What exactly did Columbus do for us to celebrate?

morgorond

In my opinion - nothing major, really. Well, he may have made it acceptable to 'discover' things that already had owners. (I kinda like my neighbor's TV. Can I go over and 'discover' it?) But as has been mentioned, when an advanced culture and a primitive culture clash, the primitive culture will lose. So maybe he really discovered that Native Americans are surprisingly easy to kill.

But while we're here, please allow me to clear up a few things about the 'Vikings'.

The Vikingr (Viking is a verb roughly equivalent to 'explore'. A Vikingr is the person who does the viking - get it?) left here pretty much for good after Thorvald Ericsson was killed in a clash with the 'skraelings,' or Native Americans. They saw that the land was already settled and that at least some of the inhabitants were quite fierce in their protection of their lands.

Well, we had enough of that in Europe at the time as well, thank you very much. Vikingr plundered (and traded and married) their way across huge swaths of Europe around that time and certainly didn't need Vinland to worry about. Europe was quite flush and easy pickings. So while the Native Americans were sitting around waiting for the next raid from another tribe, most of Europe was sitting around waiting for the next raid from my ancestors. Why bother with vicious skraelings used to battle when we could have our wicked way with the French whenever we wanted? (And we did. For about 200 years.)

Did the Vikingr tell others about Vinland? Well, of course they did. It's even in the Eddas. Everyone with a brain had pretty much accepted the world was round centuries before Columbus even shoved off the pier. And they knew something was out there because of the Vikingr. How could Columbus lose short of sinking?

Well, he obviously didn't even though he never actually set foot on the continent. (He made it as far as the Caribbean, I believe.) But unfortuantely, a highly socially advanced, but technologically primitive culture did lose. And while it's a shame, it is indeed part of human nature to oppress and exploit those who are deemed weak. We do it to this very day, even.

~Morg~

sister_twilight

One of the first known celebrations marking the discovery of the "New World" by Christopher Columbus was in 1792, when a ceremony organized by the Colombian Order was held in New York City honoring Christopher Columbus and the 300th anniversary of his landing in the Bahamas. Then, on October 12, 1866 the Italian population of New York organized the first celebration of the discovery of America. Three years later, in 1869 Italians in San Francisco celebrated October 12 calling it C-Day.

akablackbetty

he brough spanish people over to breed with indians, so we would have mexicans.

All American self-haters need to stop being hypocrites. Although our american history is a bit tarnished (to put it lightly), the fact of the matter is that it was inevitable. When a more advanced civilization meets a primitive one, and that primitive one has a lot of good stuff, guess what happens? Sad, but true. It is human nature. We celebrate the fact that Columbus was the beginning of the creation of the Americas. If you hate yourself and this country so much, give everything you own to native americans and then go back to Europe, asia, Africa, etc.

Duque de Alba

That's not the point!
What if someone dicovered cancer and never knew it?
Colombus knew he had discovered a western hemisphere, he knew the world was round and proved it.
The people living in the US had no idea. They were just concerened with trying to eat.
The native populations were a bunch of war mongerers busy killing each other. Europe got involved and showed them who was boss. I don't feel sad at all for the natives fate. It's cultural Darwinism. beats living in a mud hut wondering where the next meal is coming from and scared for the next raid from the neighboring tribe.

Viva Columbo!

You're dumber than you arleady proved to be!
He did prove the world was round by taking a western route towards India. His premise was that a western sea route would lead to india (and it would). At the time they believed the world was flat and that he would fall off.

And what did the natives prove? That stone-aged people were still around? You'd be busy picking ticks from your kid's scalp, picking berries, and wondering when the next rape and pillaging party from the neighboring tribe was coming.

I'm tired of the BS romanticism of native americans.
Have fun with the firewater on the res!

thelogicalferret

true, he was not the first to reach the Americas, but his transatlantic voyages opened the Americas to European exploration, colonization and trade. of course if it wasn't him, it would have eventually been someone else.

Muchacha Mala

the question is how did he get the money from the queen of spain? That must have been his sugar momma, personally, i think he hit that. lol.. Durban or whatever his name is, lets just call him julio iglesias, is a fool. He needs to come over my house and cook me up some Paella, and stop bs'in

morlock825

He unofficially began the conquest of indigenous people that, right or wrong, makes your quality of life what it is today! Viva Columbus, Viva USA

Dominicanus

Just ask any indian from any country in America if they are gonna celebrate it. NOT! To them it meant the end of their cosmology, their world. And in this present Latin America still suffers from the vices inherited from the Spaniards, plus the inferiority complex that ensued in the psyche of latin american people, due to the bloody conquest and pillage of our ancestral cultures, of the cultural rape that brought to birth the mondern latin american countries. I accept that Cristobal Colon was a great explorer and his sense of determination brought him here even though he didn't know where he was. But for many latin Americans, that day is a sad day, and it is almost not celebrated if at all.

It all depends of the perspective, I mean: To some people in some countries: Oct 12 1492 was the day that opened the door to invaders that everntually not only conquered them but also enslaved them and forced them to accept other men as masters and rulers. For some this is a good day to celebrate becasue it inaugurated an era of commerece and human exchange and brought christ to the Americas. It's all about the perspective, in what side were you when the train hit.

Frank

But he succeeded in exploring many of the islands and establishing a colony in Hispanolia, succeeded in introducing many varieties of fruits and vegetables into Europe. Livingstone was also guilty of being in the wrong place, but it doesn't detract from him....you overlook the problems of navigation and lack of charts....Rand McNally didn't begin publishing maps until the 1860s. While the Chinese reached America in the early part of the 1400s, they didn't establish a colony and neither did the Vikings...There is an appropriate old joke about Columbus and the hard-boiled egg......it's easy if someone shows you the way. Yes, it is true that the Spanish did follow in hordes and conquer the natives of South and Central America...and stopped the Carib Indians from eating people...but not all of that is attributal to Columbus. That is like blaming crocodiles for eating people that fall into the water...what takes place is not their fault.

Sanmigsean

Yeah, he raped and murdered a lot of people when his pirate ships landed in the wrong spot.

Yukaza

People that live in the past are destined to repeat the past.
You, I bet are not 100% pure Indian.There aren't many of them in this US.Most if not all have some other blood line also,like white,black,Mexican etc.So you I will bet money on that ,no matter what you say about being this and being that can not prove you are 100 % Indian.so your questions and your excuses are not of any importance to intelligent thinking.If you do not wish to celebrate Columbus Day then just don't.No one really cares.Its a silly juvenile argument.Can you change history,your version or mine ? No you cant so why not just get on with your present day living.I'm sure not losing any sleep over it.I live every day in 2006,in the real world.

Pia

Not much.

But then, what did the pilgrims do to Native Americans to celebrate on Thanksgiving?

Ronin

Oh, come on... he was such a humanist!! He took hundreds of slaves, killed a few outright, plundered for gold.... What's not to celebrate for ignorant americans?

Thank you, for asking! He did not discover anything. All he and his soldiers did was murdered hundred of thousands of native Americans!!!! From Mexico, all the way to S. America! And steal our gold, silver, statues!! So, you can say he was a common thief!!!!!!!

Judy the Wench

brought european colonialism to an new land.

AFwife

he let Europe know! causing a HUGE migration to the America's duh!
the vikings did not,

he let Europe know about this "route" which caused more europeans to come over and figure out it wasn't India, so it IS because of him
slaves didn't build everything in modern America?!?!? you don't know YOUR history

jane_bond2001

Good one. He left Plymoth and found Plymoth.I think he is celebrated because of the Queen.He let her know there was profit to be made.The whole is disting .Making people think it is all about their freedom when really all they wanted was their taxes.Plus there is also stories about Columbus hearing rumors of gold!Chris was nothing more than the Queen's biotch.Poor Indians I am not even going there.

alanninn

well i can tell you from a native american point of view! this is like celebrating usama bin laden day..how would you feel?

shadedwite

He found cheap labour and headache for US immigration in the form of Latin American workers

yars232c

Ah, like your countries heros and politicians that didn't expect greatness

your wisdom is astounding...for an ant

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