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Whether or not the Vikings arrived and even founded colonies that later failed in North America prior to the voyage of Cristobal Colon's small fleet of three, the completely decked Santa Maria and the two undecked caravels, the Pinta and the Nina, is unclear and highly disputed. The fact that his fleet did cross the Atlantic and make landfall in the West Indies, is not.

That some other European would have done so at some point in the future, if he had not, common sense, logic and the ongoing advance of technology makes inevitable. But he was the leader of the first European exploration that can be confirmed to have done so, and he did it with three ships whose design and construction for such a voyage left a lot to be desired in regard to ocean going capability.

The vast majority of the citizens of the United States of America are either of European ancestry or are descended from people who would not have arrived in the Americas if Europeans had not colonized them. That the ancestors of many were brought to North America in chains and lived lives that can only be considered horrific, although significant in many other debates, is irrelevant in this one. That the nations and populations of those already resident in North America were decimated by warfare and disease, often deliberately inflicted, ejected from their lands and trivialized in their political control over their own future, is exceedingly deplorable, but again, irrelevant to this debate.

The historical events that have occurred since Colon's epic first voyage are the responsibility of those who committed them; they should not be laid at the feet of Cristobal Colon. As previously stated, someone from Europe would have eventually come to the Americas. The atrocities that would have occurred in a world history where someone else was first, while differing from those that did occur in detail, are highly unlikely to have modified our history in overall effect.

Archaeological investigation indicates that the dominant American culture of the time, the Aztecs in Central America, were in decline. It is unlikely that European discovery would have been much delayed if Colon had failed to procure the finances for his voyage from Queen Isabella; he had tried several courts and would likely have continued if she had refused him anyway. The devastating impact of the Spanish conquistadors, due more to the European diseases they introduced than the bloodily horrendous military defeats they inflicted, are unlikely to have differed significantly from actual history.

On this basis, honoring the man who was the leader of such an intrepid first European fleet to cross the Atlantic, is only reasonable for any citizen of the United States of America in this day and age who is proud to call themselves that. But does having a public holiday called "Columbus Day" actually do that?

I know that it has annoyed me to receive a prize or certificate for something on the rare occasions when my name has been misspelled. During his lifetime, he was Cristobal Colon, known and recognized by that name, associating with family, friends and acquaintances using that name. Is having a national holiday called "Christopher Columbus" day honoring the man or disrespecting him?

Learn more about this author, Perry McCarney.
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