by Sandra Gillhouse

Created on: September 18, 2009   Last Updated: September 19, 2009

Sitting around a ravaged stuffed-crust pizza the other day, discussing politics with friends, someone tossed out the idea that since Christopher Columbus had allegedly put down the first stakes in America wouldn't that make him and his family line the true owners of the America's? After all as the saying goes, "finders keepers." Little did he know how deep that rabbit hole went.

You can argue of course that Columbus was not the first to set foot on our shores as some believe it was first discovered by the Vikings, then others claim that Irish missionaries sailed to the America's hundreds of years before Columbus first voyage. Even Columbus was confused in his journals. He seem to think he was in the Orient, "...took the route for Canary Islands of your highnesses to steer my course thence and navigate until I should arrive at the Indies..."

And then oddly enough a map turned up in Turkey in 1513 with accurate coastline details of South America and Antarctica, claiming it originated from the library of Alexander the Great.

Columbus did land here no question of that, but he found it already inhabited. Therefore the question of ownership should already have been resolved. People were already living here, hence ownership.

"The people are found to be kind, and generous," he said, in one letter passed along to Queen Isabella. He even mentioned that although they left a ship load of supplies on the shore while they made repairs to the Santa Maria, the natives did not pillage them. Further they gave freely of their gold and silver baubles in exchange for simple cloths and vegetables. Columbus went on to say how amazed he was at their awe and prompt attendance to his needs. Nevertheless he endeavored to take them from their homes for conversion to Christianity and later slavery. It was not the Indians that were most worrisome to Columbus, but his own men whom had to be guarded from robbing the natives and/or molesting the women.

But I digress, according to a letter Columbus himself felt he and his family were the true owners of whatever he found. "...I might style myself Don, appointing me high admiral of the Ocean sea and perpetual viceroy and governor of all the islands and continents I should discover and gain and which henceforward may be discovered or gained in the Ocean sea; and that my eldest son should succeed me and so on from generation to generation..." he said.

However, I have in my possession a Kansas newspaper clipping dated Aug 13 1888 from the special

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>