Happy Columbus Day

Today is the day set aside by the government to celebrate the intrepid explorer Christopher Columbus. Yet, few seem to really celebrate the occasion. There are invariably protesters, usually from the Native American communities, and counter-protesters, usually from the Italian American community that make their charges and counter-charges but most do not give much thought to Chris Columbus. Lately he has acquired a rather politically incorrect reputation and Columbus Day (or la Dia de la Raza as it is often known in these parts) passes with little notice. Although I am often at odds with federally mandated holidays, this is one I think has been given an (undeserved) bad reputation and people should at least be told why Christopher Columbus was so significant.

He was not, as we all should know by now, the first to “discover” America. However, it was his discovery that mattered. The Old World was introduced to the New and the race was on amongst the great powers of the day to explore, claim and settle the new lands. This is, of course, why many Native Americans make it a point to be upset on Columbus Day. Being of partial native ancestry myself I still cannot totally understand this attitude. It makes as little sense to me as would blaming Benjamin Franklin for the electric chair. However, it did all start with Columbus and here is where I get very upset with the anti-colonialist/imperialist crowd. Even those that are not too strident on the subject will at the very least voice the opinion that the nations of Europe should have just stayed home and never colonized anyone. Although I understand where they are coming from with all of the grief the former colonial powers are given these days, such an attitude rather horrifies me. Without European colonization neither my country nor myself would exist.

Christopher Columbus was not, of course, some horribly wicked villain (neither was he a saint naturally). He was a very religious man who took a keen interest in the Bible and Biblical prophecies and in times of peril at sea would order his hard-bitten sailors to pray. Of course we also cannot forget that his great discovery would not have been possible without the support of the “Catholic Monarchs” King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. It is also worth pointing out, at least it is these days, that Columbus expected to profit from his discoveries. In our very socialistic times one has to wonder if someone would take similar risks and brave similar unknowns without the chance of reward. In any event, although it was not the India he thought it was, Christopher Columbus did make history and set things in motion for the rise of the western hemisphere, the founding of new world powers and the, inadvertent, decline of some nations and the rise of new peoples unique to the Americas.

Favorite Royal Images: Isabella of Castille

One of my favorite portraits of one of my favorite monarchs.

Happy Columbus Day

Today is Columbus Day and it seems that the more controversial and "politically incorrect" Columbus becomes the more I feel like supporting and defending the memory of the man. About the only zealous supporters of Columbus Day these days are the Italian-Americans who are none too happy when their most famous Genoese countryman is slandered. First, I should probably dismiss a few things right off. Yes, Columbus was not the first European to "discover" America. The Vikings were certainly in the New World long before and numerous other evidence suggests possible visits by others as well. However, Columbus' voyage was the one that mattered. It was his voyage that permanently put the Americas on the map, it was his voyage that started the exploration and colonization of the Americas. Others that preceded Columbus left hardly a trace but the voyage of Columbus changed the world.

Most outrageous, however, is the effort by many today to portray Columbus as some sort of genocidal villain who is responsible for the deaths of multitudes of Native American Indians. To say that is absurd is putting it lightly. It would be like blaming the first merchant to travel the Silk Road for the Black Death. It is also a slam against Spain's great Queen Isabella I who was very specific in her instructions that though she considered converting the Indians a major reason for the voyage she also said that they should be "treated as free people, for such they are". This also relates to another reason why Columbus is so hated by those on the radical, leftist fringe; he was a very religious man who was dispatched on his voyage by very religious monarchs. Spreading Christianity was part of his mission and there are those today who consider this a greater plague than the diseases brought along with them. Those people I really do not understand as, Christianity had and has its problems but no one is performing human sacrifices on top of pyramids anymore and one would think that would be considered a good thing.

Columbus should be given credit for his remarkable accomplishment and he should not be blamed for every ill that followed in his wake. No one intends to spread disease and although the Indians were at times treated bad, they were not treated as an "untouchable" class or we would not have the modern Latin American people, tha majority of which are descendants of Spanish and Indian ancestors. I also think it does people good, especially as they grow more powerful in the world, to look back at those Spaniards, Italians, English, French etc and say, because of these intrepid few, our countries exist today.

Consort Profile: Isabella of England

One Queen consort of England who had a life far more "interesting" than most was Queen Isabella, the only daughter of King Philippe IV of France who came to be known as the "She Wolf of France". Born in Paris probably sometime in 1295 she was pledged as an infant to marry the first Prince of Wales who would become King Edward II of England. It was hoped that the marriage would solidify peace between France and England and bring some settlement to their conflicting claims. Pope Boniface VIII favored the match but the great King Edward I of England had second thoughts and the marriage did not actually occur until the "English Justinian" had died. The two married finally in 1308. Edward I (though his reputation today has been sullied by Hollywood) was considered the ideal monarch; a wise lawgiver, a great general and all the rest. His tall, handsome son was expected to be much the same and was initially widely popular. As time went on though he would fail to meet most expectations.

Isabella was probably only around 12 at the time of her marriage but was considered one of the most beautiful girls in Europe. In time Edward II and Isabella had four children but the Queen suffered the indignity of having a husband who seemed to prefer his male favorites to her. Isabella tried to make the best of it and to use her position to have her husband's male lovers sent away but in the end he chose his degenerate lifestyle over his wife and from that time on Isabella felt no qualms about viewing her husband as her enemy. Perhaps thinking that turnabout was fair play she took a lover of her own in the person of Roger Mortimer; a father of 12 who had married money. In 1325 Isabella's brother, King Charles IV of France, attacked and conquered the English territories in France and Edward II sent Isabella to make peace. It would prove to be only one of Edward's many poor decisions.

The King of England who was such a disappointment, and who angered many of the nobles with his advancement of his male favorites, looked to Isabella for leadership in mounting a coup against him and this Isabella did. She and Mortimer raised an army of their own in France and naturally her brother did nothing to stop her. They gained more men and ships from one of her powerful relatives in Holland and in September of 1326 landed in England to depose Edward II and take the throne. Edward offered a reward for the head of his wife but Isabella responded by offering an even larger reward for the head of her husband. It helped that Edward II was such an un-inspiring leader and most of those who were his allies abandoned him without putting up a fight. Edward was captured by his wife's army and abdicated in favor of their son who became King Edward III. Eventually Edward II vanished, most say he was murdered though it is still debated as to who was responsible and others say he escaped to a life of seclusion.

Queen Isabella and her Mortimer ruled England as regents on behalf of her son until he came of age in 1330. The 18-year-old King Edward III then had his mother and Mortimer arrested. Mortimer was later executed while Queen Isabella lived the rest of her life under a rather loose sort of house arrest. She was by all accounts a loving grandmother and became more religious in her old age taking the habit of the Poor Clare Sisters. She died in 1358 and was buried in London in the Franciscan church at Newgate in her wedding dress along with the supposed heart of Edward II. Opinion on Isabella remains mixed but it says something that her husband is still considered one of the most failed Kings of England and her son King Edward III as one of the greatest monarchs of the English Middle Ages. She might consider that victory enough.