Day 4,197—Why am I still writing about Columbus?!—

 

        It is Spanish Heritage Month, so it is not unusual for teachers to want to do something to celebrate. I did not expect any teachers to focus on Columbus for Spanish Heritage Month, but someone told me yesterday that’s what they wanted to do. First, I am always annoyed that people think that Columbus was Italian, and I get the confusion. He was from Genoa, Italy, but Genoa was an independent republic when Columbus was alive. They had their own system of government, their own language, and their own culture. Later in the 19th century, it became part of Italy, but not in the 1400s. It would be like saying that if someone were born in Portugal, they’re culturally American. Silly is an understatement, yet Italian Americans acted like Columbus was one of them, so they could try to be more identified as Americans.

        Now, I am reading that there has recently been a theory based on DNA evidence that suggests he is Spanish or Sephardic Jewish. Not that any of this matters a great deal. The cultural heritage of Columbus's origins has very little to do with the cultural norms of Spain or Italy. I am not sure why I am still thinking about this, but I cannot help thinking about how misguided the reverence for Columbus is. He was good at one thing for sure: being a navigator/pilot, but is that something that needs to be celebrated for a thousand years? Doesn’t the pope get some of the credit for crafting a document that argued that whoever landed somewhere they could claim it, despite who already lived there?