[Sca-cooks] OT: With all due respect

[Kathryn Wood]

On Oct 10, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Suey wrote:

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il5hwpdJMcg
> 
> Publications such as the above are out of line in my opinion.
> Columbus worked in the service of the crown of Castile. In his time he and his companions were paid in kind. Slaves were included.
> Columbus did not create the slave trade market. The Muslims from the 8th Century to Isabela and Ferdinand had slaves, the Romans had slaves. . .
> It appears that everyone has to please everyone by naming this holiday. This year it appears that it will be 'The Encounter of Two Worlds.'
> Personally, I find this much talk about nothing.
> Suey
> _______________________________________________

Uh, actually, Columbus's exploration of the Americas did set off a rush to exploit them, first focused on gold, then on labor. It was only after the indigenous peoples failed to be a lucrative source of labor that the Europeans turned to the Africans as a source. Honoring Columbus as a symbol of the colonization of the Americas without acknowledging his role in the slave trade is ignoring a big old elephant in the room.

Kate