Hehe, no worries, I was just scratching my head there for a moment. You know, that feeling of your history lessons going down the drain

You keep saying this, but I've never read anything of the sort. Now, it's been 16 years since I've been in highschool, but I know for a fact they don't teach anything about CC besides the typical "Sailed on the Santa Maria, La Nina & La Pinta", was sailing for India, found Haiti, etc, at least in my highschool that is. Nothing about him being a scumbag or anything of the sort. So, no, not common knowledge, and seriously, how many people care enough about CC in this day and age to go around looking him up to read about his supposed atrocities?

Here ya go http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/01/real-christopher-columbus/

Ummm guys I'm pretty sure the native people Discovered turtle island! also they practice democracy for a very long time before mr columbus came "six nations" I believe it was called.

It's not that I disbelieved Heiress, just that I was getting tired of him/her saying "Oh it's common knowledge he's a [censored]", when it's really not. For historians, or people whose schools taught more then the basic bits it might be common knowledge, but around my area, and going by 1 or 2 other replies to Heiress posts, at least a few other areas, it isn't common knowledge.

I remember when I was in highschool 19 years ago, my global studies teacher put on a documentary that shattered pre-conceived notions of CC being good.

Plus I am of Puerto Rican descent, and it's well documented that the Spaniards committed genocide on the natives after CC left the Island.

We do it so sensitive snowflakes can get salty over it. So far, our evil plan seems to be working.

I'm not really sure where my mind was when I typed that.

Either http://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-062.pdf version of Columbus' journal is printed wrong by the Wisconsin Historical Society or that website has reworded his journal entry to make him sound like a monster...I believe the later.

The part on page 111 about the natives is different then the quote on the sites that demean him. I'm sure he is as "innocent" as any man in that time and position were but I don't believe versions printed in The Oatmeal and other garbage news.

Unless you went to middle school in the deep south or thirty years ago, I highly doubt it's some shock to you that Columbus was evil. You don't have to read Howard Zinn to know that.

No worries. I was taught the same "Sailed on the ocean blue" crap as everyone else. But I have a pretty big appetite for real historical knowledge.




I can't open that on my phone for some reason so I'll check it out when I get home. From the context of your comment though I'll take it it's very different? Maybe my link had a bad translation? Either way it is well documented that he did slave trade and there was an outbreak of std's among natives when he came. I'm sure it's safe to say the spreading was not consentual in most parts.

And Howard Zinn is right why?

I can't believe his nor the other versions of what Columbus wrote without seeing the actual print in his own hand. I do believe that slandering such a person with horror stories sells books though.

It's a pdf of Columbus' journal but take it as you will.

I have no doubt they made slaves of the indigenous people and even this version of his journal hints at that. "They should be good servants and intelligent, for I observed that they quickly took in what was said to them, and I believe that they would be easily be made Christians, as it appeared to me that they have no religion."

Lol. Zinn's sources are very well-documented (literally a 30 page bibliography in the back of People's History) and the man himself is a world-renowned historian. If you sincerely think he wasted a third of his life researching and writing his book just for money, then you're too cynical for me to grasp. And regardless, the works that Zinn cites are based entirely in empirical facts; he didn't write a book so much as he collected and arranged information.

It's been approximately 16 years since I was in highschool. I have neither no clue who the hell Howard Zinn is, nor was I taught anything about CC other then absolutely basics. You can claim otherwise all you want, but you didn't live my life, I did, and I know what I was taught. All I did was disprove your statement that "Anyone over the age of 12 knows Christopher Columbus was a horrible person". I'm over the age of 12(I'm 34), I completed highschool, I do not live in the deep south(Western Maryland actually), and history was one of my best subjects in highschool(I never got less then a 97% on any history exam throughout my entire highschool career). Not all highschools teach you the "down and dirty" about historical figures, and my HS was one of the ones that didn't.

The worst thing about this character is that he didn't even get us a day off.

This is absolutely true. I am not sure where I ever actually picked up this information but it was definitely not from any school I ever went to.

Last I actually celebrated CC day was in Elementary school, and all we really did was color in pictures. That's also the last I can remember learning about him, never really understood the celebration though, just seemed like another useless holiday that no one cares about.

Aren't banks closed on CC day?

Columbus day is still a thing?

As an America myself, I always wondered why. I mean, the guy didn't even LAND in what would become America, he landed in the Bahamas/Caribbean Islands, which is a wee bit south of, y'know, Florida and all the other America stuff. But I think we can all agree that the guy was a greedy jerk. So convinced was he that he was in India, he took the indigenous people and forced them to dig for gold that was never there in the first place.


To be fair to him, no one knew in 1492 that there were two huge continents in the way, they just thought the Earth was all land on one side and all sea on the other, so it made sense for him to go, ‘Why don't I just go west?’ If my understanding is correct, Leif and his crew DID land in ACTUAL would-be America around 1003, but they probably didn't consider it as anything more than, “Nothing here, gents. Back to our home!”


But if we want to get REAL technical, the people who actually discovered the New World were the ancestors of the people already living there, thousands of years before 1003 or 1492.

It's celebrating the historical importance. That's all it is. Nothing more. In fhis day in age, you can always get jumped on for not hating an historical figure.

Yeah, in this day and age, it's crucial to remember that everyone not alive today were wanna-be KKK/Nazis here to oppress everyone not them. They weren't, y'know, people with their own agendas much like people are today. Welcome to the study of history, fantasyjunkie!! You're either the Thalmor, or you're the poor, suffering Nord under their boot. As Galmar put it, ‘If [insert people] aren't with us, [they're] against us!’


But seriously, I just look at it as Columbus making it aware to the Europeans that ‘Hey, um, I think I just discovered something amazing, and it ain't India...’ Him being a colossal jerk is not really relevant here, though it's true he was a jerk.

Another excuse to get drunk.

I dont think many people really "celebrate" the day. Its mostly just a bank holiday.

Maybe to you, but it's news to me

PS: I'll defend whom I wish, thank you very much.

Exactly. We were not colonized by Vikings. We were colonized by Europeans. Many of them, including Dutch, French, British, and Spanish. This happened because of Columbus. Not Leif Erikson or anyone else.

A better question is why do Americans celebrate Cinco De Mayo?