Oh Columbus Day….
The day where we honor the famous Italian explorer Christopher Columbus for his discovery of the New World. His contribution to history is undoubtedly important, for this event eventually led to the meeting of 2 different civilizations which would alter the very foundations of life, politics, and the economy everywhere before they knew it.
Every first Monday of October schools and other institutions celebrate Columbus Day with various events such as showing dramatic movies over the occasion, creating arts and crafts of the 3 ships Columbus used to navigate through the Atlantic Ocean (I still remember the jingle one of my elementary school teachers gave me. La Nina, la Pinta, y la Santa Maria. Good times they were. I was so innocent.), and giving holidays to workers and students. For the students who don’t go to class because of this day, they feel ecstatic. Heck, my little sister who goes to high school didn’t go to class today because of the holiday.
Even though all this celebration is good-natured and harmless on its surface, it still doesn’t take away the cataclysmic ramifications the historic event made to all the indigenous people involved. Sure, the discovery of the Americas by the Europeans wasn’t by itself a bad thing, but everything that happened after it is appalling to say the least.
The subsequent genocide of the natives through deadly pandemics which would make way for the foreign visitors to become the new rulers of the former’s land, the coercing of Christianity to the affected people against their will, and the extractive economic system that squeezed all of the Americas’ juices from its fruits.
All of these are irreversible actions the colonizers did that made them very rich and prominent at the expense of the enslaved population.
This cycle of harm began with the Spanish, which was one of the major reasons why they became so powerful as an empire from the 16th to 19th centuries. Its neighbors—Britain, France, Portugal, etc.--, looking at the prospects of their own self-interests should they dive in this venture of expansion and colonialism, were salivating for their own share of the big tasty American pie. And so, the discovery of the Americas by Columbus indirectly led to the colonization of said world.
Even though the major European powers later left those lands alone for good, the effects of maintaining such a volatile society for a long time is still felt today. In Venezuela, Africa, and Southeast Asia, there is rampant social unrest that can be traced back to when the people inhabiting those areas all those years ago were harshly oppressed. The leaders, after the period of independence that swept those regions in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries which created new countries at a single time, didn’t care for making policies that could’ve helped the newly-formed nations look after themselves. They only cared for their own wealth. It’s as simple as that.
Furthermore, if you look more closely into the effects of colonialism, you can see that the native people’s preceding culture was destroyed by the European iteration, which is ultimately what we’re familiar with today. Think about it. Before the U.S. became the Thirteen British Colonies, the land was filled with dark-colored Native Americans. Who knows what would’ve happened had Columbus not sought out to explore the west of the Atlantic for exotic spices.
The same can be said with Central America. My parents are from Mexico where they lived a life of poverty during their youth. They had to go through the hard way to find their own footing in order to move forward and be self-sufficient. They didn’t ask for this. They were born into it without any choice. You know what was the foundation for this poverty in countries like Mexico? That’s right. It was the Spanish Conquistadors who looted and massacred their way to power.
I understand Columbus had nothing to do with what happened after his discovery, but when you’re thinking about his holiday, you can’t help but include the effects that event made also. More and more people are sharing this sentiment. Columbus, Ohio, the namesake of the very occasion, just announced it’s not going to celebrate the holiday. Elsewhere, other cities are celebrating military veterans and Native Americans instead of the Genoese explorer. This atmosphere is only getting bigger as the years continue to go by.
Whether you celebrate Columbus Day or not is up to you, reader, but know that if you do, you’ll have the brunt of all the innocent people that died after the famous event on the back of your mind.
So yeah…
Happy Columbus Day!!! May you have a fun and worry-free holiday!
