WEBVTT

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Many people in the United States
and Latin America

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have grown up celebrating the anniversary
of Christopher Columbus's voyage,

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but was he an intrepid explorer
who brought two worlds together

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or a ruthless exploiter who brought
colonialism and slavery?

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And did he even discover America at all?

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It's time to put Columbus on the stand
in History vs. Christopher Columbus.

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"Order, order in the court.

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Wait, am I even supposed to 
be at work today?"

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<i>Cough</i>

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"Yes, your Honor.

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From 1792, Columbus Day was celebrated
in many parts of the United States

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on October 12th,
the actual anniversary date.

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But although it was declared
an official holiday in 1934,

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individual states aren't required
to observe it.

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Only 23 states close public services,

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and more states are moving away
from it completely."

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<i>Cough</i>

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"What a pity.

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In the 70s, we even moved it to the
second Monday in October

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so people could get a nice 
three-day weekend,

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but I guess you folks
just hate celebrations."

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"Uh, what are we celebrating again?"

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"Come on, Your Honor, 
we all learned it in school.

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Christopher Columbus convinced the King
of Spain to send him on a mission

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to find a better trade route to India,

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not by going East over land
but sailing West around the globe.

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Everyone said it was crazy because they
still thought the world was flat,

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but he knew better.

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And when in 1492 he
sailed the ocean blue,

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he found something better
than India:

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a whole new continent."

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"What rubbish.

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First of all, educated people knew
the world was round since Aristotle.

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Secondly, Columbus didn't 
discover anything.

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There were already people living here
for millennia.

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And he wasn't even 
the first European to visit.

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The Norse had settled Newfoundland
almost 500 years before."

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"You don't say, so how come we're not
all wearing those cow helmets?"

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"Actually, they didn't really 
wear those either."

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<i>Cough</i>

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"Who cares what some Vikings did
way back when?

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Those settlements didn't last,
but Columbus's did.

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And the news he brought back to Europe
spread far and wide,

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inspiring all the explorers and settlers
who came after.

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Without him, none of us 
would be here today."

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"And because of him, millions of
Native Americans aren't here today.

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Do you know what Columbus did
in the colonies he founded?

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He took the very first 
natives he met prisoner

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and wrote in his journal about how easily
he could conquer and enslave all of them."

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"Oh, come on. Everyone was fighting each
other back then.

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Didn't the natives even tell Columbus

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about other tribes raiding
and taking captives?"

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"Yes, but tribal warfare 
was sporadic and limited.

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It certainly didn't wipe out 90%
of the population."

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"Hmm. Why is celebrating this Columbus
so important to you, anyway?"

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"Your Honor, Columbus's voyage 
was an inspiration

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to struggling people all across Europe,
symbolizing freedom and new beginnings.

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And his discovery gave our grandparents
and great-grandparents

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the chance to come here and build better
lives for their children.

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Don't we deserve a hero to remind
everyone that our country

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was build on the struggles of immigrants?"

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"And what about the struggles 
of Native Americans

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who were nearly wiped out 
and forced into reservations

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and whose descendants still suffer from
poverty and discrimination?

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How can you make a hero out of a man
who caused so much suffering?"

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"That's history. You can't judge a guy
in the 15th century by modern standards.

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People back then even thought spreading

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Christianity and civilization 
across the world was a moral duty."

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"Actually, he was pretty bad,
even by old standards.

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While governing Hispaniola, he tortured
and mutilated

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natives who didn't bring him enough gold

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and sold girls as young as nine into 
sexual slavery,

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and he was brutal even to the other 
colonists he ruled,

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to the point that he was removed 
from power and thrown in jail.

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When the missionary, 
Bartolomé de las Casas,

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visited the island, he wrote,

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'From 1494 to 1508,
over 3,000,000 people had perished

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from war, slavery and the mines. Who in 
future generations will believe this?'"

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"Well, I'm not sure I believe 
those numbers."

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"Say, aren't there other ways the holiday
is celebrated?"

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"In some Latin American countries,

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they celebrate the same date under
different names, such as Día de la Raza.

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In these places, it's more a celebration
of the native and mixed cultures

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that survived through the colonial period.

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Some places in the U.S. have also
renamed the holiday,

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as Native American Day
or Indigenous People's Day

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and changed the celebrations accordingly."

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"So, why not just change the name
if it's such a problem?"

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"Because it's tradition.

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Ordinary people need their heroes
and their founding myths.

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Can't we just keep celebrating
the way we've been doing for a century,

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without having to delve into all this
serious research?

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It's not like anyone is actually 
celebrating genocide."

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"Traditions change, and the way 
we choose to keep them alive

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says a lot about our values."

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"Well, it looks like giving tired judges a
day off isn't one of those values, anyway."

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Traditions and holidays 
are important to all cultures,

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but a hero in one era
may become a villain in the next

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as our historical knowledge expands
and our values evolve.

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And deciding what these 
traditions should mean today

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is a major part 
of putting history on trial.