Is it still "Columbus Day"?

Peter C. Mancall, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Humanities, USC Dornsife; Wisdom Quarterly

Columbus believed he would find 'blemmyes' and 'sciapods' – not people – in the New World

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the US

In 1492, when Cristobal Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean in search of a fast route to East Asia and the southwest Pacific Ocean, he landed in a place [not the continent, which he never touched, but only a Caribbean island] that was unknown to him.

There he found treasures – extraordinary trees, birds, and gold. But there was one thing that Columbus expected to find that he didn’t.

Upon his return, in his official report, Columbus noted that he had “discovered a great many islands inhabited by people without number.” He praised the natural wonders of the islands.

But, he added, “I have not found any monstrous men in these islands, as many had thought.”

Why, one might ask, had he expected to find monsters?

My research and that of other historians reveal that Columbus’ views were far from abnormal. For centuries, European intellectuals had imagined a world beyond their borders populated by “monstrous races.” More