Happy Columbus Day!
Where many of these protesters come from, this sort of talk is sticking it to The Man. Their sort of talk is conformity.
Meanwhile, I recommend Walter Russell Mead’s article explaining Columbus Day’s origin as a holiday celebrating the contributions of immigrants and Catholics to American society.
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Comments
The way to be radical today is to be normal. Radical means rooted. Popularly it means to spread confusion or chaos. But truly it means just the opposite of that. A radical is someone given to quiet, hard work, humor, child bearing and rearing, honoring parents and elders, eschewing restless travel, having calm diet of all five senses, defending the seven mothers (biological, earth, cow, nation, language, religion and scripture), etc. At all times normalcy is radical and therefore life-bearing while abnormalcy is rootless and therefore fleeting.
Dave, I have one mother not seven.
Matthew: Happy Columbus Day to you.
Mead’s article says that Christopher Columbus was Catholic. Sorry, that is wrong. Many historians think that he was Jewish, his wife and mother-in-law were Jews as well as 120 of the sailors on his ships. They escaped or were expelled from Spain because of the Spanish Inquisition. The last Spanish Jew left Spain on the day Christopher Columbus sailed. Hashem literally saved the Spanish Jewish bloodline by Christopher Columbus and many contemporary Hispanic Americans are descended from those Sephardim Jews.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/expulsion.html
http://www.hope-of-israel.org/sephadic.htm
http://www.tzemach.org/articles/sephardicjews.htm
http://www.saudades.org/odysseyeng.html
He was, by all contemporary accounts, an exceptionally devout Christian. Whether or not he was ethnically Jewish I don’t know, but there’s no doubt at all about his Catholicism.
“The last Spanish Jew left Spain”, excepting of course the many thousands that chose to stay, and convert (or pretend to convert). Approval of royal backing for Columbus and the edict that required Spanish Jews to convert or leave both followed the same event: the final conquest of Granada (the last Muslim stronghold in Spain). Ferdinand and Isabella expected the Jews to convert. They were surprised when large numbers (possibly a majority) chose to leave the country. Those that remained were called ‘conversos’ and were never fully trusted – even generations later. They were the primary target of the Inquisition in Spain.
Officially, both Jews and Conversos (as well as Muslims) were prohibited from emigrating to the New World (a term not then in use). Of course, there were many that ignored this prohibition. Some conversos even paid for an official exemption – at exhorbitant rates (a million or so marevedis – comparable to the cost of Columbus’ first expedition).
” was, by all contemporary accounts, an exceptionally devout Christian. Whether or not he was ethnically Jewish I don’t know, but there’s no doubt at all about his Catholicism…”
What contemporary accounts? You have not presented any evidence, just opinion. Read Simon Wiesenthal “Sails of Hope”
MacMillan Publishing Co.Inc 1973
There is a summary with supporting evidence at:
http://www.paulawordsmith.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=38
Christopher Columbus studied the Torah devoutly and took a Hebrew translator with him on his trips. He was a devout Jew.
Point#2 The dates of the Spanish Inquisition were 1478 to 1834.http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/westeurope/spaninqui.html
Columbus left in 1492 so the Inquisiton was going on 14 years before he left.
Point #3 The Jews were the target of the Inquisition. The conversos meaning converts to Catholicism were not targeted as you infer. The point of Isabella and Ferdinand’s Inquisiton was to “purify” the country and Catholicism was the vehicle. After the Jews left, Spain targeted the Christians. The royalty wanted a “pure” Catholic country.
Then, of course, there was the Mexican Inquistion that targeted Jews and Christians in North America.
I didn’t ‘infer’ that conversos were the primary target of the Inquisition, I stated it as a historical fact.
Jews were NOT the target of the Inquisition, neither were Muslims. They targeted Christians that were not following established Christian dogma. Jews and Muslims were the targets of the edicts requiring them to convert or leave. The Inquisition dealt with those who converted – the conversos – to ensure their orthodoxy. Later, they would also target Protestants (eg. English sailors that were captured/shipwrecked) whom they considered heretics.
“The Inquisition was originally intended in large part to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam. This regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1501 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave.”
I did not state that the Inquisition started in 1492. There’s no debate over when it started. Your #2 is moot. Spain wasn’t even the first country to have one – the original targets were heretics. The Inquisition began in Spain to deal with Muslim converts in territorities recently reconquered. After Granada fell and the edicts forcing conversion or expulsion of both Muslims and Jews the number of conversos greatly increased. As a result, so did the activities of the Inquisition.
As for your main point, that Columbus was Jewish, that is a theory believed by only a tiny minority. The problem is that the extensive writings of Columbus himself clearly contradict it. As do the writings of his contemporaries. If there is one thing that stands out in the extensive writings of Christopher Columbus it is the divinity of Christ. Phrases like “our Lord Jesus Christ,” and Christ “the Lord,” recur in a way that leaves no doubt who Jesus Christ was in the faith of Christopher Columbus. He speaks of “Christ, who is the Son of God by nature.” He quotes from St. Paul of “Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9-10). He sees himself as contributing to the extension of Christ’s kingdom when, “All the kings of the earth will bow down before Him, and all peoples will serve Him” (Psalm 72:11).
I’d suggest you broaden your source material – and focus more on primary sources.
“Happy Columbus Day!”
I marched in a Columbus Day parade yesterday and have another next Sunday. If you want to see some real American Patriots – go to a parade. There’s not much difference between the crowd at a parade and a Tea Party event.
If you really want to piss off some liberals remind them about Christmas as often as possible. Every time you hear the phrase ‘Happy Holidays’, make a point of replying with “Merry Christmas!”.