Although it is widely taught and accepted that Columbus was the first European to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and successfully land on the American continent, this is an area of American history that is also disputed.
Columbus’ personal history extends well beyond that of being an Italian mariner and navigator. He was born in the late summer or early fall in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Columbus received little formal education and was a largely self-taught man, later learning to read Latin and write Castilian.
Columbus began sailing the seas at an early age. His first long voyage was to the Aegean island of Chios, and that was in 1475. A year later, he survived a shipwreck off Cape St. Vincent and swam ashore. After this incident he moved to Lisbon, Portugal where his brother Bartholomew, who was an expert chart maker, lived. Both worked as chart makers but Columbus always held he was going to make his future at seen.
Then in 1477 he sailed to England and Ireland and most likely to Iceland with the Portuguese marine, he was engaged as a sugar buyer . He bought sugar from the Portuguese islands off Africa ran by a Genoese mercantile firm.
It was while he was working for the company that he met pilots and navigators who believed in the existence of island of to the west. While he was on a trip trying to find the western islands, he reportedly discovered America and the islands off the southern coast.
The first recorded celebration honoring the discover of America by Europeans took place on October 12, 1792, in New York City. The event was celebrated on the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the New World.
San Francisco’s Italian Community held their first Columbus Day celebration in 1869. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison urged citizens to participate in the 400th anniversary celebration.
Colorado was the first state to observe the holiday in 1905. In 1937 President Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 as “Columbus Day,” and in 1971, President Nixon declared the second Monday of October as a national holiday.
Hawaii does not officially honor Columbus day and instead celebrates Discoverer’s Day on the same day. While many in Hawaii still celebrate the life of Columbus on Columbus Day, the alternative holiday also honors James Cook, the British navigator that became the first person to record the coordinates of the Hawaiian Islands and share with the world the existence of the ancient Hawaiian people and society. Some people interpret the holiday as a celebration of all discoveries relative to the ancient and modern societies of Hawaii.
C.J. Harte is a Correspondent for the Daily News. He can be reached via e-mail at charte@middlesborodailynews.com.
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