Was America Discovered by Columbus?

By V.A. Mohamad Ashrof, New Age Islam 17 January 2024 Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) is reputed to have ‘discovered America’ as if there were no people in America at that time. This is a historical blunder. There were so many native people, especially Red Indians, residing there. No doubt he was instrumental in the colonization of North America leading to what our country is today. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506): portrait by Jose Roldan, monastery of La Rabida, Andalusia. Photograph: Alamy ----- In Spain, October 12 is the country’s appointed national day, celebrated annually as Hispanic Day. In Italy, October 12 is National Christopher Columbus Day. President Benjamin Harrison established a celebration of Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in 1892. October 11 in America has been Columbus Day -- a federal holiday -- since 1937. His name and likeness exist all over the nation’s public landscape: on the names of street signs, cities, and universities, as well as on monuments in public squares. The District of Columbia is named after Christopher Columbus. Several cities, rivers, and other landmarks in America have also been named after Columbus. However, the historical Columbus - borne from research and an examination of evidence - can sometimes contrast with America’s collective memory of Columbus as a brave and intrepid explorer, worthy of praise and admiration. In this alternate reading, special focus was laid especially for his treatment of the indigenous communities he encountered and for his role in the violent colonization at their expense. In recent years, America’s collective memory of Columbus has been more heavily scrutinized. The question is should we honour a man who symbolizes European colonialism, who ushered in an era of conquering indigenous people? As racial reckoning occurs across the country following the death of George Floyd during 2020, many Confederate statues – which some consider racist symbols of America’s dark legacy of slavery – have been removed. In recent years, many cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, in recognition of the pain and terror caused by Columbus and other European explorers. Some historians have criticized Columbus for initiating the widespread colonization of the Americas and for abusing its native population. (Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, New York: HarperCollins, 2003, pp. 1–22) According to scholars of Native American history, George Tinker and Mark Freedman, Columbus was responsible for creating a cycle of "murder, violence, and slavery" to maximize exploitation of the Caribbean islands' resources, and that Native deaths on the scale at which they occurred would not have been caused by new diseases alone. Further, they describe the proposition that disease and not genocide caused these deaths as "American holocaust denial". (George E. Tinker, Mark Freeland, Thief, Slave Trader, Murderer: Christopher Columbus and Caribbean Population Decline, Wicazo Sa Review, Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2008, pp. 25-50) ---- V.A. Mohamad Ashrof is an independent Islamic humanist scholar from India who regularly publishers articles and papers in Islam and contemporary affairs. URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/america-discovered-columbus/d/131531 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism