Spring Break
Nations Debate Who Columbus Belongs To
Carolyn Morway and Matheque Sweetman
Issue date: 9/26/06 Section: Focus
Yesterday afternoon, about 30 people gathered in the Class of 1947 room at the Homer Babbidge Library to hear Professor Christopher Schmidt-Nowara deliver his essay entitled "Columbus and Camaguey: The Nation's Remains in the Late 19th Century Spain and Cuba." This was the first of three talks from the European Studies Lecture Series this semester, sponsored by the Center for European Studies. This lecture was co-sponsored by the Latin American campus community.
Professor Schmidt-Nowara is an associate professor in the History Department at Fordham University and has authored and co-authored several books centered on Latin American studies.
"I thought it was interesting," said Caroline Napoli, a 1st-year graduate student of Latin American Studies (LAS). Professor Schmidt-Nowara began the talk by explaining the historical context during which Christopher Columbus embarked on his voyages. Columbus is commemorated in Spain because his travels launched the country into the age of modernity. Columbus created a fraternal harmony between the Americas and Spain. Also Spain became united and formed a strong national identity under his name and discoveries.
Even though Spain would love to claim Columbus as its own national figure, he was originally from Genoa, Italy. Therefore, Italy feels a strong sense of pride and attachment towards the man it considers a hero. However, Spain argues that Italy abandoned Columbus when he was first interested in making his voyages. Either way, both countries feel they have a right to erect monuments dedicated to Columbus. As a part of the monuments, each country felt entitled to Columbus' burial remains.
This is where Cuba enters the debate. Columbus' remains were in Cuba and therefore unavailable to either Spain or Italy. Unlike Spain and Italy, Cuba holds mixed-feelings towards Columbus. Cubans that identify with the discoverer view him as a suffering martyr because the Spanish government imprisoned him. Others, though, identify Columbus with Spain and see him as a bloodthirsty butcher because his arrival in Cuba was the impetus for Spanish colonization and the subsequent enslavement of the natives and years of political and social unrest.
Professor Schmidt-Nowara is an associate professor in the History Department at Fordham University and has authored and co-authored several books centered on Latin American studies.
"I thought it was interesting," said Caroline Napoli, a 1st-year graduate student of Latin American Studies (LAS). Professor Schmidt-Nowara began the talk by explaining the historical context during which Christopher Columbus embarked on his voyages. Columbus is commemorated in Spain because his travels launched the country into the age of modernity. Columbus created a fraternal harmony between the Americas and Spain. Also Spain became united and formed a strong national identity under his name and discoveries.
Even though Spain would love to claim Columbus as its own national figure, he was originally from Genoa, Italy. Therefore, Italy feels a strong sense of pride and attachment towards the man it considers a hero. However, Spain argues that Italy abandoned Columbus when he was first interested in making his voyages. Either way, both countries feel they have a right to erect monuments dedicated to Columbus. As a part of the monuments, each country felt entitled to Columbus' burial remains.
This is where Cuba enters the debate. Columbus' remains were in Cuba and therefore unavailable to either Spain or Italy. Unlike Spain and Italy, Cuba holds mixed-feelings towards Columbus. Cubans that identify with the discoverer view him as a suffering martyr because the Spanish government imprisoned him. Others, though, identify Columbus with Spain and see him as a bloodthirsty butcher because his arrival in Cuba was the impetus for Spanish colonization and the subsequent enslavement of the natives and years of political and social unrest.
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