October 12, 2020
The holiday is also known in some states as Indigenous People’s Day but not here in New York. In Manhattan alone we have an avenue, a circle, a university, a hospital, and a park named for him. His statue stands high above his namesake traffic circle and subway station in front of the Time Warner building on CPS. Several blocks below our boro’s Little Italy, on the western edge of Chinatown, sits a park bearing his name. And if you’ve ever been to the Upper West Side, you’ve encountered the Avenue we named after him.
His gutsy voyage to the West at a time when many believed the Earth was flat and he might sail over the edge is admirable. So is his skill as a sea captain and navigator who successfully crossed the Atlantic several times in each direction. What he did beyond that, in the so called New World was inexcusable however, even by the standards of his time. Murder, rape, and enslavement of native populations are not now and never were acceptable even as far back as 1492.
So his legacy is mixed at best. Should his holiday and namesake landmarks be revoked and renamed? That’s a good question and the answer isn’t easy because the best and worst qualities were present in this man. If his name was removed though, the Gazette would raise no objection. How about letting the Indigenous People make that call and we respect their decision?
Yes, he was a serious prick. I’m not a big renamer. People are complicated, and cultures and their expectations change. But in his case, I’d have to agree with those who say his accomplishments come with a major major asterisk. It’s great that he made it to the New World and back, and brought potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and syphilis with him when he returned. But you’re right — the rest of it was savagery even by the low standards of 1400s Europe.