Thoughts on columbus day

Columbus Day does not seem to have the import it once did. Some get a day off; sales are announced, and some parades still occur. With the 500^th anniversary fading, so does the day. The anniversary brought a ton of revisions to the discovery narrative, even alerting us to the silliness of calling a populated land to be “discovered.” In our falling back from large explanations and the great person view of history, we perhaps and recapture some of it by recalling how small the first three small ships to the Americas were, with only around 90 sailors. Is it not a form of the “butterfly effect” where a small enterprise can have enormous consequences down the road?

Kirkpatrick Sale sees the great voyages as an attempt to leave the decay of Europe behind in search of something new, a natural paradise. The voyages started a period of annihilation by disease and subjugation by the new overlords of the native peoples. Of course they were not perfect people, but Columbus and those who followed brought faith under the sword, and compassion faded in the lust for gold. Columbus thought he had discovered a paradise, but one he interpreted as a sign that the world was being prepared for the return of Christ and the end of days. To be able to convert the Indians, instead of the Great Khan, as he had intended, was a sign of the faith spreading over the globe, as the Great Commission at the end of the gospel of Matthew commanded, or John 10:16, as Columbus himself thought.

I am struck by recent interest in the religious dimension of Columbus. Before the voyages, he became more pious and received Communion before the ships left the river near Portugal. he felt that God revealed to him the westward voyage as a new route to the Indies. It seem that he was influenced by apocalyptic musings and even saw himself in the role of the bearer of God’s purposes to help inaugurate a new age. After all, his given name meant Christ-bearer/carrier. Some see religious significance in his new way of signing his name at that time.  He had mystical experiences and in the last difficult voyage heard the voice of god tell him to be strong and of good courage for tribulations had purpose. Some speculate that he hoped to obtain wealth enough to fund yet another crusade to conquer Jerusalem. Columbus himself made a massive search of Scripture and looked to his discoveries in the west as the fulfillment of prophecies. he had more latitude than modern readers of Scripture as it was held that scripture contained levels of meaning that pointed toward spiritual images not seen at the plain level of reading passages (see his comments of Is. 66:19, for instance).

Columbus died, a failure in the eys of the royals who sent him on his voyages. Columbus himself died disappointed and feeling persecuted. So often, only time is able to help us sort through the impact of a solitary life.

We live in an age of discovery of space and the micro-world, and of astounding movement in biology. Yet, discovery seems expected. In some circles of the right wing, the crusading impulse still burns. Fox news and its propaganda allies continue to try to paint opponents in terms of religious conflict. We have grown more mature in our history, as we expect that all human beings are flawed, so our heroes may be flawed as well. We are more willing to see the vast complexity of the forces that affect both individual and social actions. Yet, as Mary Chapin Carpenter wrote: “we had heroes once, and we will again.”