Today, we celebrate the observance of Columbus Day; the day commemorates the 12th of October, the anniversary of Columbus and his flotilla first making landfall in the New World.
The descriptions in his ship's log of the voyage leading up to the landing on 12 October 1492 is certainly interesting, and worthy of a read. You can find that here: Medieval Sourcebook: Extracts from the Journal of Columbus
Another site that has a range of information on Columbus is found here: Franciscan Archive on Columbus
Pope Leo XIII actually wrote an Encyclical Letter on this tremendous event: Pope Leo XIII: Quarto abeunte saeculo
This editorial by a descendant of Columbus, Christopher Columbus XX, is worthy of note on the occasion: USA Today: Christopher Columbus XX Editorial
This editorial by a descendant of Columbus, Christopher Columbus XX, is worthy of note on the occasion: USA Today: Christopher Columbus XX Editorial
Here is a helpful interview on the man, Columbus: KoC Columbus Interview
Another article on Columbus: Catholic World Report: "The true Christopher Columbus and the crisis of the west"
For the year of Our Lord, 2020, there was a Presidential Proclamation for the holiday: Columbus Day Proclamation, 2020
Map of the Voyages of Christopher Columbus.
["Viajes de colon en" by Viajes_de_colon.svg: Phirosiberiaderivative work: Phirosiberia (talk) - Viajes_de_colon.svg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons]
Christopher Columbus actually misjudged the size of the Earth – he thought Japan to be where Florida actually is! He, an Italian, sailed for Spain, specifically the Kingdom of Castile and Leon, to bring Christianity to the East, and to, he hoped, provide funding for a Crusade. Columbus would discover the New World in 1492 (he discovered the Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola in this first voyage), and make three further journeys: his second (1493-1496) which found the Leeward Isles, Puerto Rico and Jamaica [he founded Santo Domingo on this voyage], his third (1498) which found Trinidad, the mouth of the Orinoco, and his fourth (1502-1504) which passed the Windward isles and explored the Central American coast – always believing it to be part of the Indies.
Facade of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo.
[By Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66318182]
While Columbus himself was not without flaw, and his administration of the West Indies was clearly lacking in some regards, the true legacy of his voyages was the arrival of Catholic Christianity and Western Civilization to the New World. The New World gained much, particularly from Spain, for, “instead of fearful temples…there were Christian churches; while upon the Indians themselves have been bestowed the hardly won prizes of ages of slow progress, the developed arts, the various domestic animals, the grains, vegetables, and fruits, the use of letters, and the printing press, and the forms of government.” [Quotation from Spain in America by Bourne] Certainly abuses did remain a serious problem (though there was a triennial audit of these realms in an attempt to minimize such abuses) as did the ravages of disease (particularly smallpox) – all the same, there was an earnest attempt to convert, civilize, and protect the Indians by both the crown and Church. The crown spent its own money seeing to the introduction of missionaries, and orders such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, & Jesuits made important gains. By the end of the 16th century there was a thriving Spanish New World culture, complete with “universities, scholars, authors, presses, scientists, and saints.”
A taste of that New World culture, with images of the Mexican Church of Santa Prisca in Taxco, along with a setting of the Salve Regina written by Hernando Franco in Mexico -- this in a land once marked by its widespread human sacrifice:
Live well!
For the year of Our Lord, 2020, there was a Presidential Proclamation for the holiday: Columbus Day Proclamation, 2020
["Viajes de colon en" by Viajes_de_colon.svg: Phirosiberiaderivative work: Phirosiberia (talk) - Viajes_de_colon.svg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons]
Christopher Columbus actually misjudged the size of the Earth – he thought Japan to be where Florida actually is! He, an Italian, sailed for Spain, specifically the Kingdom of Castile and Leon, to bring Christianity to the East, and to, he hoped, provide funding for a Crusade. Columbus would discover the New World in 1492 (he discovered the Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola in this first voyage), and make three further journeys: his second (1493-1496) which found the Leeward Isles, Puerto Rico and Jamaica [he founded Santo Domingo on this voyage], his third (1498) which found Trinidad, the mouth of the Orinoco, and his fourth (1502-1504) which passed the Windward isles and explored the Central American coast – always believing it to be part of the Indies.
[By Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66318182]
While Columbus himself was not without flaw, and his administration of the West Indies was clearly lacking in some regards, the true legacy of his voyages was the arrival of Catholic Christianity and Western Civilization to the New World. The New World gained much, particularly from Spain, for, “instead of fearful temples…there were Christian churches; while upon the Indians themselves have been bestowed the hardly won prizes of ages of slow progress, the developed arts, the various domestic animals, the grains, vegetables, and fruits, the use of letters, and the printing press, and the forms of government.” [Quotation from Spain in America by Bourne] Certainly abuses did remain a serious problem (though there was a triennial audit of these realms in an attempt to minimize such abuses) as did the ravages of disease (particularly smallpox) – all the same, there was an earnest attempt to convert, civilize, and protect the Indians by both the crown and Church. The crown spent its own money seeing to the introduction of missionaries, and orders such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, & Jesuits made important gains. By the end of the 16th century there was a thriving Spanish New World culture, complete with “universities, scholars, authors, presses, scientists, and saints.”
A taste of that New World culture, with images of the Mexican Church of Santa Prisca in Taxco, along with a setting of the Salve Regina written by Hernando Franco in Mexico -- this in a land once marked by its widespread human sacrifice:
Live well!
Thank you for your posting. It is unbelievable to me that we must defend our civilization in 2020. Were all things done right 500 years ago? No, based on what we know today, but in the case of Columbus things were done as right as could be in the era in which he lived. To take it to the nth degree, we are where we are because of Columbus. All are welcome to participate, if they want to, in our great country. I, for one, do not now wish to turn back the clock. . . . .
ReplyDelete