noah wrote:

On 13 Oct 2003 04:53:49 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

It's Columbus Day.

Would it be appropriate to compile a list of Columbus trivia?

I'll start off:

1. Cristobol Colon (Christopher Columbus) was once married to the daughter of
the governor of the Canary Islands. There are rumors that he converted to
Catholicism from Judaism. He was a pioneer in the art of practical celestial
navigation.

2. European seamen were well aware of "land to the west" for centuries before
Colubus "discovered" America. Cod from the waters off Newfoundland was a common
staple at fish markets in several European ports.

3. The Catholic Church suppressed knowledge of the western lands because they
were not mentioned in the Bible. There was a fear that people would question
the absolute authority of the Bible (and thereby the Church) if it became
common knowledge that the earth was not accurately described in the scriptures.
This explains why the lands to the west were commonly discussed by the Norse
(Vinland Sagas, etc) who were latecomers to Christianity, but not officially
acknowledged in areas that had been more directly subjugated by Rome.

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. First
fact in evidence: Columbus promised to "claim" locales where he landed for the
Spanish Crown. (The Emporer of China would, of course, have some objection the
the Spanish potentates laying claim to Formosa). Second fact in evidence:
Columbus negotiated a deal to be named "The Admiral of the Western Sea."
(This would give him a share in any prizes or booty wrested from the area.)
Spain would not have sought a naval war with China, particulary in the late
15th cnetury. Additional fact in evidence, Colon promised to convert the
godless savages to Catholicism. There were no "godless savages" in China.

5. In 1492, most people did not believe the world was flat, and Columbus was
not
obsessed with "proving" it to be round.

There's five to get the ball rolling. Anybody else got a tidbit to contribute?

Very interesting subject.

6. Cristo (as he was known to his friends) was returned to Spain in
chains (after his second voyage), for mismanagement of the new colony.
It seems that everyone he left behind to obtain gold was killed by the
natives.

7. CC has never been shown to have used celestial navigation to
"find" America, in fact, his surviving logs show a strict reliance
upon Dead Reckoning. He recorded extensive compass headings and
canting speed calculations in the log. Watch officers were required
to report these details.

8. We still do not know "for a fact" where he landed.
http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/cclandfl.htm
Have fun with this. Maybe some of our "Southern Captains" can offer
some insight. Keep in mind that Colombus' "league" was shorter than
the modern league.

9. The arrival of Columbus is credited with the death of 80% to 90%
of the indiginous population of the area, through the introduction of
venerial disease, influenza, and armed violence.
Some "tribes" were exterminated completely.

10. One of the arguments used by Columbus to secure the support of
the Catholic monarchy of Spain was to prevent the spread of Islam to
the "East" (China). It is probable that he had no idea where he
landed, was opportunistic once he got there, and died not knowing how
far Cuba was from China.

...carry on.
noah

To email me, please remove the "FISH" from the net.


Well, not to lower the level of discussion, but...

Columbus Day typically is celebrated as a holiday among many of the
international unions in the United States, so I don't have to make my
usual Monday morning trek into the District of Columbia.

Naturally, I'm a great fan of this Columbus fellow, for whatever the
heck he did!

Seriously, one of my favorite books about the "aftermath" of Columbus is
Seeds of Change, which discusses the explorer's role in introducing
European fauna and flora to the "New World," and vice versa.

It's published by the Smithsonian, that well-known leftist organization
of museums and knowledge.

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