Wednesday, 16 October, 2024
An Argentine assertion that European contact introduced civilization to the Americas has sparked criticism throughout Latin America, where heated debates frequently arise over the contested historical legacy of that era.
In a post commemorating Christopher Columbus's landing in the Americas on October 12, 1492, the office of Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei stated on social media that the Italian explorer's arrival brought enlightenment to the region.
“It marked the beginning of civilization on the American continent,” the post proclaimed, accompanied by a polished video set to triumphant music.
The post contends that Columbus "opened a new era of progress," while many supporters online pointed to practices like human sacrifice among certain indigenous cultures as evidence of the cruelty that European colonizers sought to combat.
Columbus's arrival in present-day Bahamas marked the beginning of centuries of Spanish and Portuguese dominance across a region extending from much of the current United States to near Antarctica.
The conquests and the ensuing colonial experience have long sparked passionate debate. Today, many Latin American leaders adopt a more critical perspective, recognizing the abuses that occurred, including massacres, forced labour, and widespread looting.
Columbus, traditionally thought to have been from Genoa, Italy, was a Sephardic Jew from somewhere in Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday after a 22-year investigation using DNA analysis.
The debates about his legacy often fall along ideological lines, with leftists especially sensitive to suggestions that the region's Indigenous cultures are inferior.
Mexico's new leftist leader, President Claudia Sheinbaum, ended a speech on Saturday outside the nation's capital with a repudiation of the view represented by Milei.
"For many years, we were told that they came from over there to civilize us. No! There were already remarkable cultures here," said Sheinbaum, who assumed office earlier this month, highlighting contributions from the Olmecs and Aztecs, among others.
"It's more than that; Mexico is great because of its Indigenous peoples," she stated while speaking in Nezahualcoyotl, a working-class city named after the 15th-century king of Texcoco, renowned for his poetry, engineering accomplishments, and military prowess.
In 2020, while serving as mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum ordered the removal of a statue of Columbus that had stood on the capital's main avenue since 1877.
Sheinbaum and her like-minded predecessor have urged Spain's King Felipe VI to apologize for the atrocities committed during the 16th-century conquest of Mexico, a request that resulted in a rare royal snub prior to her inauguration.
The holiday is recognized throughout Latin America but has taken on different names. In Argentina, for instance, a 2010 presidential decree changed it from Day of the Race, which celebrated Spanish culture, to Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity.
In the United States, Columbus Day, observed on Monday this year, remains a national holiday. In 2021, President Joe Biden also commemorated the day as Indigenous Peoples' Day in a proclamation.
In Venezuela, the holiday has been referred to as Day of Indigenous Resistance for the past couple of decades. On Saturday, embattled President Nicolas Maduro accused Milei of attempting to rewrite history.
"Did you see what he published?" Maduro scoffed, referring to Milei's post. "Remembering October 12 as the great day when they civilized us? They want to impose their false narrative."
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An Argentine assertion that European contact introduced civilization to the Americas has sparked criticism throughout Latin America, where heated debates frequently arise over the contested historical legacy of that era.
In a post commemorating Christopher Columbus's landing in the Americas on October 12, 1492, the office of Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei stated on social media that the Italian explorer's arrival brought enlightenment to the region.
“It marked the beginning of civilization on the American continent,” the post proclaimed, accompanied by a polished video set to triumphant music.
The post contends that Columbus "opened a new era of progress," while many supporters online pointed to practices like human sacrifice among certain indigenous cultures as evidence of the cruelty that European colonizers sought to combat.
Columbus's arrival in present-day Bahamas marked the beginning of centuries of Spanish and Portuguese dominance across a region extending from much of the current United States to near Antarctica.
The conquests and the ensuing colonial experience have long sparked passionate debate. Today, many Latin American leaders adopt a more critical perspective, recognizing the abuses that occurred, including massacres, forced labour, and widespread looting.
Columbus, traditionally thought to have been from Genoa, Italy, was a Sephardic Jew from somewhere in Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday after a 22-year investigation using DNA analysis.
The debates about his legacy often fall along ideological lines, with leftists especially sensitive to suggestions that the region's Indigenous cultures are inferior.
Mexico's new leftist leader, President Claudia Sheinbaum, ended a speech on Saturday outside the nation's capital with a repudiation of the view represented by Milei.
"For many years, we were told that they came from over there to civilize us. No! There were already remarkable cultures here," said Sheinbaum, who assumed office earlier this month, highlighting contributions from the Olmecs and Aztecs, among others.
"It's more than that; Mexico is great because of its Indigenous peoples," she stated while speaking in Nezahualcoyotl, a working-class city named after the 15th-century king of Texcoco, renowned for his poetry, engineering accomplishments, and military prowess.
In 2020, while serving as mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum ordered the removal of a statue of Columbus that had stood on the capital's main avenue since 1877.
Sheinbaum and her like-minded predecessor have urged Spain's King Felipe VI to apologize for the atrocities committed during the 16th-century conquest of Mexico, a request that resulted in a rare royal snub prior to her inauguration.
The holiday is recognized throughout Latin America but has taken on different names. In Argentina, for instance, a 2010 presidential decree changed it from Day of the Race, which celebrated Spanish culture, to Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity.
In the United States, Columbus Day, observed on Monday this year, remains a national holiday. In 2021, President Joe Biden also commemorated the day as Indigenous Peoples' Day in a proclamation.
In Venezuela, the holiday has been referred to as Day of Indigenous Resistance for the past couple of decades. On Saturday, embattled President Nicolas Maduro accused Milei of attempting to rewrite history.
"Did you see what he published?" Maduro scoffed, referring to Milei's post. "Remembering October 12 as the great day when they civilized us? They want to impose their false narrative."
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