Happy *actual* Columbus Day.

Cristobol Colon (more commonly known as "Christopher Columbus") should
be acknowledged as a very adventurous navigator, but his greatest
personal
attribute was his hutzpa and salesmanship and the most significant
contribution he made to history was probably *not* "discovering
America."
(Columbus didn't discover anything in the strictest sense of the
term).

Europeans had been sailing to the eastern shores of North America for
several hundred years prior to 1492, and contrary to what folks of my
generation were taught in grade school it had long been established
that the world was spherical, rather than a flat plane with "edges"
some place. (Columbus shouldn't be credited with proving that the
world was round).

The primary challenge with developing or exploring the well documented
lands across the Atlantic to the west rested with the official
position of the Catholic church- which was the overriding European
social power during the 14 and 1500's. According to the church, even
speaking about undiscovered lands to the west was heresy- as nothing
of the sort was mentioned anywhere in the Bible.

Columbus knew that his fastest avenue to wealth and power lay in
having a voyage sanctioned by a government. Such an arrangement would
create a market for any valuable metals or raw materials he could
gather, would provide protection for his trading fleets, and would
assist him in defending any terriroty occupied in the new lands. To
avoid running afoul of the church, Columbus announced that he was
voyaging west to find a new route to "India", a ruse that his sponsors
supported and that Columbus maintained for the rest of his life. (The
Catholic "Inquisition" also began in 1492- it would have been almost
suicidal for Colubus to ever confess that he knew darn well
where he was going as soon as he set sail).

One of the conditions that Columbus negotiated before his voyage of
1492 was that he would be named "Admiral of the Western Seas." This
might seem insignificant to modern people less than entirely familiar
with the traditional naval "prize" system, but as Admiral Coumbus was
automatically entitled to a certain percentage of the value of any
ships captured, territories conquered, or resources approproated by
his fleet or any colonies he established. No dummy was Columbus.

Columbus is exalted as a national hero in the United States, but he
never set foot on any portion of what would later become US territory.
(possible exception of Puerto Rico- would need to check that detail).
Rather than "discovering America", Columbus' greatest historical
contributions may have involved transferring microbes between western
Europe and the "new world". Syphillis was unkown in Europe prior to
1492 and is thought to be a "gift" to Columbus' crew from indigenous
tribes who carried the disease but were more or less immune to it. The
enormous increase in European contacts that followed the four voyages
of Columbus infected the American natives with smallpox and other
illnesses that wiped out the vast majority of what had been enormous
and thriving populations- to the point where European settlers in the
1600's marveled at how sparsely populated was this new teritory with
such an abundance of resources.

Columbus can be hailed as an accomplished navigator and courageous
explorer, but in my opinion his less noble and more ambitious
motivations make him a much more human and far more interesting
character.