The Controversy of Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451 and at the age of fourteen became a sailor. He made sea voyages for Portugal to Iceland and Guinea, but when the king of Portugal declined to provide support to him so he could find the East Indies, Columbus sought out Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain.

The Spanish monarchs gave him the backing he was looking for. On August 2, 1492, Columbus set out for the East Indies with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, his three ships. On October 12, 1492, Columbus spied several islands, landing on what is the present day Bahamas.

On December 25, 1492, the Santa Maria sank off the coast of Haiti. Columbus departed for Spain on January 16, 1493, and arrived on March 4, 1493.

While Columbus did not see mainland North America, what he did do is conclusively prove the world was round, and he brought about the interaction of Europeans with the Native American people.

Columbus Day is meant to commemorate the day Christopher Columbus arrived in the new world, October 12^th. In the United States, San Francisco boasts the oldest celebration of Columbus Day dating back to 1869. In 1907, Colorado was the first state to recognize Columbus Day. In 1937, at the request of the Knights of Columbus, (named after Columbus) President Franklin Roosevelt made Columbus Day a federal holiday to be celebrated on October 12^th. Since 1971, the holiday has been celebrated on the second Monday in October. Currently, most banks, post offices, governments, and schools honor the holiday, but businesses and the stock exchange stay open.

In Latin America, Columbus Day is known as "Dia de la Raza," (day of the race) and it's meant to commemorate the first encounter of Europeans and Native Americans.

So why has the holiday run into controversy as of late? Columbus didn't discover the Americas. While it was because of him that Europeans and Native Americans began to interact, it was the Vikings who explored the North American coast 500 years before him. Not only that, the question of whether one can discover an inhabited island has been raised as well. While the discovery of the Americas was a positive one for the Europeans, most Native Americans suffered from it.

Columbus Day is not celebrated in Minnesota, and in South Dakota, October 12^th is officially a state holiday known as "Native American Day." In Nevada, Columbus Day is not a legal holiday, but a day of observance where schools, state, city, and county government offices are open for business.