Argentina’s independentist President, Javier Meili, posted on social media on Saturday (October 12, 2024) that the Italian explorer’s arrival brought an influx of knowledge to the region. , Photo courtesy: Reuters
An Argentine claim that European contact brought civilization to the Americas has provoked condemnation across Latin America, where the era’s controversial historical legacy is often hotly debated.
In celebration of Christopher ColumbusLanding in the office of the Libertarian President of Argentina on October 12, 1492 xavier miley The arrival of the Italian explorer brought an influx of knowledge to the area, it was posted on social media on Saturday (October 12, 2024).
“This marks the beginning of civilization in the American continent,” the post claims, along with a catchy video set to triumphant music.
The post argued that Columbus “opened a new era of progress”, while many online agreed, pointing to the human sacrifices practiced by some native cultures as a clear example of the cruelty perpetrated by European colonizers.
Columbus’s arrival in the present-day Bahamas led to centuries of Spanish and Portuguese domination of an area spanning much of what is now the United States and near Antarctica.
The conquest and subsequent colonial experience have long given rise to passionate debate. Many Latin American leaders are now taking a more critical approach, acknowledging abuses that have been committed, including genocide, forced labor, and widespread looting.
Spanish scientists said Saturday after a 22-year investigation using DNA analysis that Columbus, traditionally thought to be from Genoa, Italy, was a Sephardic Jew from somewhere in Western Europe.
Debates about their heritage are often along ideological lines, with the left being particularly sensitive to the suggestion that the region’s indigenous cultures are inferior.
Mexico’s new leftist leader, President Claudia Sheinbaum, ended a speech outside the country’s capital on Saturday (October 12, 2024) with a rebuttal to the viewpoint presented by Miley.
“For many years, they told us they came over there to civilize us. No! There were already great cultures here,” said Ms. Sheinbaum, who took office earlier this month, describing the history of the Olmecs and Aztecs. Underlined the contribution of. Other.
“It’s much more than that, Mexico is great because of its native people,” he said, speaking in the working-class town of Nezahualcóyotl, named after the 15th-century king of Texcoco who wrote his poem, Was famous for engineering feats and prowess on the battlefield.
When she was mayor of Mexico City in 2020, Sheinbaum ordered the removal of a statue of Columbus that had graced the capital’s most prominent thoroughfare since 1877.
Ms. Sheinbaum and her like-minded predecessor have urged Spain’s King Felipe VI to apologize for atrocities committed during the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century, a request that led to a rare royal humiliation before his inauguration.
This holiday is recognized throughout Latin America. But it has taken different names, including in Argentina, where a 2010 presidential order changed it from Day of the Race to Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity, in a nod to Spanish culture.
In the United States, Columbus Day is a national holiday, falling on Monday (October 14, 2024) this year. President Joe Biden also celebrated the day as Indigenous Peoples Day in a proclamation in 2021.
For the past few decades the holiday has been called Indigenous Resistance Day in Venezuela. On Saturday (October 12, 2024) embattled President Nicolas Maduro accused Mr Miley of trying to rewrite history.
“Did you see what he published?” Mr. Maduro joked, referring to Miley’s post.
He said, “I remember October 12 as the great day when they civilized us.” “They want to impose their false narrative.”
published – October 14, 2024 12:58 PM IST