Monday, July 23, 2018

Debunking Snopes and the Imaginary Child Sex Slave Ring




I'm not one of those people always who opposes Snopes or Wikipedia. When they are right, they are right. However, when they are wrong, they are wrong; and Snopes is wrong with this one.

In an article titled "Did Christopher Columbus Seize, Sell, and Export Sex Slaves?" Snopes claims it is true. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/columbus-sex-slaves/ )

Unfortunately for them, ALL the claims of the article are false. They did a poor job investigating: 

They used Howard Zinn as a "source," even though he was not a primary historical source, but just a revisionist from the 20th-21st century. 

They also used  "A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies" by Bartolome de las Casas, even though the book is about events that happened AFTER Columbus was out of office. Contrary to what Snopes claims, Las Casas was not one of Columbus' crew members and he always admired Columbus describing him as a hero, a brilliant man, and as a good Christian.

Snopes quoted selected portions of a letter Columbus sent to Luis de Santangel to insinuate Columbus was looking down on the Tainos and considering them as good candidates for slavery. (https://books.google.com/books?id=NPXCTYxu-R4C&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false)  

If anyone takes the time to read the letter in its entirety one will see Columbus praising the Tainos in spite of their timidity and nakedness. He also forbade the Spaniards from cheating the natives by trading broken platters and broken glasses with them (page 13).

As for the quoted "Their Highnesses may see that I shall give them... slaves as many as they shall order to be shipped" (from the same letter above, page 17), Snopes skipped the next line that says "and these shall be from the idolaters." Columbus said the Tainos knew "no idolatry" (page 13), and he believed they were good and intelligent enough to become Christians. Furthermore, he considered them as part of the Spanish Kingdom (Source: Columbus' Journal, Sunday 16, December 1492). Spanish law forbade the enslavement of Spanish subjects and Christians, unless they were criminals or war enemies. It's clear he is not talking about the "timid Tainos," but the Caribs, who were cannibals (which is what that word means), who were terrorizing, kidnapping, enslaving, raping, castrating and killing the Tainos. I wonder why Snopes did not mention that detail!? 

Columbus ended the first voyage in peaceful terms with them and promised his ally, chief Guacanagari, he would get rid of the Caribs. The 1494 "Memorial letter to Antonio de Torres" specified all this as well. Columbus later was forced to fight in self-defense against some war-like tribes in Hispaniola. Since they were enemy combatants, he was allowed to sell them as slaves along with the cannibal Caribs. That was the custom back then during war. Slavery was universal and it was practiced by natives too.

As for the letter Columbus wrote to Juana de las Torres, is clear Snopes did not read it. The letter says nothing about any child sex slavery ring. Moreover, the quote is mistranslated: The word "agora" is archaic Spanish for "ahora" which means "now" and not "of late." Even that Snopes got wrong. The numbers "9 to 10" were not the ages of the girls, but the number of young women in the market.

As for the context of the letter, Columbus was complaining against a mob of Spanish mutineers who rebelled against him and usurped his authority. In other words, he was not applauding their actions but condemning them. He was not saying he was the one searching for girls to be sold as slaves, but that the mutineers were doing so. All these abuses toward the natives were against his orders and the wishes of the Queen of Spain. Ironically, sex slavery, nor pedophilia, were mentioned by Columbus in the letter. Why? Because that charge is pure fiction and made up by modern-day revisionists today. Columbus was removed from office (as governor) by the rebels and political opponents, but he was immediately released when he arrived in Spain precisely because he was innocent. Columbus' political rivals (Bobadilla and Roldan) were removed from their posts and their rebels were sentenced for mutiny. (Source "The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand" Chapters 74-87).

In conclusion, it's ridiculous to think that Columbus would write an incriminating letter to a woman (Juana de las Torres) who was a mother and a friend of the Queen (another woman and mother) saying that he was selling children for sex.

I will give the benefit of the doubt that Snopes is just repeating the garbage that many revisionists claim. That is, "Columbus was evil," which is a lie, and repeating a lie, even many times, won't make the lie true.

"Did Christopher Columbus Seize, Sell, and Export Sex Slaves?"

The answer is: NO!


#SnopesDebunked

Friday, July 13, 2018

What did Columbus Look Like?


Contrary to what some people may think, the picture above is not of Christopher Columbus. In fact, there are no known authentic portraits of Columbus. The famous painting here is from Sebastiano del Piombo in 1515 titled "Portrait of a Man." Columbus did not look like that. 

Here is what Columbus looked like:

"The Admiral was a well-built man of more than average stature," in other words, he was tall; "the face long, the cheeks somewhat high, his body neither fat nor lean. He had an aquiline nose and light-colored eyes; his complexion too was light and tending to bright red. In youth his hair was blonde, but when he reached the age of thirty, it all turned white."
"The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand" translated by Benjamin Keen, Chapter 3, page 9.


I don't know where people get the idea Columbus' hair was red!? Maybe from the picture above!?

The movie "1492 The Conquest of Paradise" got most of Columbus' look right; except that his hair was already white at the time of the discovery. 

Though a fictional portrait, Dióscoro Puebla (and other painters) got Columbus' description better.

#ColumbusPortray

Thursday, July 12, 2018

News: "How Christopher Columbus's son built 'the world's first search engine' "


Source and article by The Guardian (May 2018)

"In the 16th century, Hernando Colón amassed a library of unprecedented size and range. The author of a new biography tells its startlingly modern story."

Click the Link to read the full article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/11/christopher-columbus-son-worlds-first-search-engine-hernando-colon?CMP=share_btn_fb

News: "Replica Columbus ship arrives to the Costa del Sol"


"A REPLICA of Christopher Columbus’ famous flagship, the Nao Santa Maria, has arrived in Fuengirola."

Source and article by RTN (June 26, 2018)


Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Review: "Cortez The Killer" song by Neil Young



"Cortez The Killer" by Neil Young 


Lyrics:

"He came dancing across the water/ With his galleons and guns/ Looking for the new world/ In that palace in the sun/ On the shore lay Montezuma/ With his coca leaves and pearls/ In his halls he often wondered/ With the secrets of the worlds/ And his subjects/ gathered 'round him/ Like the leaves around a tree/ In their clothes of many colors/ For the angry gods to see/ And the women all were beautiful/ And the men stood/ straight and strong/ They offered life in sacrifice/ So that others could go on/ Hate was just a legend/ And war was never known/ The people worked together/ And they lifted many stones/ They carried them/ to the flatlands/ And they died along the way/ But they built up/ with their bare hands/ What we still can't do today/ And I know she's living there/ And she loves me to this day/ I still can't remember when/ Or how I lost my way/ He came dancing across the water/ Cortez, Cortez/ What a killer."

"Cortez The Killer" was written by Neil Young from the album "Zuma" in 1975. 

The song is not about Columbus, but about Hernán Cortés, who was his contemporary. The lyrics romanticized Montezuma and the Aztecs as if they never knew hate ("hate was a legend"). The reason why Cortés was able to conquer an empire of millions of people with a few Spaniards was precisely that the natives hated Montezuma and decided to join forces with Spain to overthrow him. At least the song made a reference to human sacrifices. Cool song though. 

You can find Cortés primary sources on Google books for free, as "Letters of Cortes."

Art: "Desembarco de Colón" Painting by Dióscoro Puebla




Painting Title: "Desembarco de Colón" de Dióscoro Puebla ("Columbus Arrival" by Dióscoro Puebla)

Painted by Dióscoro Teófilo Puebla Tolín in 1862. Oil on canvas. Height: 330 cm (10.8 ft); Width: 545 cm (17.8 ft).

This is my favorite Columbus painting. It portraits Columbus' arrival to the New World in 1492. The painting is in Spain at Museo del Prado.

Click Here for: Museo del Prado Website Link



Saturday, July 7, 2018

The History Channel is Wrong!

https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus


Question: What is wrong with the video link above from The History Channel?

Answer: Everything!

It is a shame that a channel using the name "History" doesn't know what "Cristopher Columbus discovered America" means! If Columbus did not discover America because there were people already living here, then by the same faulty logic the Vikings, nor the Chinese, discovered anything! 


If Columbus did not discover anything, why then is called "America"? Why is not named after a Viking, Chinese or an Indigenous Person?

Haters are lucky that is called "America" and not Columbus. The reason why is called America is because Amerigo Vespucci stole that honour from Columbus by falsely claiming he reached the (South) American continent first.

Notice the video did not mention that Columbus reached South AMERICA. They only mentioned The Bahamas and Cuba. 

The fact is America, The New World, includes North, South, Central America and the Caribbean. In addition, the video used assumptions, theories, opinions, legends and false claims as "history." Yet, what is actual history, like Columbus discovering America, they called false.
This is nothing new. Remember, "scholars" ridiculed Columbus, and sadly, some still do today!

To the question by The History Channel: "Did Columbus really discover America?"


The answer is yes!



#HistoryChannelDebunked

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Review: "Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem: How Religion Drove the Voyages that Led to America" Book by Carol Delaney



The author, Carol Delaney, brings Columbus into his proper historical context so that the reader can understand him and his times better. The book is well researched. The cover is my favorite Columbus painting. It's probably the best modern-day nonprimary sourcebook on the subject. It should be part of your Columbus library collection. 

#CarolDelaneyColumbusBook

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Review: "The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand" Book


If you are looking for a Columbus biography, this is the book you need to read. It was written by his son Ferdinand Columbus, who was a scholar, historian and a witness since he was with Columbus during his Fourth Vovage. Even those who hate Columbus like the Fourth Vovage and have compared it to the Oddysey by Homer. 

Ferdinand not only tells us what Columbus did but why he did it. He defended his father from the slanders of the Spaniards, which sadly, revisionists still use today as anti-Columbus propaganda.
The first time I've read the book, I was like, where is the movie? I mean, there are movies out there, but they are historically incorrect, or they don't cover all the Voyages. The only problem with this edition is the unnecessary, and sometimes obnoxious, Introduction by Benjamin Keen, the English translator. Just skip the Intro.

Columbus story is probably the most epic story I ever read in my life. The book is full of adventure, intrigue, battles, mutiny, shipwrecks, pirates, corsairs, even cannibals.

A 5-star classic. Get it and read it!



#FerdinadColumbusHistorie