1

Based on the sources of information about Christopher Columbus (textbook, the Internet, German, Spanish, British, Swedish articles) that are known to you, answer the following question: What aspects of the explorer’s life story are most often analyzed in this type of sources: his biography or his discoveries? What can be a possible cause of such a perception of this historical figure?

Methodological remarks: this task can be realized individually, in groups of two, or may take a form of a didactic conversation guided by the teacher.
Solution to the task: in articles from popular magazines, books and documentary films, the aspects that are related to the journeys of Christopher Columbus are discussed most commonly. His life prior to the expedition to America is very poorly known and less important comparing to the discoveries he made. As a consequence, historians are interested most in Christopher Columbus as a sailor and an explorer.

2

Christopher Columbus in different publications and materials published over the centuries that separate us from his journey, has been shown in a variety of ways: as a visionary and explorer; a criminal responsible for the deaths of thousands of people and the "inventor of slavery"; as a preacher of the Christian faith and a candidate for canonization. Using the Swedish, Spanish and British articles as well as your own knowledge, provide the arguments that can support every of these images.

Methodological remarks: this task can be realized in groups. Each of them can prepare arguments on all of the mentioned approaches to the figure of Columbus based on the sources the students are about to learn. The teacher can also assign elaboration of a particular topic to individual groups. The students should also be encouraged to extend the task with describing different ways of perceiving Columbus that they may have known.
Solution to the task:

- Columbus is seen as a visionary and an explorer because his ambitions to reach beyond the boundaries of the world known at that time and the desire to understand its structure embodied the ideal of a modern scientist. His discoveries contributed to the revolution in geography, cartography, and navigation. Columbus is also one of the symbols of the Renaissance proceeded by the Middle Ages (often but not necessarily fairly referred to as the “Dark Ages”) during which there was a rapid development of science, technology and art. And it is the date the discovery of America (1492) that is considered the symbolic beginning of the modern era.

- Columbus is sometimes blamed for contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people since his discovery of the way to America resulted in the bloody conquest of lands of the both American continents which is associated with the ruthless extermination of the Native American population. Columbus himself while organizing the first colony in the New World, is suspected to resort to violence against the native Americans, and even brutality targeted at colonists from Europe that accompanied him. The discoveries of Columbus also determine the beginning of the era of colonialism inseparably connected with the phenomenon of slavery. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the economies of both Americas to a large extent were based the labor provided by slaves brought by slave traders from Africa. Indigenous people of those lands (Native Americans) often were treated in the same way. As a consequence, some authors claim the Columbus blame for starting the processes that led to the tragedy of the residents of both American continents as well as slaves of African origins.

- In some publications, Columbus is referred to as a "preacher of faith" and even a potential candidate for becoming "saint". This believe results from his role in Christianization of the New World. After the first discoveries made by Columbus, European missionaries along with the conquistadors headed to the Americas. Christianization of the Native Americans was not voluntary. They were often forced to accept baptism. However, Columbus himself as an eager Catholic strongly supported the mission to convert the pagans. Thanks to his discoveries, the Christian world had a chance to expand to a countless number of new believers from both Americas. He believed that his actions were guided by God and Columbus was only a tool in his hands. This is a root of the legend of Columbus as a “preacher of faith”.

Methodological remarks: the task can be realized as a discussion moderated by the teacher at the group/class forum. Students should be given the opportunity to express and justify their own opinions that were built based on the knowledge acquired: during the classes; from textbooks; from popular historical magazines that they know; from documentary and feature film; and from other sources of information.

3

Compare the Polish and Spanish articles on a Christopher Columbus. How do the two authors of the texts explain the difficulties in recreating the biography of Columbus?

Methodological remarks: the task can be realized individually or in groups of two.
Solution to the task: the author of the Polish article explains the difficulties in investigating accurately the biography of Christopher Columbus with the lack of sources referring to the events of the early period of Columbus’ life. Documents from the period are supposed to be destroyed or lost throughout the centuries. The relations of historians contemporary to Columbus focus primarily on the journeys not his personal life. On the other hand, the author of the Spanish article claims that Columbus himself and his loved ones left behind a very large number of documents, some of which was lost during the numerous lawsuits, and some were deliberately falsified. Lack of precise information on life of the explorer results from many contradictions that arise from the sources that survived. Some historians also discredit the information provided by the Columbus in his notes and documents.

4

Compare the Polish and Spanish articles. What theories about the origin of Columbus appear most often in both of the texts?

Methodological remarks: the task can be realized individually or in groups of two.
Solution to the task: the Polish article mentions: the theory about the origin of Christopher Columbus from Genoa in Italy based on the mention in his will; theories of Greek, Castilian, Corsican, Norwegian, Portuguese, Scottish and Jewish roots; and the theory of Columbus kinship with the Polish king Wladysław of Varna. But the most widely discussed is the theory of Polish-Portuguese origin of Columbus presented in the book M. Rosa which the Polish historian questions.
The author of the Spanish article mentions the theories of Italian, Galician, Catalan, Castilian, Estremadura, Portuguese, Jewish, French, English-Greek, and Swiss origins of Columbus. The author mentions the theories that indicate Majorca and Ibiza as places of Columbus birth.

a. Which of these places is closest to the Spanish author and which to the Polish one? And which of the locations does the Portuguese author M. Rosa (referred in the Polish article) try to prove? What arguments do the mentioned authors use?

Methodological remarks: the task can be realized in small groups of two or more. Individual groups may prepare response to the opinions of all three authors. The teacher can also assign each group a single point of view represented by one of the three authors mentioned in the question. Discussion and comparison of the groups’ answers should be done on the group/class forum.
Solution to the task:

- The author of the Polish article considers Italian as the most probable origin of Columbus who is believed to be born in Genoa. The author states that this theory is based on the mention in the explorers will and is the most popular believe presented in the specialist literature, lexicons, encyclopedias and textbooks.

- M. Rosa (the author of the book discussed in the Polish article) argues about the Portuguese origin of Columbus which is also believed to be associated with the kinship to the Polish King Wladyslaw of Varna. The arguments of this author cited in the Polish article refer primarily to the following links. Columbus is believed to be wearing a ring with the image of a bird that resembles a Polish eagle. Also his physical appearance is believed to display typical Slavic characteristics. M. Rosa also relies on several documents that identify Henry the German (who is indicated as the father of Columbus) with the Polish king.

- Also the author of the Spanish article recognizes the theory which attributes Columbus the Genoa origin the most likely. This theory is confirmed by the words spoken by Columbus on 22nd February 1498 (“although I was born in Genoa, I came here to serve you, in Castile”). The fact that Columbus did not use the Genoese dialect in writing is explained by the fact that in the fourteenth century this language was not yet developed in a written form. The author points out, however, that the explorer was associated with Castile for his lifetime and he used the Castilian language also in writing on everyday basis.

b. What elements could affect the opinions on the origin of Columbus reported by different authors?

Methodological remarks: the task can be realized as a discussion or a talk moderated by the teacher on the group/class forum. Students can use different arguments, not only on the topic of origin of Columbus, but also associated with other known controversial historical issues.
Solution to the task: the different opinions presented by historians on the same subject may (but need not) be affected by:

- the authors origin (a Portuguese author may be closer to the theory of the Portuguese roots of Columbus. Authors from Spain, Italy, Switzerland, etc. may tend to prove that Columbus comes from their respective countries.)

- qualifications and competences of the author (a person without adequate historical background may want to present opinions that are not supported by evidence and based solely on their own beliefs).

- purpose of the prepared publication (for propaganda or marketing purposes, authors can present different opinions that not necessarily corresponds to the facts or their own beliefs).

c. Which of the theories is the most convincing to you? Present your position and arguments during the discussion in the group/class.

Methodological remarks: the task can be realized as a discussion moderated by the teacher at the group/class forum. Students should be given the opportunity to express and justify their own opinions that were built based on the knowledge acquired: from the analyzed articles; during school classes; from textbooks; from documentary and feature film; and from other sources of information.