Study Assignment 8

Historical Commemoration in Context

            In the U.S., Columbus Day (October 12) is celebrated as a holiday, at least as a day when many banks or other businesses are closed. Many schoolchildren complete projects on Columbus around this time and know the names of his famous three ships. Many adults know that “in fourteen ninety-two / Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Many Native American groups commemorate Columbus Day as a day of tragedy, and the year 1992 saw a hemisphere-wide re-evaluation of Columbus as a historical figure. Meanwhile, persistent historians point out all the ways in which Columbus was far from being even the firstEuropean to reach the Americas, much less the first person to “discover America.”

            Imagine that you are a historian who has been hired by a school district to provide high school classroom materials on the larger global perspective of the voyages of Columbus. You are the go-to “World History expert” called in to make sure that any commemorations are at least historically accurate. You are well-known for providing very objective, fair analysis on politically charged historical topics just like this one. You will write a brief report (2-3 pages worth of double-spaced text) that will serve as a briefing for teachers.

            Explain how Columbus’ voyages relate to very large historical issues in many different parts of the world. Use specific examples to support your case. Your primary role is neither to defend Columbus Day as a holiday nor to condemn it, but your information certainly could be used by one or both sides. The most important thing for your report is to go beyond Columbus or his specific voyages.

Some examples of topics you could cover (or develop your own):

1. Europeans and motives of exploration — was it exploration for the sake of exploration?

2. Other less well-known explorers and other explorations –Zheng He and China, for example

3. Columbus as agent of a very big Old World — not just Europe but also Middle East, Africa, Asia

4. Timing — why 1492 and not before?

5. What the Americas were like when Columbus arrived