said, Somebody show me the sunset and somebody did and he set sail for it,
And he discovered America and they put him in jail for it,
And the fetters gave him welts,
And they named America after somebody else,
So the sad fate of Columbus ought to be pointed out to every child and every voter,
Because it has a very important moral, which is, Don't be a discoverer, be a promoter.
-Ogden Nash
Today we celebrate the accomplishments (or lack thereof) of this rapscallion. While my prose isn't quite as mellifluous as Ogden Nash's, I'll hold forth on this topic anyway. Columbus Day was always one of those holidays where I got the day off from school, but I never really spent the day dwelling on the man himself. It was sort of like Labor Day; a three-day holiday, but I didn't really "get it" until I was much older.
Columbus Day is one of those holidays that despite what one might think, is fairly recent. Calls to remember and honor Columbus have always escalated around the "big" anniversaries: the 300th in 1792, and the 400th in 1892. The most recent, in 1992, sparked parades and commemorations (not to mention two fairly bad movies, "1492: Conquest of Paradise" and "Christopher Columbus: the Discovery"), but also led to calls to abolish Columbus Day or replace it by honoring Native Americans and idigenous peoples. Nevertheless, it's still on the books. A large part of the reason for that is the Italian-American community, the same folks who put Columbus Day on the map. While it's in vogue today to dis Columbus as an imperialistic, racist explorer (which is true in many ways), Columbus Day was celebrated partly because the people in this country wanted to commemorate the big holiday (witness the hullaboo in 1892, which culminated in the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago), and partly because Catholic groups championed Columbus as one of their own. Indeed, the Knights of Columbus were formed during this era, and took on the cause of establishing a formal holiday for Columbus as one of their pet projects. This was a time in our history where there was a great deal of anti-Catholic prejudice, stemming initially from the hordes of Irish Catholics fleeing the Potato Famine, general economic woes, and oppression by the English, and broadening after the 1880s, when thousands of Italians immigrated and Ellis Island was at its peak. Columbus was a point of pride, and seen as inoffensive to the mainstream WASP population; after all, without Columbus' "discovery," we'd all still be cramped together in Europe and not prospering in America!
The K of C, among others, finally won their battle as Columbus Day celebrations and parades became more frequent, and in 1937, FDR declared October 12 to be a holiday: Columbus Day. It's only been a federal holiday (on the second Monday of October, no less), since 1971. You certainly don't see parades or other types of celebrations much anymore, unless you count the parade of advertisements in the papers on the second Sunday of October, a traditional holiday on the marketing calendar of corporate America.
I don't have definitive feelings one way or the other: part of the problem, I think, is that too many groups and peoples want (and admittedly deserve) a day of their own, for whatever cultural reason, historical personage of their ethnic group, or as a commemoration of a historical event or movement. It all starts to get jumbled up at some point. While we should honor and remember the idigenous peoples of both American continents, North and South, I'm not so sure adding another day to the calendar would necessarily help. This may be why some people are trying to remove Columbus Day and celebrating Native American cultures on the same day. Elsewhere in the hemisphere, different nations celebrate the day under a different name: in Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, and Mexico, they celebrate Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race); this honors the birth of a new people, a new culture, that of the mestizo. This idea is intriguing, as I think it would allow for a place for Columbus and his successors, but within a more complex historical context, and permit a celebration of the peoples who survived the invasions and various genocides (while the Spanish in Mesoamerica and South America initially conquered and devastated the native peoples, they eventually co-existed, albeit in a racial hierarchy which left indigenous peoples at the bottom; here in North America, the Europeans simply exterminated as many Native Americans as possible). Internationally since 1994, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of the World's Indigenous People on August 9. While I think this is nice, it's not well known, and doesn't necessarily fit into American traditions as well. Here in the United States over the last couple of decades, various groups and cities have been celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day on October 12. While this is a welcome change on many levels, I'm not sure it's the final answer. Again, it's not so much the man himself as it is the culture and society changing; where once Italian-Americans and Catholics proudly paraded in Columbus's honor, now the growing awareness and political power of Native Americans has shifted the pendulum, so to speak. What will it be like on the 600th anniversary, in 2092? The same, or different?
Despite valid reasons for removing Columbus Day from the calendar, it would probably lead to opposition from the Italians, for one. Even today, the Sons of Italy still champion Columbus (even though it's possible he may have been Portuguese, Catalan, or even Jewish); on one "Sopranos" episode, Tony and Carmela chide A.J., reminding him that Columbus was an Italian, and that not all Italians were mobsters or had ties to La Cosa Nostra. Cultural conservatives also cast a wary eye on such changes, sneering at "multiculturalism." I think the best solution may be is to try to integrate some of these opposing views together in a way that works, thus making present holidays and observances into opportunities for education, reflection, and improvement.
"But Columbus merely discovered the New World," you might say. Well, not exactly. As I've pointed out earlier, Columbus merely got lucky; other peoples, such as the Vikings, had already ventured into the Western Hemisphere, and even today there are discussions about the Chinese and the Polynesians. He was also a man of his times: The Europe of Columbus' day was a bloody, warlike continent; the Spanish had colonized the Canary Islands previous to 1492, and some of the tactics and practices in the Canaries set the stage for the colonization of the New World.
"Ok, so Columbus was just like everyone else," you agree. Again, not precisely. On his first voyage, he merely explored, commented on the peoples he encountered, and there were no conflicts during this initial journey. But on his second voyage, he enslaved 1600 people, of whom 550 were shipped back to Spain. Some of the remainder ended up as sex slaves, while about 400 were released. Understandably, their encounter with Columbus and his men set the stage for future relations between the Europeans and the indigenous peoples.
"Ah, so Columbus was an oppressor, an imperialist force!" Yes and no. While some of his actions are inexcusable, does that mean that every person who lived in the pre-Columbian Americas was innocent, that the tale of the Spanish exploration, invasion, and colonization (followed by numerous Western European nations) is a black-and-white morality play? Not necessarily. Cortes and Pizarro would never have succeeded if it wasn't for the animosity various sub-tribes, subjugated peoples, and enemies had for the Aztecs and the Incas, who were recent arrivals and fairly new empires in their respective regions. Both societies were belligerent to various degrees, and practiced human sacrifice. Other socioethnic groups in the Americas practiced slavery, cannibalism, and other customs we (and our European predecessors) find abhorrent.
As you can see, the story behind Columbus Day is far more complex than it seems on the surface-- a lot of history is that way. I could continue, and write a book about all this (perhaps someday), but for now I'll just stop and say that this is why I don't lean definitively towards either end of the spectrum on the matter of October 12. While I don't believe Christopher Columbus should be granted universal adulation, neither do I think he should be obliterated from the calendar. This is why I'm curious if maybe Dia de La Raza is a possible answer: a way to acknowledge that out of the collision of two worlds, a new one was born, with a mixed legacy. This allows discussion and remembrance of Columbus and other European explorers, invaders, and colonizers in a more appropriate forum, while remembering and celebrating the peoples that emerged out of the encounters, conflicts, and tragedies of the past.
Once upon a time there was an Italian,
And some people thought he was a rapscallion,
But he wasn't offended,
Because other people thought he was splendid,
And he said the world was round,
And everybody made an uncomplimentary sound,
But he went and tried to borrow some money from Ferdinand
But Ferdinand said America was a bird in the bush and he'd rather have a berdinand,
But Columbus' brain was fertile, it wasn't arid,
And he remembered that Ferdinand was married,
And he thought, there is no wife like a misunderstood one,
Because if her husband thinks something is a terrible idea she is bound to think it a good one,
So he perfumed his handkerchief with bay rum and citronella,
And he went to see Isabella,
And he looked wonderful but he had never felt sillier,
And she said, I can't place the face but the aroma is familiar,
And Columbus didn't say a word,
All he said was, I am Columbus, the fifteenth-century Admiral Byrd,
And, just as he thought, her disposition was very malleable,
And she said, Here are my jewels, and she wasn't penurious like Cornelia the mother of the Gracchi, she wasn't referring to her children,
no, she was referring to her jewels, which were very very valuable,
So Columbus said, Somebody show me the sunset and somebody did and he set sail for it,
And he discovered America and they put him in jail for it,
And the fetters gave him welts,
And they named America after somebody else,
So the sad fate of Columbus ought to be pointed out to every child and every voter,
Because it has a very important moral, which is, Don't be a discoverer, be a promoter.
-Ogden Nash
Today we celebrate the accomplishments (or lack thereof) of this rapscallion. While my prose isn't quite as mellifluous as Ogden Nash's, I'll hold forth on this topic anyway. Columbus Day was always one of those holidays where I got the day off from school, but I never really spent the day dwelling on the man himself. It was sort of like Labor Day; a three-day holiday, but I didn't really "get it" until I was much older.
Columbus Day is one of those holidays that despite what one might think, is fairly recent. Calls to remember and honor Columbus have always escalated around the "big" anniversaries: the 300th in 1792, and the 400th in 1892. The most recent, in 1992, sparked parades and commemorations (not to mention two fairly bad movies, "1492: Conquest of Paradise" and "Christopher Columbus: the Discovery"), but also led to calls to abolish Columbus Day or replace it by honoring Native Americans and idigenous peoples. Nevertheless, it's still on the books. A large part of the reason for that is the Italian-American community, the same folks who put Columbus Day on the map. While it's in vogue today to dis Columbus as an imperialistic, racist explorer (which is true in many ways), Columbus Day was celebrated partly because the people in this country wanted to commemorate the big holiday (witness the hullaboo in 1892, which culminated in the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago), and partly because Catholic groups championed Columbus as one of their own. Indeed, the Knights of Columbus were formed during this era, and took on the cause of establishing a formal holiday for Columbus as one of their pet projects. This was a time in our history where there was a great deal of anti-Catholic prejudice, stemming initially from the hordes of Irish Catholics fleeing the Potato Famine, general economic woes, and oppression by the English, and broadening after the 1880s, when thousands of Italians immigrated and Ellis Island was at its peak. Columbus was a point of pride, and seen as inoffensive to the mainstream WASP population; after all, without Columbus' "discovery," we'd all still be cramped together in Europe and not prospering in America!
The K of C, among others, finally won their battle as Columbus Day celebrations and parades became more frequent, and in 1937, FDR declared October 12 to be a holiday: Columbus Day. It's only been a federal holiday (on the second Monday of October, no less), since 1971. You certainly don't see parades or other types of celebrations much anymore, unless you count the parade of advertisements in the papers on the second Sunday of October, a traditional holiday on the marketing calendar of corporate America.
I don't have definitive feelings one way or the other: part of the problem, I think, is that too many groups and peoples want (and admittedly deserve) a day of their own, for whatever cultural reason, historical personage of their ethnic group, or as a commemoration of a historical event or movement. It all starts to get jumbled up at some point. While we should honor and remember the idigenous peoples of both American continents, North and South, I'm not so sure adding another day to the calendar would necessarily help. This may be why some people are trying to remove Columbus Day and celebrating Native American cultures on the same day. Elsewhere in the hemisphere, different nations celebrate the day under a different name: in Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, and Mexico, they celebrate Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race); this honors the birth of a new people, a new culture, that of the mestizo. This idea is intriguing, as I think it would allow for a place for Columbus and his successors, but within a more complex historical context, and permit a celebration of the peoples who survived the invasions and various genocides (while the Spanish in Mesoamerica and South America initially conquered and devastated the native peoples, they eventually co-existed, albeit in a racial hierarchy which left indigenous peoples at the bottom; here in North America, the Europeans simply exterminated as many Native Americans as possible). Internationally since 1994, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of the World's Indigenous People on August 9. While I think this is nice, it's not well known, and doesn't necessarily fit into American traditions as well. Here in the United States over the last couple of decades, various groups and cities have been celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day on October 12. While this is a welcome change on many levels, I'm not sure it's the final answer. Again, it's not so much the man himself as it is the culture and society changing; where once Italian-Americans and Catholics proudly paraded in Columbus's honor, now the growing awareness and political power of Native Americans has shifted the pendulum, so to speak. What will it be like on the 600th anniversary, in 2092? The same, or different?
Despite valid reasons for removing Columbus Day from the calendar, it would probably lead to opposition from the Italians, for one. Even today, the Sons of Italy still champion Columbus (even though it's possible he may have been Portuguese, Catalan, or even Jewish); on one "Sopranos" episode, Tony and Carmela chide A.J., reminding him that Columbus was an Italian, and that not all Italians were mobsters or had ties to La Cosa Nostra. Cultural conservatives also cast a wary eye on such changes, sneering at "multiculturalism." I think the best solution may be is to try to integrate some of these opposing views together in a way that works, thus making present holidays and observances into opportunities for education, reflection, and improvement.
"But Columbus merely discovered the New World," you might say. Well, not exactly. As I've pointed out earlier, Columbus merely got lucky; other peoples, such as the Vikings, had already ventured into the Western Hemisphere, and even today there are discussions about the Chinese and the Polynesians. He was also a man of his times: The Europe of Columbus' day was a bloody, warlike continent; the Spanish had colonized the Canary Islands previous to 1492, and some of the tactics and practices in the Canaries set the stage for the colonization of the New World.
"Ok, so Columbus was just like everyone else," you agree. Again, not precisely. On his first voyage, he merely explored, commented on the peoples he encountered, and there were no conflicts during this initial journey. But on his second voyage, he enslaved 1600 people, of whom 550 were shipped back to Spain. Some of the remainder ended up as sex slaves, while about 400 were released. Understandably, their encounter with Columbus and his men set the stage for future relations between the Europeans and the indigenous peoples.
"Ah, so Columbus was an oppressor, an imperialist force!" Yes and no. While some of his actions are inexcusable, does that mean that every person who lived in the pre-Columbian Americas was innocent, that the tale of the Spanish exploration, invasion, and colonization (followed by numerous Western European nations) is a black-and-white morality play? Not necessarily. Cortes and Pizarro would never have succeeded if it wasn't for the animosity various sub-tribes, subjugated peoples, and enemies had for the Aztecs and the Incas, who were recent arrivals and fairly new empires in their respective regions. Both societies were belligerent to various degrees, and practiced human sacrifice. Other socioethnic groups in the Americas practiced slavery, cannibalism, and other customs we (and our European predecessors) find abhorrent.
As you can see, the story behind Columbus Day is far more complex than it seems on the surface-- a lot of history is that way. I could continue, and write a book about all this (perhaps someday), but for now I'll just stop and say that this is why I don't lean definitively towards either end of the spectrum on the matter of October 12. While I don't believe Christopher Columbus should be granted universal adulation, neither do I think he should be obliterated from the calendar. This is why I'm curious if maybe Dia de La Raza is a possible answer: a way to acknowledge that out of the collision of two worlds, a new one was born, with a mixed legacy. This allows discussion and remembrance of Columbus and other European explorers, invaders, and colonizers in a more appropriate forum, while remembering and celebrating the peoples that emerged out of the encounters, conflicts, and tragedies of the past.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 9:54 PM
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