An American Tale

I can remember when I was a youth, in pre-school and kindergarten, learning about Christopher Columbus... the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María, his great “discovery” of America, and that the world was round, and such and such. All the children made hats and tunics decorated in white with the red cross, and had telescopes made out of cardboard. The textbooks gave him praises, he would occasionally manifest in TV cartoons or other popular mediums. Then there was the song, “In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety-Two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...”. Yes this is how it basically was up until high school... well without the singing and costumes and all. The celebratory nature of Columbus and his achievements were embedded in the educational system. Sure, eventually as you grew older you didn’t buy much of it, but at the most Columbus just appeared foolish for thinking he had reached the Far East and other than that he wasn’t too bad of a fellow... just confused, and that was with our hindsight vision. Nobody wanted to tell us that Christopher Columbus was not such a great person after all, that what he did was not such a great thing, and that there was proof of all of this. No, instead we were given cheerful warmhearted Columbus images and songs, diluted history, and a national holiday for the man. There is so much mythology surrounding Columbus, and all of it hides the true nature of things.

First of all, Columbus was not the first to claim that the world was round. This was an idea that already existed for thousands of years by his time, and had been proposed by philosophers and mathematicians of ancient Egypt and Greece. Aristotle reasoned that the earth was round by using observation and Eratosthenes of Alexandria, Egypt had been able to accurately measure the earth’s circumference to within four-percent. Scholars in Ancient India and in the Islamic world (including the African civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai) continued to use the progressive science and math of the classical civilizations and used this knowledge in their understanding of the world and how to create maps, etc. Even many of the learned scholars of the late Middle Ages in Europe believed that the world was a sphere. The only thing Columbus did was use that knowledge to propose a western route to Asia.

Second, Columbus was not the first to “discover America” as Eurocentric history has suggested. It is widely believed that the Vikings reached mainland North America at least 500 years before Columbus and that they had small settlements in what Leif Eriksson the Norsemen had called “Vinland”, which is today the province of Newfoundland in Canada. Some have proposed that the Chinese admiral, Zheng He, may have reached America 70 years before Columbus by using Chinese maps that already indicated that the continent of North America was known. Evidence of the Chinese in America may have also been found. Finally, according to tradition, Abubakari II, an African emperor from Mali set out to cross the Atlantic with a fleet of ships in 1311. Researchers have been working to uncover evidence of the Africans reaching the Americas shortly after. The interesting thing is that Columbus even wrote about "the presence of Negros there" upon landing on Hispaniola during his 3rd voyage, and that these black traders had given the Amerindians spear points made of "guanine" a gold alloy metal known to be unique to Africans at the time. This may also account for some of the Olmec statues that suspiciously seem to have African features. Nonetheless, whether it was the Africans, Vikings, or Chinese... Columbus was beat. In addition to that, no matter who it was who got there before Columbus, one set of people were there long before... the Amerindians, the tribes of Carib, Arawak, Taino and others who populated the West Indies, and of course the Maya, Aztec, and other indigenous civilizations on the mainland. These people who Columbus would dub the “Indians” (because he swore he was there somewhere in India and the Orient, and never renounced it his entire life) were the first to settle and discover Americas. So, Columbus discovered and claimed an occupied land. In fact, he never touched on the mainland in what is now Mexico until 1498. Moreover, he never set foot on any land that would today be the continental United States. So much for his discovery...

Finally, I save the worst for last. Christopher Columbus was born as Cristoforo Colombo in Genoa, Italy... maybe (some scholars now question his origins) and he became a navigator for Portugal and ultimately Spain, but he was more of a mercenary for hire rather than a heroic explorer. Whatever Columbus’ motives were for making his trans-Atlantic voyage, one thing is for certain... that he was lusting for riches. There is irrefutable evidence. His journal has survived the ages, and in it he had written multiple accounts in regard to his search for gold upon landing. Once he met the Amerindian populations of the islands, he and his crew members would use vicious tactics to try and find gold mines and procure any gold from the native people themselves. He kidnapped and enslaved the indigenous people of the Caribbean and Central America, like the Arawaks and the Carib and used them as a labor force when building settlements and searching for gold. If any of his slaves were caught stealing or lying, parts of their body, especially facial features, were cut off in order to make examples of the rebellious ones. He allowed his crew members to force themselves on the native women, a situation some historians have sugarcoated as “intermarriage”, and to bring back these women from their homelands to Europe. Of course, besides the brutality of conquest, diseases brought by the European sailors wiped out many of the native people. During the four voyages of Columbus, the Amerindian slaves were transported back to Spain on the caravel ships and the ones that didn’t die on the journey were used by the royal family to work in the galleys. In a deal with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Christopher Columbus was given territories to govern but he mismanaged them while in constant pursuit of more gold to pay off his debts to investors. At one point he was arrested and sent back to Spain in manacles and chains because he was accused being a cruel governor who frequently used acts of violence not only against the native people, but also the Spanish settlers. Eventually he was given back his freedom, but he lost all of his titles and his reputation. After a final voyage, which included being stranded in Jamaica for a year, he traveled back to Spain and died a fairly wealthy man from all the gold he and his men had initially acquired in Hispaniola. This all may be a little hard to swallow, but look for yourself. You can read Columbus' journal and other primary sources from the period.

Unfortunately, it didn’t end with Columbus. He was just the beginning for what became centuries of genocide and oppression against the native people of the Americas at the hands of the Spanish, Portuguese and later the British, French and Dutch. After the Spanish were successful with their discoveries, the Portuguese were upset so the Pope made Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas which divided newly and formerly discovered lands amongst them. Spain received the Americas, with the exception of what became Brazil, and the Portuguese received Africa and East India. Eventually the colonial powers had to deal with the problem of too many Amerindians dying from diseases in addition to their cunning ability to hide and thrive in their native lands. So, soon after African slaves are sent over to the New World once the Portuguese began exploiting the African continent. Eventually, after years of exploitation and competition and fighting among European nations, the United States develops in North America. The U.S., a beacon of liberty, expands its borders with the notion of “manifest destiny”, wiping out the American Indians in the process and relegating the survivors to reservations out West. Many of their descendants today suffer from alcoholism, unemployment and a loss of their native traditions. History in a nutshell, a bit oversimplified, but truth is truth. It is the legacy of Columbus.

So, why on earth do we celebrate Columbus Day today? Why did it take me until college to uncover the dirty secrets on Christopher Columbus? Why is it that the only public outcries come from minority groups and not the mainstream? Why did the United States create a holiday in his name, when he didn’t even make it to American soil? It is also the only other American holiday not named after a president besides Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Call me crazy, but I don’t think Columbus deserves such company. Why is Columbus Day also Italian-American Day, especially when his origins and lifestyle are questionable, wouldn’t someone like Garibaldi be a better choice? It makes it hard for me to celebrate that part of my heritage when Columbus is attached to it.

Columbus arriving in the New World changed everything, but is it something to really celebrate? I guess it depends on which side you take. As a teacher, and a historian, I feel obligated to educate people on Columbus as I have done here. There is no use in sugar-coating history... it is full of bloodshed, exploitation, and enslavement, that is a fact no matter what. I wouldn’t be in America if it weren’t for its brutal conquest at the hands of the European explorers. We can’t do anything about that, circumstances bring us to where we presently are, but we can know the truth. As a Rastaman, I also feel that the Truth needs to be explained to the people. Descendants of African slaves in the West Indies have known about the real nature of Columbus for centuries. They were brought over because of him and his arrival, and they replaced that Arawaks and Caribs on the islands, of which there are none left now. Why does this have to be learned from a reggae tune by Burning Spear or Culture and not within a textbook given to the youths? It should be common knowledge, it should be accessible. Ignorance has created more damage to people than the initial act itself because people are powerless without knowledge.

Columbus Day celebrates an American mythology, an American Tale of progress, patriotism, and nationhood. It masks the truth with positive, community oriented spectacles. It subscribes to the belief that Columbus and his European predecessors brought civilization, Christianity, and democracy to the savage and backward American Indians and would later allow all people, including them, to have a better life. Columbus Day belongs in the trash bin along with the idea that the Pilgrims and Native Americans had a lovely Thanksgiving feast, that George Washington never told a lie, and that black slaves had a great time picking cotton on their massa’s plantations. Stop teaching the youths lies and myths, and give them the Truth! The truth will set them free! Christopher Columbus was a damn blasted liad, thief, and murderer. Rasta nuh love Christopher ComeBussUs!

Seek Knowledge!,
JAHsh

Viva La Revolución

Recently I have been studying the life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara. I knew of him for a long time, was exposed to his famous image strewn about in pop culture and on the clothing of so-called rebellious youth, but I never had really known much more about him other than the bare minimum that he was a leader and guerilla fighter in the Cuban Revolution by the side of Fidel Castro. The more and more I have learned about Che, I have grown to admire him and draw much inspiration from what he left the world. He has been called one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century, a legend, but as with all legends, much of the real Che has been lost or compromised for the sake of a symbol just like Bob Marley. Its no coincidence that you will see both Bob Marley and Che Guevara shirts side by side in some trendy counter-culture store, maybe along with a Grateful Dead or Led Zeppelin and a shirt with a big cannabis leaf you know hippie-dippy stuff yeah dude.

Despite all of the confusion and perversion of Ches legacy, there is plenty of reliable information about him. He wrote severable books during his lifetime, spanning from his early twenties until his last days. Of course more recently the movie Motorcycle Diaries came out in 2004, which is based on his first diary and collection letters of the same name.

Guevara grew up comfortably in an upper middle-class Argentine family with Leftist sympathies. While he was still a medical student, Che decided to take two trips across Latin America which he recounts in The Motorcycle Diaries when he left for the first time with his friend Alberto Granado and in his second book Back on the Road. During these journeys, Che was transformed as he became increasingly aware of the social injustices across all of the Latin American countries. As he traveled further away from the modernized Argentina he saw that there were more and more problems with the political and economic systems in the continent. In Chile he saw how miners were treated unfairly by large and (often American owned or invested companies) forced to work in harsh conditions in order to earn a living. When he entered Peru, he was awestruck by the poverty of the indigenous Amerindian people, descendants of the once great Incans. He also realized that his disillusionment with the situation in Latin America stretched all the way back to the time of Spanish conquistadors who left their mark on the ruins of Incan civilization in Machu Picchu and relocated its people as slaves to the colonial city of Lima. Around this time Ernesto Guevara began to imagine a Pan-American society, free of the separate national entities which have only warred and caused destruction, like Paraguay and Argentina, since Spanish independence. Che was also deeply inspired when he visited the San Pablo leper colony, which was also in Peru, and saw the segregation of the lowest of the low in society.

By the time Che Guevara speaks of his second travel in his book Back on the Road, he has made up his mind that revolution was the only solution to all of the inequity he has witnessed. Halfway through his tentatively planned journey, he detoured to Guatemala, attracted by the Arbenz government and the controversial land reforms which ruffled the feathers of American interests in the country. After a CIA-backed coup in Guatemala, Guevara along with other Arbenz supporters and Communist sympathizers left to Mexico where he finally concludes that the United States is the most recent in a long line of imperialist powers upsetting the progression of the people in Latin America as well as across the globe. While staying there Che meets various Cuban revolutionaries, eventually including Fidel Castro. It is interesting to see how passionate and determined Che Guevara becomes, a long way from the hedonistic youth who began a road trip several years before. During the 1950s and 1960s the world was polarized between the United States and its seeming disposition toward neo-colonialism and the Communist countries. Che believed in social equality and thought that Communism was the answer. He also became convinced that revolution required action and violence if necessary since oppressive powers were behind so-called democracies and capitalist economies.

After learning about the turbulent emergence of independent Latin American countries, I believe that one can not help but empathize with Ernesto Che Guevera, his vision, his sacrifice, and his love for his people, even a people that belonged to America more than he ever believed he could, the indigenous people, the Quechua, Aymara, the Guaran. He believed in a collective and common mestizo culture, a Pan-American nation to unite all Latin Americans and their rich heritage and backgrounds. Che was tired of seeing injustice, tired of imperialism pitting Latin Americans against each other, he recognized the need for a revolution, a revolution yet to be fulfilled. During 1967 while he was leading an insurgency in Bolivia, Che was captured and executed with the help of the CIA.

However as a Rastaman there are certain things Che Guevara believed in that I could not promote. He was very involved with politics and it polarized him, causing him to sometimes gravitate toward extremes. Che also saw war and violent conflict as the only solution to the power struggle he saw. Finally Che became an avowed Communist and lost his faith in JAH, finding it a foolish thing to believe in and instead relied too much on human action. Guevara was driven by a passion for sufferers but that passion like any passion can be come darkened and misguided.

Today Ches legacy remains strong in Latin America, he is a hero to many people. Leftist leaders, having grown more and more popular in these past years, have cited Guevara as an inspiration. Evo Morales the indigenous American Indian who was elected president of Bolivia this year owes a lot to the empowering ideas Che helped to bring about. President Hugo Chvez of Venezuela, although a controversial figure and unpopular with the Bush administration, is also using the legacy of Che to bolster popularity with his people and enforce his aid for the poor with government sponsored education and social programs. In times when many are displeased with America imperialist policies, Caracas, Venezuela has become a mecca for Leftists and social revolutionaries from all across the world. The socialist governments of Latin America have challenged America and its concept of democracy and foreign policy.

And so we return back to the pop-image of Che Guevara. Yes, as Huey P. Newton said, the revolution will not be televised (of course how many people really know who said that) but it will be advertised!... on my hip new $100 Che shirt and $300 camouflage prada jeans! Its so funny to me to find such revolutionaries so eager to show their support for some cause but caught up in the Babylon system, having to have the latest and greatest, lining their pockets with hundred dollar bills and enjoying the luxurious comforts of modernity. Its either that or some apathetic skater kid whose identity depends so much on being different, that he becomes the same as everyone else individualistic clones. Guevara would be disgusted at how the system that opposed and eventually executed him now profits from his famous image. Those who want to promote Che should do him justice by studying his life and what he stood for. Viva la revolucin... Rastafari!

JAHsh

Ernesto "Che" Guevara
June 14, 1928 - October 8, 1967

"At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true Revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality." - Che

El Presidente

Greetings, I thought that I would post some interesting information on a landmark event in the Western Hemisphere. A man named Evo Morales was sworn in as president of Bolivia yesterday. What is remarkable is that this man is an Amerindian, part of the indigenous Aymara people who along with the Quechua Indians, have been oppressed and cut off from any political power while making a simple living as tin and silver miners and coca farmers. Morales is the first indigenous president of Bolivia (where over 60 laim Amerindian ancestry) and of any country in Latin America. He has promised to change history and give voice to the downtrodden in hopes to pull them out of poverty, and that his government will move to put an end to discrimination dating to the Spanish conquest in 1520 and from the spirit of colonialism which has dominated his people since then. After being sworn in and asking for a moment of silence for Inca martyrs and the revolutionary Che Guevara, he said these words:

"I want to say to you, my Indian brothers concentrated here in Bolivia, that the 500-year campaign of resistance has not been in vain. This democratic, cultural fight is part of the fight of our ancestors, it is the continuity of the fight of Tupac Katari, it is a continuity of the fight of Che Guevara."

Evo Morales also promised to be "America's nightmare" speaking against U.S. policies and boldly declaring that the United States could not use the fight against drugs "as an excuse" to "dominate and submit other peoples. It will truly be interesting to see the relationship between Bolivia and America in these next years. It is people like Morales who can make big changes in the world and fight against the system... as Bunny Wailer said, "its the Roots, Radics and Rockers", JAH know. Coincidently, Bolivia also shares Ethiopia's colors of red, gold and green. So you can see Evo Morales representing the liberation colors in photos, same way. Rally 'round the flag! Rastafari!

JAHsh