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#1
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Heres a "not so nice" excerpt comparing Columbus to Adolf Hitler & Al
Capone. http://web.mit.edu/thistle/www/v9/9.11/1columbus.html |
#2
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On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 04:53:49 +0000, Gould 0738 wrote:
It's Columbus Day. Would it be appropriate to compile a list of Columbus trivia? 4. To get permission to sail to a land that the super authority, the church, denied even existed, Cristobol petitioned to make an expedition to China, (an officially recognized locale). He pitched a religious as well as a commercial angle, but it is rather evident that he knew full well he would not be landing in China. SNIP 5. In 1492, most people did not believe the world was flat, and Columbus was not obsessed with "proving" it to be round. The Story I heard was that the "fact" in question was not whether or not the world was flat, but of it's size. Some (not sure who the Players were...) contended it was about 24000 miles around (close to the correct figure). Others, including Columbus, contended it was about 5000 miles - so a journey west to Chine was eminently possible. Columbus was still wrong when he hit land, which was why he named it "Indies" and the natives "Indians". Lloyd ps - a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I'm still burbin' turkey! ls |
#3
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The Story I heard was that the "fact" in question was not whether or not
the world was flat, but of it's size. Some (not sure who the Players were...) contended it was about 24000 miles around (close to the correct figure). Others, including Columbus, contended it was about 5000 miles - so a journey west to Chine was eminently possible. Columbus was still wrong when he hit land, which was why he named it "Indies" and the natives "Indians". Lloyd ps - a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I'm still burbin' turkey! ls There's a problem with that theory. How far is it from the west coast of Europe to the east coast of China going *East*? And that's still not "around the world," by any stretch of the imagination. Ever been to the Vatican? There are some pretty decent maps of Europe and Asia from the 14th and 15th Century on display. It would be tough to accept that Columbus thought the circumference of the world was 5000 miles. |