The “Discovery” of America,
Columbus Day and El Día de la Raza
In 1492 Spain’s Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand sponsored Christopher Columbus' famous voyage,
beginning a long series of explorations and land acquisitions in the New World.
Thinking that he had found an alternate route to the East Indies, Columbus actually landed in the Caribbean
Islands. It is untrue, however, that Columbus discovered the New World. The lands that Columbus encountered
were already populated with indigenous peoples with distinct and well-developed languages and cultures. For
example, Columbus found the Taíno (Arawak) people already established on the island of Boriken (later named
Puerto Rico by the Spanish) on some of his first journeys.
As the Spanish expanded their explorations of the New World, conquistadores (conquerors) claimed more and
more land for Spain. During the 1500s, the Spanish Empire included not only Spain, but most of Central and
South America, as well as parts of Africa and the Philippines.
While the Taínos populated many of the Caribbean islands, the Spanish encountered several other indigenous
groups throughout the Americas. In Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula, for example, the Aztecs and Mayan
descendents created elaborate civilizations. By the time the Spanish reached the Andes Mountains of South
America, the Incan Empire had already been thriving there for about 300 years and spread out over two
thousand miles. Just as they had done in the Caribbean, the Spanish invaders killed and enslaved the natives in
these regions, destroying much of their cultures.
During the Spanish reign, many Spaniards took indigenous wives to bear their children, creating Mestizos
(people of mixed European and Native American descent). Later, in certain parts of the Caribbean, Central
America, and South America, African slaves were also mixed into the Spanish and Mestizo blood. Hispanics, or
Latinos, can be of Spanish, Indigenous, or African descent, or any combination thereof, and often display
cultural and language aspects from each.
Spain held control of its vast empire for about 400 years, colonizing most of the Americas, and mixing with the
natives. Independence movements swept Spanish America in the beginning of the nineteenth century, starting
with Ecuador in August of 1809. By 1825, all but five Spanish territories had ceded from Spain. The empire
eventually collapsed in 1898 with the loss of Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War.
Columbus Day and El Día de la Raza
There were few, if any, observances of Columbus’ arrival until several centuries later, when New York’s
growing Italian immigrant population, struggling through intense prejudice from other whites, began celebrating
their national hero in 1866. In 1905 Colorado became the first state to officially celebrate Columbus Day. In
1972 Richard Nixon declared it a federal holiday on every second Monday in October. Today some see
Columbus Day as a celebration of our nation's "discovery" and the contributions of Italians in the Americas, but
others see the event as a painful reminder of the genocide of indigenous peoples.
Throughout Spain and Latin America, October 12th is "El Día de la Raza" (The Day of the [Hispanic] Race),
celebrating the culture, heritage, and history of people of Spanish and/or Mestizo origin. The day was first
celebrated in Argentina in 1917, Venezuela in 1921, Chile in 1923, and Mexico in 1928.
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2005/2/05.02.06.x.html
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/current/event.jsp?ar=738
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADa_de_la_Raza
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/columbus.html
http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=302
Preguntas
1. ¿De qué nacionalidad es Christopher Columbus?
a. español
b. portugués
c. italiano
d. francés
2. Which country funded Columbus’ voyages?
a. España
b. Portugal
c. Italia
d. Francia
3. In what year was Columbus’ first voyage?
a. mil cuatrocientos veintinueve
c. mil novecientos cuarenta y dos
b. mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos
d. mil doscientos cuarenta y nueve
4. Where did Columbus land?
a. América del Norte
c. El Caribe
b. América del Sur
d. Las Indias del Oriente
5. Briefly describe the Taíno, Aztec, Maya, and Inca peoples that the Europeans encountered.
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6. What factors led to the genocide of the Native Americans?
a. European violence
b. starvation
c. disease
d. all of the above
7. Which of the following places are named after Christopher Columbus?
a. Colombia, South America
b. Columbus, Ohio
c. District of Columbia
d. all of the above
8. What are Mestizos?
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9. The Spanish Empire collapsed in 1898 when these two islands were lost in the Spanish-American War:
a. Cuba/Puerto Rico
b.Cuba/Dominican Republic
c. Dominican Republic/Puerto Rico
10. When did the Italian American community first start to celebrate Columbus Day?
a. mil ochocientos sesenta y seis
b. mil novecientos cinco
c. mil novecientos setenta y dos
d. mil ochocientos setenta y seis
11. What is El Día de la Raza?
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12. Which country in Latin America was the first to celebrate El Día de la Raza?
a. Mexico
b. Argentina
c. Venezuela
d. Chile
Los Taínos
Columbus’ First Voyage