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Columbus' role, impact now seen in broader context
By Michele Steinbacher
msteinbacher@pantagraph.com
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BLOOMINGTON — Most historians now say categorizing Christopher Columbus as either mythical hero or conscious evildoer does a disservice to the complex place he holds in world history. | Photo gallery

“In some sense he went from a hero to a villain,” in the pendelum of public perception, said Matthew Pursell, who teaches early American history at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Nowadays, instead of a black or white view of Columbus most educators see the truth in grayscale.

Fifth-grade teachers Deb Weaver and Julie Hoffman took students on a field trip to Peoria last week to see a 60-foot replica of one of Columbus’ ships. The visit was part of a larger explorer’s unit at Trinity Lutheran Grade School that introduces the complexity of European exploration of the Americas.

The unit also looks at how a cultural icon like Columbus — immortalized for U.S. schoolchildren today, Columbus Day — is not so clearcut in historical interpretations, said Weaver.

“This is really the first time many of them have come across some of the negative ideas about Columbus,” she said of the 25 children from Trinity.

That broad view wasn’t always the norm. As the early U.S. government developed, people eager to find new heroes to replace English monarchs found refuge in Columbus and “discovery.”

“But, he was lost. When he landed in the Caribbean, he thought he was in China,” said Pursell.

In the early 19th century, writer Washington Irving’s “The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus” boosted the myth. Truth was stretched for more interesting storytelling, with Irving depicting Columbus as a visionary who knew the earth wasn’t flat.

“All the educated people of (Columbus’) time already knew the world was round,” said Linda Clemmons, a historian at Illinois State University who teaches about post-1492 life for American Indians.

Building an unclear icon

The iconic stature of the explorer continued; by 1893 the country saw the Columbian World Exposition, in 1937 President Roosevelt made Columbus Day a national holiday. Later, as the 1960s age of consciousness unfolded, American Indians began to vocally oppose the festive parades and U.S. history books’ depictions, said Clemmons.

“I think what native Americans were saying at this time was not that Columbus was a villain, but rather that as a nation we shouldn’t celebrate him as a hero,” she said.

Indigenous groups and their allies continue to speak out. For example, more than 80 people were arrested Saturday during Denver’s annual Columbus Day parade.

Supporters call Columbus a brave explorer who opened a new world. But protesters have called him a slave trader who touched off centuries of genocide and oppression against native peoples.

“In many places diseases like smallpox wiped out 90 percent of a village,” said Clemmons.

“But no matter what people think of Christopher Columbus the man, he needs to be remembered for his significant role in world exploration” and the so-called Columbian exchange that followed, she said.

“It was a watershed moment,” said Pursell. The exchange of plants, animals, cultures changed the way the world exists.

Part of the significance of 1492 and Columbus’ journey is the triggering of long-term contact between cultures on opposite sides of the world, giving birth to globalization, said Clemmons.

Columbus’ role in U.S. schools

Most U.S. children have today off from school, though October is usually when Columbus comes up. In general, primary grades stick to simple paper creations of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria ships. Most don’t learn more than picture-book stories of the sailor, said Weaver.

In the context of world exploration, Columbus usually doesn’t surface until fifth grade, when students gain some perspective on colliding cultures.

“We really start to talk about the idea that he didn’t ‘discover’ the place — that Vikings came earlier. And that many Native Americans lived here already,” Weaver said.

A teacher for 16 years, Weaver said in the last six or seven years Columbus teaching methods have become more encompassing. After the field trip, the Trinity fifth-graders wrote essays on whether they believe Columbus should be considered a hero.

“It is an exercise in varying viewpoints,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Take a look
Jim Ross, of Waverly, Ill., tours La Nina Wednesday (Oct. 3, 2007) docked at the Peoria Riverfront. (Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)
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Reader comments on this story - 38 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

sheena wrote on Dec 31, 2007 7:12 PM:

" Your education system sucks. I live in the Caribbean and the first thing i was taught about Columbus was that he did not discover the Americas. He was a murderer and a scrounger who sought to rape the region of its wealth and launched the genocide of the indigenous peoples. It amazing to me that a man like this is hailed and celebrated in America ............. "

:( wrote on Oct 28, 2007 8:41 PM:

" before i thought that columbus should be honored but then i read something taht i can not post since it is vulgar, but it shows everyone how columbus nad his men tortured the natives by doing some sick things, and i don't think that anyone who does something like he did should get any positive recognition "

yeahh wrote on Oct 14, 2007 7:32 PM:

" i don't think that columbus should be classified as a hero. thats like someone seeing a $20 bill on the street and picking it up, and then someone else saw $20 million dollars under it. and the person that saw the $20 bill would say well i get all of it because the other person never would have found it. "

re:To Future Pontificators: wrote on Oct 9, 2007 6:39 AM:

" I think you realize it was pretty relevant to the situation at hand or else you would have responded with a meaningful comeback. "

acceptable? HAHAHA wrote on Oct 8, 2007 8:07 PM:

" Please people. Your defense of him would get you an F in a community college 101 Law course. I'm sure the people who he killed didn't find it "acceptable" "

RE:Realistic wrote on Oct 8, 2007 4:41 PM:

" Acceptable? It was glorified. Genocide in the name of God was probably the popular one. Sort of like things today in Darfur and.....uhmmmm.....other places. "

To: RE:Realistic wrote on Oct 8, 2007 3:43 PM:

" "Murder and genocide was acceptable in Columbus' days?" Well, Yes, pretty much. Define "murder". Killing, maiming, abusing, oppressing and even owing people classed as sub-humans has always been acceptable and seldom called murder. Americans have done it. We still do, Hiding it with a lot of ritual we call it the Death Penalty. Genocide has also been quite a popular human pastime. It was not widely recognized as such, however, before we needed "Crimes Against Humanity" to beat the Nazis over the head with at Nuremberg. "

Mr. Birkenbake wrote on Oct 8, 2007 3:34 PM:

" I think this whole Columbus Day thing is another evil plot by Karl Rove to promote the warmongering fascism of the Bush Administration. (I don't really believe this, but I'm sure 20 or 30 of you out there do) "

To Future Pontificators: wrote on Oct 8, 2007 3:32 PM:

" When you make a point, and then back it up with a quote from a television show, you pretty much negate whatever intelligence you displayed making your initial point. "

All missing the point wrote on Oct 8, 2007 3:30 PM:

" Columbus was a human being doing what humans have always done. Exercising their curiosity and reaching out for something new. Such human actions can, do, and will have unintended consequences. Columbus "upset" the apple cart in 1492, Newton did it with gravity. Nobel did it with dynamite. Just as many other humans have or will over all of Time. Call it gray scale thinking or moral relativism, the truth is that we humans can never see and predict the future, no matter how much we wish otherwise. "

Chris wrote on Oct 8, 2007 1:53 PM:

" While it is true disease wiped out up to 90% of the natives, many were enslaved and died due to overworking and poor conditions. The Spanish wrote at the time that in Haiti, Indians were actually shot at purely for sport. When they were exterminated, the English sold them Indians from the 13 colonies to be used as slaves. "

RE:Realistic wrote on Oct 8, 2007 1:28 PM:

" Murder and genocide was acceptable in Columbus' days? "

Ron Paul is the worst option wrote on Oct 8, 2007 12:44 PM:

" He's about as cool as a fanny pack. "

Realistic wrote on Oct 8, 2007 12:31 PM:

" Columbus was not a murderer. In 1492, they didn't even know what germs where, let alone what might bring disease to a part of the world that was not exposed to the diseases of Europe. Yes, Columbus was lost, and others were here first. However, it was his stumbling on the Americas, and DOCUMENTING the landing that caused the "new world" to be open for exploration by the Europeans. "Discovering" a world previously unknown to Europe and then not telling anyone, leaves the new world unknow the well educated of the day, and therefore not really "discovered". We cannot and should not judge him by the morales of today, but by the morales of his time. In two hundred years something that is a common practice today will be considered wrong or even illegal. How do we know what it will be? Would you want to be judged in the future by a law that doesn't exist now? If not, then we can't judge Columbus by our rules. "

Sherm wrote on Oct 8, 2007 12:16 PM:

" Ron Paul, 2008, Before it's too late "

Michael (woops, quote a littel off) wrote on Oct 8, 2007 11:58 AM:

" actually , the quote is : "New ideas are fine, but they are also illegal, becaue they are ageism" "

re:Murderer? Well... wrote on Oct 8, 2007 11:54 AM:

" If you would like to think that it was only the disease that wiped out the natives then go right ahead and put those rose-colored glasses right back on. Well there is all that genocide stuff too right? Oh wait, lets convice ourselves otherwise, correct? :) We shouldn't agree with any new viewpoints. As Michael from The Office said, "We can't learn anything new because it is illegal. It is a form of ageism" "

re:Murderer? Well... wrote on Oct 8, 2007 11:32 AM:

" Yes, I'm sure his epidemiolgy skills were such that creating a pandemic was on his priority list. Maybe we should curse and demonize all Asians for bringing bubonic plague to Europe in 1348? I'm sure they did it intentionally, wearing my hindsight 20/20 glasses. "

You are all~~ wrote on Oct 8, 2007 11:31 AM:

" WAY off base!! I discovered America, and look darn incredible for my age!! :) "

Oh, wise ones! wrote on Oct 8, 2007 11:30 AM:

" And to think people listen to you! I'll take my chances via history books, wether it be at the library are the net! "

re:Murderer? Well... wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:59 AM:

" well he did bring disease over that wiped out half the inhabitants... if you really think he didn't do anything wrong, can I borrow your rose-colored glasses? "

Values wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:56 AM:

" It's not a matter of todays values. It's always been impolite to murder your fellow man! War is our sick way of justifying murder. It seldom is unpreventable. No person is completely good or bad. The Spanish got here in 1492. Africans came here about 200 yrs. earlier according to some historians. "

Murderer? Well... wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:55 AM:

" if it's in a book, it has to be true. How ironic that 'the world is flat' was in a book, too. "

great article wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:38 AM:

" Hope it opened some eyes but I doubt it because people will walk around with blinders all the time and try to convince themselves of anything in order to match their beliefs. "

Imposition of Today's Values wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:20 AM:

" upon a historical figure is insane. How can we condemn a man who centuries ago did something like open the western hemisphere to the rest of the world, by imposing social mores and attitudes from today? It was centuries ago. That's like condemning him for not washing his hands after going to the bathroom. Political correctness run a muck. Columbus rightfully deserves the recognition he has received in the past. "

Murderer wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:06 AM:

" Columbus was a killer. He killed the native inhabitants of this land. Read A People's History of the United States. Howard Zinn. The truth about a tyrant. "

TO: The Spainards## wrote on Oct 8, 2007 10:05 AM:

" The Spanish got here in 1092? That might even beats the Norse. Except they weren't the 'Spanish' in 1092. Whoops. "

HM wrote on Oct 8, 2007 9:07 AM:

" Read and understand history BEFORE you speak! St. Augustine Fl. was founded by the Spanish in1565. Why do you think so many cities,counties,and states have Spanish names ? My ancestors got here before the English even knew it existed! In the Seminole Indian wars Spain ordered the U.S. out of Florida. "

The Spainards## wrote on Oct 8, 2007 8:35 AM:

" Discovered America. St. Augestine (Florida) was founded 400 plus years before Columbus, so why is he getting all the credit, STILL???????????? "

HM wrote on Oct 8, 2007 8:11 AM:

" While it is true that Cristobal Colon(his real name)opened the world to globalization, he expanded the Spanish Inquisition to the western hemisphere. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled the Moors from Spain and then forcibly converted or expelled to Catholicism any Muslims and Jews in Spain This religious extremism continued in the Americas forcing (Indians) to be Christians or die. Sounds like Iraqi Muslims' treatment of Jews and Christians today. "

to I Bet wrote on Oct 8, 2007 5:41 AM:

" Good comment. Best so far. Who cares what WE(this gen) think of the man. "

Al Gnore wrote on Oct 8, 2007 2:14 AM:

" I Thought The Easter bunny and Santa Claus discovered America. "

JD wrote on Oct 8, 2007 12:42 AM:

" I believe the goal is to prevent people from attempting to rewrite history. History should be factual, and not just biased representation, pro or con, of events or people. It is up to the people to formulate an opinion after knowing all the facts. Many history books when I was young, attempted to portray Columbus as a hero without any mention of the negative effects he caused and little information about the man himself. "

A Guy wrote on Oct 7, 2007 11:04 PM:

" Columbus is my hero. Why don't I get the day off work like the teachers? I guess I'll have to skip work to stay home and teach my kids about Columbus... Since the schools won't do it!!! "

Vikings? wrote on Oct 7, 2007 10:01 PM:

" What about St. Brendan the Navigator and his companions in their oxhide coracle? And, after the Vikings came the Azoreans, who kept capitalistically quiet for nearly a century about where they were catching all those codfish. "

of course wrote on Oct 7, 2007 9:30 PM:

" columbus had slaves. so did king david. so did caeser. so did washington. so did everyone. "

Mom wrote on Oct 7, 2007 9:23 PM:

" We took our kids to see the ship today. It is really neat. I would say if you get the chance to go see it, do it. "

I bet wrote on Oct 7, 2007 7:59 PM:

" Columbus doesnt care what we think of him "
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