I think you are confusing Gavin Menzies' 1421 (on the legendary voyages of Zheng He) withe 1491 book Ms. Pemberton listed. I've read the first (1421) and agree it is pretty wild speculation, but have not looked at 1491 so I will reserve judgment there.
I do think Columbus though is a problematic character -- presentist critiques aside. I've always thought it was strange that school children are taught that Columbus wanted to prove the world was round -- when no one who gave any consideration to the shape of the world had any doubts on that by 1492. Why do we try to present Columbus as something he was not? Isn't the real story of the bravery -- as you note -- enough? Just wondering.
David Kiracofe
David Kiracofe
History
Tidewater Community College
Chesapeake Campus
1428 Cedar Road
Chesapeake, Virginia 23322
757-822-5136
>>> James Brothers <[log in to unmask]> 10/22/08 8:11 AM >>>
You are projecting your 21st century prejudice into the 15th again.
Columbus was worthy. He was a man of his time and held the prejudices
of his time. He did something that most did not have the guts to do. I
have been on the reconstructed Nina, The idea of crossing the Atlantic
without the backup of the radio and the Coast Guard in what is little
more than an open boat is terrifying. Especially as we know there is
something on the other side, Columbus only thought so.
1491 has been debunked by the archaeological world Menzies and his
supporters have no claim to historic fact. Yes the Chinese mounted
expeditions to India and even Africa, but there is no evidence that
they went the other way, just the supposition that as it was possible
they must have.
On Oct 21, 2008, at 7:53 PM, Anne Pemberton wrote:
> Lyle,
>
> May I suggest some of my recent reading in addition to what I
> typically discuss on this list.
>
> 1) "1491 - New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" by
> Charles G. Mann. Take special note of the chapter on Norte Chico,
> but the likelihood of a southern-origin migration is also mentioned
> in other sections of the book.
>
> 2) "The Farfarers" by Farley Mowat discusses in great detail the
> settlement of the Albans (Scottish forebears) in Canada and share
> photos of the foundations of their stone houses and lighthouses used
> to guide folks in and out without being known to the Norse.
>
> 3) "The Basque History of the World" by Mark Kurlansky. Discusses in
> depth the exploration of the fishing banks by a people who were
> without a country. Also, in his book name "Cod", the same author
> discusses the North Atlantic fishing grounds. The fact that these
> specific location were not widely publicized is no reason whatsoever
> to give the credit for their discovery to an unworthy man.
>
> And, rather than presentism, I will let you check the record for the
> fame and acclaim given Columbus during his lifetime.
>
> Anne
>
> Anne Pemberton
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.erols.com/apembert
> http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
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