Sorry, fellow Italian-Americans: Columbus was a thug. But the church was the big problem

[marmar]

Sorry, fellow Italian-Americans: Columbus was a thug. But the church was the big problem
Christopher Columbus was a criminal. But the vicious Catholic doctrine that empowered him has never been revoked

By CELIA VIGGO WEXLER
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 10, 2022 10:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Despite my Italian heritage, I don't understand the adulation that some Italian-Americans continue to bestow on Christopher Columbus, who, as history demonstrates, was less a hero than a thug, exploiting and enslaving indigenous peoples.

But the real culprit behind the subjugation of non-European peoples across the globe wasn't an individual, or even a monarch. It was the Roman Catholic Church. It's time the church owned that grievous mistake.

As early as the 15th century, as European nations were making voyages of discovery, Catholic popes gave them permission to subjugate and steal. The most significant of these papal permission slips was the Doctrine of Discovery. A decree Issued in 1493 by Pope Alexander VI, it essentially told Catholic countries that any lands they "discovered" were theirs to keep and exploit, provided the inhabitants were not Christians but heathens ripe for conversion.

Popes issue lots of decrees, but this one stuck. The Doctrine of Discovery proved to be very popular with monarchs across Europe, Catholic and Protestant alike. Its impact has been felt in Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. The idea was simple and attractive: Plant a flag and a cross on a land not claimed by any other Christian ruler, and it's yours.

The doctrine also served to legitimize the seizure of lands by white American settlers. In considering an Illinois property dispute that came before the Supreme Court in 1823, Chief Justice John Marshall referred to the discovery doctrine to rule that Native Americans couldn't sell their lands — since they hadn't "owned" them in the first place. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/10/10/sorry-fellow-italian-americans-columbus-was-a-thug-but-the-church-was-the-big-problem/

[Zambero]

1. Thug, Ohio

Yep, way past due for a name change!

[Sneederbunk]

9. District of Thugia.

[Zambero]

12. Renaming DC as the Capitol District would take care of that

[Historic NY]

2. He was free-lancing himself to Spain

my Italian family goes back to his time in Italy and earlier, They left by 1905 .

[exboyfil]

3. I always wondered why we are celebrating someone who

was only successful because of the serendipity of a continent 1/4th away from the distance he should have known he had to travel (2,800 miles vs. 12,200 miles). The Classical Greeks knew that distance. That was why he was criticized for the venture at the time. Most navigators knew how far it was.

[efhmc]

4. Was so disgusted when I went to Rome to see the gazillion sent to the RCC on behalf of trampled

and enslaved people around the world and it is still happening. Couple that with their continue enslavement of women as reproductive members of the human race and you can tell I am not a fan.

[RKP5637]

5. K&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[IbogaProject]

6. The Church was heinous but C C was a monster

He directed the murder of Millions. Wanton violence throughout his 12 years there. Once the stories got back even the church was a fast and convicted him. If you want to celebrate 'European Civilization' he is a leading example of how filthy and evil the whole place was for hundreds of years of church rule and no one being literate. https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/coard-five-facts-proving-columbus-was-one-of-historys-worst-monsters/article_016313a3-3e44-58c7-a815-a890292aff5c.html

[DBoon]

7. he was so bad the Spanish crown prosecuted him for excessive cruelty in governing Jamaica

Imagine what it took for 16th century Spain to prosecute you for cruelty

[Midnight Writer]

8. Ferdinand and Isabella were founders of...The Spanish Inquisition. Didn't expect that, did you?

[Doc Sportello]

10. No one does

[Genki Hikari]

13. Born of their jealousy of

How many Jews and Muslims were far wealthier.

The Spanish throne was downright pitiful and tawdry in comparison to many of the households of leading Jews and Muslims.

Plus, both Ferdinand and Isabella were bloodthirsty psychopaths. They were a perfect match for that hateful little man from Italy.

[Skittles]

11. same as it ever was

indeed