"Discovery" Defined

October is a Italian-American heritage month. It is meant to be a celebration of Columbus, Italian explorers and every positive contributor to America with Italian lineage. Now what follows is somewhat of a controversial subject, and raises questions that scholars and students have talked about and still have not totally resolved within some circles. Who should be given the credit for discovering America? It was certainly a lot clearer when I was growing up, but over the past decade it has become fuzzier in our more “politically correct” society. There is perhaps no topic like Columbus’s voyage that is more controversial and told in so many different versions—depending on one’s political, religious and cultural beliefs and affiliations. The discovery of America is not a black and white subject, and it is a topic that indeed sparks many differences of opinion and often hostile discussions. Of course the great thing about the country of America is that we all are entitled to our own views and beliefs, and no matter what new propaganda circulates the internet or what other material gets published on Columbus, my beliefs will remain unhindered. In this note, I talk about Indians and Vikings and my belief that they deserve no recognition for any accomplishments in discovering or establishing the country we live in today. I am not looking to offend anyone, but merely to put into perspective why I feel this way. The bottom line is, the Italian explorers of Columbus’s era were a highly dignified, secure culture, recognized as the model of acceptance and adoption by society. Therefore, “discovering” is finding an area that exists without such cultivation or civilization and introducing that from another region (which in Columbus’s case was The New World from Europe). This essay is an updated and expanded social studies assignment about Christopher Columbus that I wrote in the early ‘90s, when I was in grammar school. It is a compilation of material written by several highly acclaimed researchers of American history, and is as precise as possible—based on the findings and opinions of those researchers. As with any historical document, certain details may be disputed. However, like most historical events, there are often several accounts, and it is usually the account that one chooses to believe as the most accurate (and the one that he or she is taught as a young child) that is considered to be the “truth.” The following account is the one that I still follow to this day, and it is the one that I hold true to my heart. I attended a conservative, Catholic, highly Italian-American school system, and Cristoforo Colombo was always proclaimed as the rightful discoverer of America. He was also hailed as the person responsible for paving the way in the actual transformations of America into the cultured country that it is today.
-Oct. 1999
There are many inaccuracies about the great Italian explorer Christopher Columbus that need to be put to rest. In recent years, liberal extremist groups have held mean-spirited, baseless protests and rallies to say that Christopher Columbus was not the true discoverer of America and that he was nothing more than a “land-pillaging slave trader,” sadly confusing school-age children and even some educators who have been accurately defining Columbus as the discover of America since the first text books were written. Any account of Columbus being a slave trader who accomplished nothing is greatly incorrect and very off-base. While owning slaves was common practice in the 15th century, it is unproven that Columbus believed in the practice, and he was not at all a violent man. To the contrary, he was called very religious by many, and a great follower of The Bible like most born in Northern Italy at the time. Two specific groups usually besmirch Columbus’s name and his rightful place in history. I will highlight that in the following two sections...
The uncultured “Natives” of Columbus’s era and their lack of connection to those of the seventeenth century “Pilgrim” era:
The first group of protesters of his discoveries and accomplishments are usually those who classify themselves as “Native Americans.” This group claims that “they were here first,” and should be given the credit for America’s discovery and civilization. Based on the various findings done on such claims, it is determined that the modern, “Native American Indians,” are wrongly equating themselves to the early tribes that roamed the land Columbus founded. The few inhabitants that Columbus encountered when he and his crew came to The New World to prove to the Queen of Spain that there was indeed more to the world than just Europe were brutal hunters, wandering across the underdeveloped land, living from hand-to-mouth and from day-to-day as modern bums. They had no written language, no agricultural skills and constantly went to war with one another. The “Native” ancestors in today’s era are actually closer related to the seventeenth century “American Indian” culture that was established over 120 years after Columbus’s voyage—when the pilgrims from England arrived and the first Thanksgiving occurred. It is far more viable to compare any “Native” group with this group (as it was an actual culture unlike the savage animalistic roamers that scattered The New World in the 1400s). They bear no connection to the earlier tribes whom had no distinction with any established nation or civilization. To say these earlier inhabitants rightfully owned the land first would be like saying cave dwellers, or baboons had a claim to it.
Understanding the extreme brutality of “Vikings,” if even such a group existed at all:
The second group of protesters who try and discredit Columbus are the modern Scandinavians who say they are ancestors of the “Vikings.” This group was nothing more than a bloodthirsty clan that is actually considered by many to be a complete myth altogether. Vikings may have at some point roamed the land years before Columbus claimed it and paved the way for the later foundation of a livable nation in the model of Europe—but the fact remains—these Vikings were violent and crazy. And just like any other medieval societies that may or may not have crossed The New World, they failed at all attempts at any significant explorations. They deserve no justifiable credit for any development of the colonies and furthermore, there is little supporting evidence of any enduring Viking settlements in North America. These completely uncivilized, sword-dwelling pirates, specialized in brutal battles and failed to create any sense of commonwealth on any land they may have sailed upon. The most well-known Viking is the wily-haired, cartoonishly depicted Leif Ericson, whose birthplace was never even fully defined in the history books—and therefore anything he did over 1,000 years ago is certainly up for debate. It’s clear that his garish portrayal was right on point, as he, just like the others known as Vikings did nothing positive like our hero Columbus did. In fact, any references to Leif ever being on The New World could be viewed as nothing more than Norse versions of old Greek fables. There is a reason these nomadic barbarians seem like fairy tale exaggerations and don’t deserve to be compared to Columbus and his men.
Habitual negative stereotypes of ethnic groups don’t help anything:
True Native American Indians of today who recognize that they are more closely identified with the much more polished and refined version of their people that were around in the seventeenth century, take offense to the groups who protest Columbus. They know that their people as a whole are not the red-faced, ax-wielding feather-headed depictions the media has shown us. That’s why they protest the usage of such images on sports teams’ logos like the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves. And just as the modern Indians who are offended by the sports team logo caricatures, today’s northern Europeans of the Scandinavian peninsula, find the NFL’s “Minnesota Viking” portrayal offensive and do not like being identified as a whole to resemble the “Viking.” At least the Notre Dame “Fightin’ Irish” and the Boston Celtics got it right with their usage of leprechauns and shamrocks as mascots—as opposed to pictures of red-haired, freckle-faced guys holding beer cans in their hands as mascots. It would be like if there was a sports team named the New York Mafiosos with a fedora-wearing, tommy-gun toting gangster’s picture as its mascot. The small percentage of Italian-Americans who are in the mafia does not compare to the thousands and thousands of Italian-Americans who are not—so that would be very inaccurate and offensive. It’s understandable how so many Italian-Americans have become fed up with the constant immediate link between us and “The Sopranos” as opposed to the more positive likes of Ferrari or Versace or Columbus.
Defining “discovery” (Columbus’s early establishment of civilization, the first trade practices):
With regards to both sets of the aforementioned groups, the facts remain that whomever or whatever may have been on or near the land did nothing to establish any sort of way of life. Horrible tribal wars which abolished much of the surroundings, along with other unknown events—possibly natural disasters—were the only occurrences of the era. Although it was not to the level of the Triassic period, things were so primitive, that life was barely livable. When Columbus and his men got there, it all changed. We owe our current American way of life to the early journeys and accomplishments of the Italian explorers. It isn’t far-fetched to say that Columbus can be credited for paving the way for today’s successful foreign trade practices between European countries and other ports—ironically a second tier issue on his voyage of discovery in 1492, yet so relevant today. Columbus and his crew rightfully christened and claimed the land “The New World” and that cannot be argued. Columbus brought America to the attention of the civilized world and for this, he should be celebrated as a great man.
The naming of America (Columbus’s connection to Amerigo Vespucci):
Years after Columbus died—sometime in Germany in the late 1500s—a clergyman-scholar named Martin Waldseemuller began work on a contemporary world map. He located logs of another Italian-born explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, who died around the same time as Columbus. In the logs, Vespucci referenced Italians discovering The New World and for this, Waldseemuller named these New World continents the “Americas” on his map. It is unclear if Amerigo was referring to himself and his crew (as he also sailed to The New World in 1499) or if he was referring to Columbus’s crew from their initial voyage in 1492. Either way, the name “America” was chosen, and it immediately stuck throughout Europe. In 1499, another Italian explorer, Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) also reached The New World. And prior to the world map creations, in the year 1524, Giovanni da Varrazano—yet another brave Italian explorer—first sailed the Hudson River. On October 12, 1866, out of pride for these Italian explorers, the Italian population of New York City organized the first celebration of the discovery of America. It is these explorers who should be celebrated and lauded, and not any others. Since 1971, Columbus Day has been celebrated as a federal holiday on the second Monday in October. Perhaps someday it will be a legal national holiday like Christmas. October is also officially now recognized as “Italian-American Heritage Month.” This month is highlighted with feasts, parades and celebrations for Columbus and all Italians of the world, especially the European-Italians and Italian-Americans who contributed so much to the United States since the beginning of time. Although these few ethnic and political groups may distort reality and try and change historical facts, due to the fact that the extensive travels of Columbus are the most well-documented to date—Americans overall do still indeed look to Columbus as the first official discoverer of the land. Therefore, we continue to celebrate Columbus Day in America. So in conclusion, I believe America was discovered by one Italian and named after another, and we owe so much to the contributions of all those with roots from the boot. That is why I love to take extra pride in my heritage on Columbus Day, and why I feel that all Americans with any trace of Italian lineage in them should wave the green, white and red flag proudly every October.