In school, we are all taught that "Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue in 1492, then he discovered America." Is that all really true? Here is what really happened:
Columbus was off to find America: NOT! Columbus was NOT off to find a new country, he was off to find a new route to India. Even after many expeditions to the "New World," Columbus STILL thought that he was visiting India.
Columbus discovered America: NOT! Columbus never really landed in America. He went to the Bahamas on his first trip and South America on some other trips.
Columbus went west to find spices, like those found in India: SOMEWHAT. What he really needed to find was gold. Otherwise, Queen Isabella and King Fedinand (his sponsors) would just stop supplying him.
The Natives of the Bahamas couldn't have been cannibals. Otherwise, Columbus would have been eaten...NOT! Columbus landed on the right island by luck. The other islands were full of cannibals.
More facts:
Columbus wanted more gold, so he enslaved a lot of Natives to help him.
Columbus delivered the small pox disease to the unimmune natives.
All facts were recived from the book: Oh, Yikes! 
| polygon wrote: |
In school, we are all taught that "Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue in 1492, then he discovered America." Is that all really true? Here is what really happened:
Columbus was off to find America: NOT! Columbus was NOT off to find a new country, he was off to find a new route to India. |
I thought this was common knowledge.
| polygon wrote: |
| Columbus discovered America: NOT! Columbus never really landed in America. He went to the Bahamas on his first trip and South America on some other trips. |
Isn't South America and the Bahamas still America?By America, I meant the US.
| polygon wrote: |
| By America, I meant the US. |
I guessed you meant that.
Heres the wiki on Columbus and his voyages.
According to that he made four voyages,and your right in saying he never visited North America,although there are no reasons given as to why,maybe because North Americans weren't as advanced in their civilizations as their southern counterparts.
Anyway it has been argued that the Vikings got there many years before him.Yes I totally agree with you. There are many "heroes" that history books portray. We love to put up regular sinful people such as greedy columbus up on a throne.
Read the nove: "Lies my teacher told me." Columbus is all over the first chapter.
What I always found to be the most surprising fact about Columbus, or rather, about the world at that time, was that no one thought the world was flat. It was well established fact that it was round. And everyone thought the world was bigger than Columbus did, such that it was completely infeasible for them to sail around it to India...something -they were right on-. Columbus thought the world was 1/3 less wide in circumference then was actually the case, and so figured he could make it to India by sailing west...it was only the amazingly good luck of a continent in between Spain and India that he didn't die due to that particular miscalculation.
Columbus discovered American, Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo) (1451[1] – May 20, 1506) was an Italian navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean—funded by the Spanish crown—led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. Though not the first to reach the Americas from Afro-Eurasia — preceded some five hundred years by Leif Ericson, and perhaps by others — Columbus initiated widespread contact between Europeans and indigenous Americans. With his several hapless attempts at establishing a settlement on the island of Hispaniola, he personally initiated the process of Spanish colonization which foreshadowed general European colonization of the "New World." (The term "pre-Columbian" is usually used to refer to the peoples and cultures of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus and his European successors.)
His initial 1492 voyage came at a critical time of growing national imperialism and economic competition between developing nation states seeking wealth from the establishment of trade routes and colonies. In this sociopolitical climate, Columbus's far-fetched scheme won the attention of Queen Isabella of Spain. Severely underestimating the circumference of the Earth, he hypothesized that a westward route from Iberia to the Indies would be shorter and more direct than the overland trade route through Arabia. If true, this would allow Spain entry into the lucrative spice trade — heretofore commanded by the Arabs and Italians. Following his plotted course, he instead landed within the Bahamas Archipelago at a locale he named San Salvador. Mistaking the North-American island for the East-Asian mainland, he referred to its inhabitants as "Indians".
Academic consensus is that Columbus was born in Genoa, though there are other theories. The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. The name is rendered in modern Italian as Cristoforo Colombo, in Portuguese as Cristóvão Colombo (formerly Christovam Colom), and in Spanish as Cristóbal Colón.
The anniversary of Columbus's 1492 landing in the Americas (Columbus Day) is observed throughout the Americas and in Spain on October 12.
i think we all learned about it at school
For the Europeans Columbas discovered America.
In honor they set up a school - St. Columba's School in Delhi -
This is what they say-
St. Columba’s School promotes the harmonious growth of the whole person – a syntheses of faith, life and culture. Set up in 1941, SCS is a dream school, an ornament to the city of New Delhi, a monument to the educational zeal of the Christian Brothers. It imparts love and appreciation of the spiritual values of life that lie beyond all thinking and all actions – that lie at the very base of civilized society.
Alot of deception is taught in history books about explorers and inventors. More often than not they are the people given credit for finding of discovering something but they actually either stole an idea or followed lead of others
| j14fusion14 wrote: |
| Columbus discovered American, Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo) (1451[1] – May 20, 1506) was an Italian navigator |
I have to stop you right there. He was Genoese. And try not to plagiarize Wikipedia without citing it as a source. Changing a few words here and there doesn't make it your own.
Another theory is that Colombo had a map, which was later captured by a Turkish admiral named Piri Reis, that clearly indicated the west coast of north, central, and south America. This map was compiled in 1513 from older source maps, according to the Turks. The older source maps date back to Alexander of the Three Horns, which is the name the Arabs had for Alexander the Great, and some source maps even dating back to Ptolemy.
It's a highly controversial idea, but one worth noting. | atul2242 wrote: |
For the Europeans Columbas discovered America.
In honor they set up a school - St. Columba's School in Delhi -
This is what they say-
St. Columba’s School promotes the harmonious growth of the whole person – a syntheses of faith, life and culture. Set up in 1941, SCS is a dream school, an ornament to the city of New Delhi, a monument to the educational zeal of the Christian Brothers. It imparts love and appreciation of the spiritual values of life that lie beyond all thinking and all actions – that lie at the very base of civilized society. |
*LOL* | Solon_Poledourus wrote: |
| j14fusion14 wrote: | | Columbus discovered American, Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo) (1451[1] – May 20, 1506) was an Italian navigator |
I have to stop you right there. He was Genoese. And try not to plagiarize Wikipedia without citing it as a source. Changing a few words here and there doesn't make it your own.
Another theory is that Colombo had a map, which was later captured by a Turkish admiral named Piri Reis, that clearly indicated the west coast of north, central, and south America. This map was compiled in 1513 from older source maps, according to the Turks. The older source maps date back to Alexander of the Three Horns, which is the name the Arabs had for Alexander the Great, and some source maps even dating back to Ptolemy.
It's a highly controversial idea, but one worth noting. |
So it was an Italian then that started the whole colonial thing in North America? I found the following interesting article on him in the Capitalist Magazine:
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1967The anarchist community in Columbus OH calls their home "Arawak City" instead.
I think that's pretty awesome. 
| polygon wrote: |
In school, we are all taught that "Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue in 1492, then he discovered America." Is that all really true? Here is what really happened:
Columbus was off to find America: NOT! Columbus was NOT off to find a new country, he was off to find a new route to India. Even after many expeditions to the "New World," Columbus STILL thought that he was visiting India.
Columbus discovered America: NOT! Columbus never really landed in America. He went to the Bahamas on his first trip and South America on some other trips.
Columbus went west to find spices, like those found in India: SOMEWHAT. What he really needed to find was gold. Otherwise, Queen Isabella and King Fedinand (his sponsors) would just stop supplying him.
The Natives of the Bahamas couldn't have been cannibals. Otherwise, Columbus would have been eaten...NOT! Columbus landed on the right island by luck. The other islands were full of cannibals.
More facts:
Columbus wanted more gold, so he enslaved a lot of Natives to help him.
Columbus delivered the small pox disease to the unimmune natives.
All facts were recived from the book: Oh, Yikes! |
I hear this for the first time , is this true? | wanshi wrote: |
| I hear this for the first time , is this true? |
Columbus definitely wasn't looking for the new world, he found it pretty much by accident.
And of course he didn't "discover" it at all, as the American Indians were already there for a very long time, and the Vikings had visited, and maybe various ancient civilizations of Africa and Asia. And as the person above noted, he didn't actually land in North America.
He and his soldiers committed genocide against the native people in the Bahamas, enslaving and killing millions of people. All for some gold.
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1975/6/1975_6_4.shtml
It truly is sickening that he is held up as a hero. He was just another greedy plunderer, kidnapper, and murderer, only an exceptionally ruthless one.
As for the smallpox, basically any person from Europe brought that over because Europeans had developed an immunity to it in Roman times. The sailors took syphilis back though.It is true! By the way, it mean is America continent.
| Libby wrote: |
| wanshi wrote: | | I hear this for the first time , is this true? |
Columbus definitely wasn't looking for the new world, he found it pretty much by accident.
And of course he didn't "discover" it at all, as the American Indians were already there for a very long time, and the Vikings had visited, and maybe various ancient civilizations of Africa and Asia. And as the person above noted, he didn't actually land in North America.
He and his soldiers committed genocide against the native people in the Bahamas, enslaving and killing millions of people. All for some gold.
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1975/6/1975_6_4.shtml
It truly is sickening that he is held up as a hero. He was just another greedy plunderer, kidnapper, and murderer, only an exceptionally ruthless one.
As for the smallpox, basically any person from Europe brought that over because Europeans had developed an immunity to it in Roman times. The sailors took syphilis back though. |
Very good posting thanks Libby. Totally agreed. Worst part is that it has been pushed down children's throats at school to the point of nausea. Time to get real.I don't know what kind of school you were at, but I was told this story from the beginning. But it is said that the Vikings discovered the US before Columbus was even born.
| atleetalie wrote: |
| I don't know what kind of school you were at |
Educational standards (and how well those standards are lived up to) differ from area to area and school to school. I went to a public school in a West Virginia, and we were taught that Columbus was a brave intelligent explorer who revealed to the world that the earth was round, who "discovered" America, who "civilized" the natives. This was about 15 years ago. I bet kids all over the country still learn the same thing. Maybe your school was enlightened enough to tell the truth but mine wasn't. And apparently the OP's school wasn't either.
(edited for unnecessary snark, sorry) | atleetalie wrote: |
| I don't know what kind of school you were at, but I was told this story from the beginning. But it is said that the Vikings discovered the US before Columbus was even born. |
Right, but Vikings are only mentioned "in passing" and very little is said about them. Nor the possibility that there could have been explorers from Africa as well. Focus is completely on Columbus. Also very little is mentioned about the link-up with Asia and the Indians.The funny thing is, Columbus wasn't even a national hero until relatively recently. For about 300 years he was seen as nothing but an obscure historical figure who died in poverty amidst legal woes, until a book was written, making him out to be a hero. He sort of faded into history as a nobody until 1829 when Washington Irving wrote his own version(a mostly fictional account) of Columbus' life. The book became extremely popular, and was the biggest contributing factor to making Columbus a pop culture icon and national treasure. For almost 100 years, Irving's book was the main piece of literature for information on Columbus, and still influences the historical view of Columbus.
He was a thief, a slave trader, a marauder, a pirate, a murderer, a liar... the list goes on and on. One thing he was not, was a man worthy of the status given to him in history books.
| Solon_Poledourus wrote: |
The funny thing is, Columbus wasn't even a national hero until relatively recently. For about 300 years he was seen as nothing but an obscure historical figure who died in poverty amidst legal woes, until a book was written, making him out to be a hero. He sort of faded into history as a nobody until 1829 when Washington Irving wrote his own version(a mostly fictional account) of Columbus' life. The book became extremely popular, and was the biggest contributing factor to making Columbus a pop culture icon and national treasure. For almost 100 years, Irving's book was the main piece of literature for information on Columbus, and still influences the historical view of Columbus.
He was a thief, a slave trader, a marauder, a pirate, a murderer, a liar... the list goes on and on. One thing he was not, was a man worthy of the status given to him in history books. |
Wonder what he would have thought about the hype if he could look at it from where he is from the outside in. Probably give him quite a big laugh. Or who knows, possibly he believed in his own ego to the point of bursting with it 
| deanhills wrote: |
| Wonder what he would have thought about the hype if he could look at it from where he is from the outside in. Probably give him quite a big laugh. Or who knows, possibly he believed in his own ego to the point of bursting with it |
That's quite likely. But I think that he might be surprised to see all the iconic imagery, and the way we view him, given that he felt betrayed by the Spanish Crown for breaking their deal to pay him 10% of all money earned from the New World. But then, he might feel like he deserved to be worshiped, because he did go quite insane. He claimed to hear gods voice, and he even tried to get a new crusade started to recapture Jerusalem.hehe, it wasn't even the vikings, soo many people traveled to the Americas before Columbus ever set foot there. The least of which was 1 Polish guy but you can imagine that others randomly stumbled upon the land, especially if setting sail from Asian
I think that it's obvious that Columbus didn't land on North America. The Spanish language is spoken in South America...
I'm wonder who was the first guy who land on North America... ??
I mean, who really started to colonize the land.
It was a lesser known character named Jimmy McPerson.
Back in the year 1985 bc(before cool), Jimmy McPerson had been fighting the oppressive forces of the Nazi Regime, which held most of Europe under control with something called Sharia Law. During the battle of Hastings, Jimmy led his fellow soldiers from the Tuskegee Experimental Air Division in a raid to kill the Nazi leader, Admiral Akbar.
The mission was a success, but Jimmy was wounded and had to have his arms and legs amputated. Back then, they had no anesthetics, so they put Jimmy into cryogenic sleep to perform the operation. When he awoke, he saw that he had been outfitted with robotic limbs. The cost of this operation was $6million dollars, and it bankrupted his home country of LeeMajorsland. He was exiled and forced to swim the Bering Straight to get to New Jersey, which is where he settled, thus populating North America.
I hope this helps, as I spent a good deal of time on the research.
| Solon_Poledourus wrote: |
It was a lesser known character named Jimmy McPerson.
Back in the year 1985 bc(before cool), Jimmy McPerson had been fighting the oppressive forces of the Nazi Regime, which held most of Europe under control with something called Sharia Law. During the battle of Hastings, Jimmy led his fellow soldiers from the Tuskegee Experimental Air Division in a raid to kill the Nazi leader, Admiral Akbar.
The mission was a success, but Jimmy was wounded and had to have his arms and legs amputated. Back then, they had no anesthetics, so they put Jimmy into cryogenic sleep to perform the operation. When he awoke, he saw that he had been outfitted with robotic limbs. The cost of this operation was $6million dollars, and it bankrupted his home country of LeeMajorsland. He was exiled and forced to swim the Bering Straight to get to New Jersey, which is where he settled, thus populating North America.
I hope this helps, as I spent a good deal of time on the research. |
History being re-written? I especially like the part about swimming to New Jersey via the Bering Straight!Jerold H. Feinstein:
| Quote: |
| On March 31, 1492 the Edict of Expulsion (also called the Alhambra Decree) was signed. Every Jew in Spain was forced to choose between conversion to Christianity or leaving the country forever without their possessions. 150,000 Jews left Spain, many first went to Portugal, and following expulsion to the Ottoman Empire. On July 31st (7th of Av), the last Jew left Spain according to some sources and August 2nd (9th of Av), according to others. Columbus sailed on August 3, 1492. He did insist, however, that all of his crew be on board August 2nd, which was the not only the day all Jews had to leave Spain but also the 9th of AV. |
Columbus the man is shrouded in mystery, theory, and fable. What is know of the man is he left a legacy of both historical adventure and death and cruelty.
Many legends will forever outweigh any historical facts that can be documented.
Columbus employed peculiar dates and phrases unique to the Hebrew people. Instead of referring to the "destruction" or "fall of Jerusalem," he used the phrase "the destruction of the second house." He also employed the Hebrew calculation of 68 a.d. instead of 70 a.d. A note in a margin of his writings dated 1481 is immediately given its Hebrew equivalent of 5241, etc.
We will never know. But all the hypothesis can be fun and intriguing. 
