Monday, October 14, 2013

Happy Columbus Day

Once again (good grief - this has been going on since the 70s) Columbus is being maligned for simply trying to find a shorter route to Asia.    I am quite tired of this re-hashing a tired, and in my opinion, false meme.
We celebrate Columbus Day and the Fourth of July because history is written by the winners. Had the Aztecs, the Mayans or the Iroquois Confederation developed the necessary technology and skills to cross the Atlantic and begin colonizing Europe, the fate of its native inhabitants would have been far uglier. The different perspectives on history often depend on which side you happen to be on.
 We celebrate Columbus Day and the Fourth of July because history is written by the winners. Had the Aztecs, the Mayans or the Iroquois Confederation developed the necessary technology and skills to cross the Atlantic and begin colonizing Europe, the fate of its native inhabitants would have been far uglier. The different perspectives on history often depend on which side you happen to be on.
Sultan Knish has an excellent article.

4 comments:

David Duff said...

"Shome mishtake, shurely - Ed."

Or am I seeing double *before* lunch?

bruce said...

Yeah, 'History is Written by the Winners' again: False!

The winners are often too busy ruling their spoils to bother. In fact history is often written by the losers when they retire from battle, as a memento of what used to be. Historians are motivated by nostalgia for a lost past. I write this from the dregs of the old British Empire!

John The River said...

PBS had a program on the Egyptian Pharaohs and one, Ramses I think, went to present day Jordan and got his ass kicked, but good.

When he got back home with what was left of his army he ordered that great stone monuments be erected to honor his "great victory". And that was how history recorded it, until modern day archeology uncovered evidence in other lands that proved otherwise.

Which just proves that if you control or are loved by the media you can never lose a campaign.

But that could never happen today...?

missred said...

Never John, Never
Bruce, I believe the winners do like their egos stroked by having their minstrels write about their exploits. But I will not refute your comment. Sounds good to me?