October 10, 2017
With a push to change Columbus Day into a day that honors indigenous people, it’s important to know the truth about who Christopher Columbus was, and why he became such an icon in the United States.
“The American Revolution created the Columbus most of us over the age of 30 learned in grade school. Prior to the late 18th century, he was a historical footnote with no connection to the 13 colonies. An Italian, he sailed under a Spanish flag and landed in no part of the modern-day United States. Yet when the need to develop a national history with no discernible connection to Britain arose during the Revolution, early Americans seized upon him.”
Read “The Invention of Christopher Columbus, American Hero: How the founding fathers turned Christopher Columbus, a mediocre Italian sailor and mass murderer, into a historical icon” on The Nation.
Posted by Lē Weaver.
