Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy Columbus Day / Sad Indigenous People's Day

School kids in America are taught that Christopher Columbus was a benevolent and forward thinking explorer who discovered America.  This Sesame Street piece made the holiday very kid-friendly:


On the other end of the spectrum, we've got people who want to pin every crime, death, and misfortune that took place in the Western Hemisphere in the last 518 years on the guy.  Here are a few flyers I saved from my college days, during the 500th anniversary of America's discovery:


Of course, the truth lies somewhere in between.

2 comments:

  1. MattCOctober 12, 2010 at 12:56 PM

    I agree completely. Of the original settlers, only the Huguenots (in St. Augustine Florida)seemed to have a decent amount of respect of the indigenous people. The Spanish were downright vicious. The English(Plymouth) used tribal differences to their advantage. The Jamestown colony also seemed to have disdain for the indegenous people, until they needed food desperatly. As with all history, it is written by the victors. The truth is definitely uglier than what is commonly taught, but the end result is that this is an incredible country.

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  2. MaxichampOctober 12, 2010 at 5:58 PM

    @MattC: Could not have said it better myself. And what other blog has readers who can differentiate Huguenots (or even know who/what they are) v. the Jamestown colony!

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