Columbus Day History And Links

Today in the United States, we celebrate the arrival of a man from Genoa, Italy and his Spanish crew in their three ships to a small island in what are now the Bahamas.  We've often said that this man, known in Spanish as Cristobal Colon and in English as Christopher Columbus, discovered America.  More recently, we've argued about whether the term "discover" is correct.  Columbus didn't really discover America, according to one argument, because people such as the Taino and Caribs were already inhabiting the islands that he explored on his four voyages from Spain.  But whether or not he deserves the term "discovered", his major accomplishment in my view was creating the permanent connection between the Americas and the rest of the world, with all the good and bad that followed.  Perhaps ironically, Columbus was reluctant to claim that he had found a part of the world previously unknown to people on his side of the Atlantic, thinking that the islands he explored were off the coast of Asia, other than realizing that South America was a continent.  Whether he died still clinging to this idea seems to be a matter of opinion.

Over the years, some myths about Columbus have emerged.  One is that he believed that the world is round, while his fellow Europeans were still flat-earthers.  In reality, most Europeans back then believed in a round earth.  Columbus differed from his contemporaries by underestimating its size.  More recently, he has been accused of being a greedy imperialist responsible for horrible treatment of the indigenous people, but instead actually instructed his crew to treat them well.  For more, read the FrontpageMag article "Why Columbus still deserves his day".  If you feel like celebrating with some Italian food, go eat some pasta (from the Mediterranean area) with sauce made from tomatoes (native to the Americas).  But on the other hand, if you have a problem with Columbus Day, you agree with the Klan.  Yes, you read that right.  By opposing Columbus Day, you agree with the Klan.  And if you'd rather observe Indigenous People's Day, think again.

Meanwhile, here are some things going on today:

From the New York Post, Italian-Americans fight to keep Columbus Day.

From Middle East Monitor, using Italian boats, the Libyan coast guard has rescued over 16,000 illegal immigrants.

From the Express, the plague strikes Madagascar.

From Russia Today, as Germany's finance minister steps down, he warns of another financial crisis.

From ANSA (an Italian site), the Marseilles attacker had a brother fighting in Syria.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a girl who had been shot in the head is now "walking, talking and back at school".

From The Washington Free Beacon, California sheriffs oppose their state's "sanctuary" legislation.  (via HotAir)

From Assyrian International News Agency, Syrian fighters backed by the U.S. prepare for a final push in Raqqa.

From The Daily Caller, Samantha Ponder (whose husband Christian played some football for FSU against my Hokies) has the best take on the Cam Newton situation.  (The article's first pic shows her interviewing then-coach Frank Beamer and QB Logan Thomas of Virginia Tech in 2013.)

And from Page Six, please do not mistake Harvey Fierstein for Harvey Weinstein.