Columbus and Historical Flaws from his Enemies

Columbus Day falls on Monday, October 11 this year. However, now only a few brave citizens dare to resist the progressive-revisionist attack on Christopher Columbus that has become more of a mindless, self-destructive descent into devaluation of historical events and individuals who created history. Long before Critical Race Theory was formally put forth as an alternative to historical fact, progressive-revisionists were nibbling away at truth and regurgitating incomplete chunks of history or outright lies regarding reality. People can be lied to, and without knowing they would be lied to by any academic 'authorities' or professors of history, they would not even know they were lied to, and they would believe the lies and narratives of liars. Critical Race Theory was spawned from the thought of Karl Marx who also sought to deliberately distort history. 

Incomplete truth or outright lies regarding his true reputation and legitimate place in human history

Thus in 2020, there exists a very real dilemma regarding the Genovese explorer and celebrating Columbus Day. There is a serious division of public opinion concerning the reputation of Columbus and his relevance in history due to incomplete truth or outright lies regarding his true reputation and legitimate place in human history. History students today who read about Columbus must themselves navigate murky waters of historical texts bearing definite bias that manipulate history as a weapon. Yet, the destruction of the reputation of Columbus was just the tip of the spear in weaponizing history.  Progressive-revisionist historians, seemingly hell-bent on "revealing" all those crimes that Columbus generated during the tragic clash between Western European and Native American cultures, have taken great pains to denigrate Columbus in recent decades because when Marxists tear down a nation's heroes (destruction of statues is merely symbolic), people lose their roots of national identity. Absolutist progressive-revisionist views have recently evolved into critical race theory that is now being forcibly injected into the minds of students where Leftist - Marxist - Communist overlords have control   of the governmental machinery.  Today, angry and agitated American Indian peoples, who often have little accurate understanding of their own history, react to biased, one-sided narratives rooted in half truths and outright lies, or omission of entire segments of history. Some teachers across the nation (those inclined to teach CRT classes), even in our elementary schools, hold mock trials of Columbus for his so-called 'crimes.' An irony for revisionists, however, is that the criminal charges leveled at Columbus were leveled long, long ago by a Spanish tyrant  to smear him, and once successful, he dropped the charges.   It is important in such a time as this, to recognize fundamental flaws in the progressive - revisionist narrative. One example is the neglect of a fundamental reality that in the time of Columbus, kings ruled absolutely.  Without recognizing tyranny, naive students will absorb flawed and insidious narratives. Neither Columbus, nor his contemporaries living in Spain, enjoyed the kind of freedoms taken for granted by Americans today. Often, in such times, Europeans lived under despotic rule of monarchs of one variation or another. It should be remembered that the Spanish Inquisition was initiated by Ferdinand II, king of Aragon, and Isabella I, Queen of Castile in 1478. The ostensible purpose was to reestablish the 'purity' of religious worship in the Roman Catholic Church and the fundamental adherence to the traditional Catholic orthodoxy. The monarchs expelled all non-Roman Catholics from the realm, or they killed them.

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Another flaw of the progressive-revisionist narrative regarding Columbus

Another flaw of the progressive-revisionist narrative regarding Columbus is to ignore  one key turning point in civilization that occurred during his exploration, at the initial stage of contact between southern Europeans and Native Americans. It was practically buried within the sands of time. Little has been written about an incident known as the construction of "La Navidad," a 'village' built due to a careless accident that led to a greater sequence of cascading catastrophes. Comprehending this event can change  the way people view this first contact. The incident involved an accident when the Santa Maria ran aground upon a reef near the island of Hispaniola (present day Haiti). It led to the escalation and extenuation of a series of seemingly irreversible disasters. However, while there are historians who may acknowledge this event, it is seldom considered significant. Howard Zinn (may God reform his soul), recounted this incident in "A People's History of the United States." He explains about the Santa Maria running aground in 1492, and the sailors salvaging its timber in order to build a 'fort.' The real significance is that Columbus had no choice but to leave 39 Spanish sailors behind at La Navidad. Tragically, these men were brutally massacred and their bodies desecrated by natives before Columbus' second voyage. 'La Navidad' definitely does not fit with revisionist's portrayal of Native Americans as innocent and non-aggressive 'victims,' so to them, it is irrelevant to history. Curiously, Zinn allots only a single sentence to the massacre of the Spanish sailors. Not many contemporary historians give it much notice, one referring to the massacre as a mere 'footnote' in history. The omission of this massacre is significant. First contact between the southern Europeans and the Native Americans resulted in first blood being drawn by the natives. It changes the narrative significantly. Such tragic events in history are very critical, often changing the course of history. In 1770, five American colonists were shot and killed in an event that became known as the Boston massacre. The event changed the way Americans viewed the British; it was one of the incidents leading to the War for Independence.  Another flaw, one exhibiting the "sin of omission" in the vilification of Columbus, is revisionists' focus upon Bartolomé de las Casas and his crusade to help the native people. He was born in 1484 and would have been nine years old when he travelled to America with his father on Columbus' second voyage. He would have been 15 years old, likely a naive teenager, when Columbus was arrested in 1500 by Francisco de Bobadilla, a Spanish nobleman and loyal knight who fought in the wars against the Moors. King Ferdinand chose him to replace the Italian commoner as "governor of the islands." Revisionists amplify las Casas' later life when he eventually challenged the Spanish Crown for crimes against the Indians. Yet, revisionists ignore the Spanish friar, Ramón Pané, who Columbus directly appointed to study and document Taino Indian customs and religion.

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Americans should grasp that the King of Spain had always been in charge of Columbus' expeditions and definitely made sure the Spanish Crown was in charge of the discovered lands

Fray Ramón Pané actually lived with the Taino native peoples for four years, observing their way of life and recording what he learned of them. Around 1498, Pané completed and presented to Columbus his "An Account of the antiquities of the Indians." It is not clear what the Spanish Crown did with the manuscript, but the original was lost after Columbus was arrested and tried for 'crimes' alleged by Bobadilla. Those 'crimes' are the charges repeated by revisionist historians and their adherents today, which were dismissed by the King. But by then, Columbus' reputation had been destroyed. That was the point. In the end, his power was removed as easily as it was given; and while he may be known to millions, Columbus' fame is no longer favorable; and he died a commoner.  By 1500, the bold sailor was out of the power loop. The 'trial' seemed a mere sanitary means of providing King Ferdinand reason enough to break his original decree that designated an Italian as governor of Spanish territory. Americans should grasp that the King of Spain had always been in charge of Columbus' expeditions and definitely made sure the Spanish Crown was in charge of the discovered lands. Columbus should be seen for what he was: a sailor, not a governor; a commoner, not a nobleman; yet, a man of conviction with determination to fulfill his dream. However, Columbus was a pawn in a king's game. Today, one main difference is that we 'elect' our tyrants.