Praise Be Jesus Christ, Now and Forever!
Since this past Columbus Day, I have been on a quest and a fact finding mission to discover the truth about Christopher Columbus. Was he the villain as described by his enemies both in his day and in current times, or the gentle, God loving soul, as depicted in his personal writings? Until recently, conventional wisdom about Columbus was that maybe he should not necessarily be canonized by the Church, but was a good, decent, God-fearing zealous man on a quest to sail west, to find a trade route to the East. Finding a trade route by sea to India was extremely important in Columbus’s day, considering he lived during a time in which Spain finally had driven out of their country the Muslim Moorish Empire in the famous Battle at Granada. Spain’s victory over the Islamic rule was attributed to prayers answered through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under Her title Our Lady of the Rosary. Because Muslims still controlled the territorial passage way linking Europe to India, the need to find a trade route by sea was becoming desperate for Spain. They could have untold wealth and fortune if they could find this sea route. It should be noted, that they were not seeking wealth and riches only for the sake of improving their lifestyle, they viewed wealth of the country much like we do today in America, as a defense against enemies. They believed, as we do today, that economic instability for a nation is the greatest threat to National defense. However, Columbus’s desire to cross the Atlantic to find the East was not only linked to economics. Being a devout Catholic and even a mystic, Columbus believed his journey to far distant shores could be a way to convert souls to Christ. Columbus at heart, considered himself to be a missionary more than an Explorer. He wanted to bring the Catholic Faith with him in his travels to save souls for Christ. Due to this, Liberal historians refer to him as a religious fanatic, a zealot and eccentric, Catholics, however, would view this behavior as pious and devout.
When I was a child at the Robert F. Kennedy/ Nelson Street School in the Elmhurst section of Providence, I was taught that Christopher Columbus Discovered America. I was taught that he was a genius mariner and could navigate a ship without a compass. I was also taught that he persuaded the Spanish Crown to ?nance an expedition to sail East, to reach the West. I remember learning in my history books that Columbus was laughed at and ridiculed. He was considered crazy for having this wild eyed belief and if this voyage did occur, he would never be seen or heard from again. I believe what I was taught in grade school was standard pedagogy until the Mid-1990’s. Since then, there seems to have been more light shed on what took place in the 10 or so years after he initially landed on the shore of what is now the Bahamas, or is it darkness covering the light?
If Christopher Columbus stuck to being an Explorer, what he did best, and not a Governor of a Colony in the New World, there would be virtually no credible criticism of him today. What is most incriminating regarding his reputation is his alleged treatment of the Native Americans during his rule on the island of, what was then called Hispaniola, and now is the island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. When Columbus became involved in governing, he made some mistakes and some enemies along the way, who later accused him of crimes against humanity. The criticism of him is murky, complicated and political. One of his detractors, a man named Francisco de Bobadilla, is the source of most of the incriminating details of Columbus’ reign as Governor. How credible a source de Bobadilla is, remains in question. He was an enemy of Columbus and wanted his job as Governor. He was successful in achieving this ambition due to his testimony of Columbus’s brutality reaching Europe and the Spanish Crown striped Columbus of his authority. As a result, Columbus was summoned back to Spain in chains. Later Ferdinand and Isabella exonerated Columbus and he was allowed to return to the West Indies.
In my research, I have found nothing that says Columbus was involved in a slave trade where he was shipping boat loads of Natives to Europe, like some of his detractors would have you believe. Actually, unlike America’s Founding Fathers, Columbus never owned slaves. What I have found is that sources tell us most of the brutalities against the Indians committed by Columbus were when he reigned as Governor of Hispaniola for 7 years. But how true is this testimony? What leads me to question the sources are the motives of the authors and the personal life of Christopher Columbus. There is a theory that the sources surrounding the negativity of Columbus are: 1. The result of his enemies trying to destroy his character and reputation and 2. Protestants around the time in which he lived were trying to target him because he represented Catholicism and Catholic, colonial Spain which were their arch enemies. What gives me pause to believe this conspiracy theory is possible, is the personal life and writings of Columbus. On the one hand these outside sources describe him as a monster; and on the other hand, his personal writings and lifestyle depict a man of great spirituality and love for God, love of the natives he encountered and his great desire to convert souls to Christ, "peacefully and not with force" as he wrote. He wore the Franciscan Habit on occasions, fasted regularly, observed with great austerity all the Religious Feast Days and Holy Days of the Church, sang the Salve Regina every evening before going to bed and prayed the Liturgy of the Hours 5 times a day, and although wealthy, denounced a rich man's life for the sake of living according to the Third Order Franciscan discipline and rule. Could a man act like Pope Francis in his personal life and writings and then be the man he is accused of being by his enemies... I guess that kind of hypocrisy could exist in a man's soul, but is it likely?
Un Abbraccio!
Don Giacomo