tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post104257843954482427..comments2024-03-29T05:03:05.347+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: Rediscovering ColumbusJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-1426712473703444572009-10-15T11:13:39.903+03:002009-10-15T11:13:39.903+03:00Now the US federal holiday for Columbus is the 2nd...Now the US federal holiday for Columbus is the 2nd Monday in October, which happened to fall on Oct. 12th this year, the date that was official before they got all gung-ho for Monday holidays.Martihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11341915969684349287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-20965707724789598022009-10-12T16:52:42.506+03:002009-10-12T16:52:42.506+03:00Of course the funny part is that they can't ev...Of course the funny part is that they can't even get the right day. I assume Italian Catholics don't go by the Julian Calendar.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-55678985237590996222009-10-12T16:29:26.876+03:002009-10-12T16:29:26.876+03:00Here in Minnesota where there is a great deal of N...Here in Minnesota where there is a great deal of Native America activism, Columbus's name is dirt. He is rightfully viewed as an imperialist, genocidal murderer, and robber of gold and resources. History shows that this viewpoint is well justified. <br /><br />Isn't it kinda funny how just a few years ago his name was being considered for sainthood among certain right wing Catholics? VeryTripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-80223094645730180582009-10-12T09:42:56.395+03:002009-10-12T09:42:56.395+03:00I suppose this probably came as a bit of a shocker...I suppose this probably came as a bit of a shocker to Italian-Americans,<br /><br />"Alfonso Ensenat de Villalonga has disputed conventionally-accepted narratives on the explorer's origins - that he was the son of a weaver in Genoa, Italy, or that he was from Catalonia or Galicia in Spain.<br /><br />In fact, he was from Genoa, but he was "the son of shopkeepers not weavers and he James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-56975622369813157202009-10-12T08:58:18.806+03:002009-10-12T08:58:18.806+03:00A few years ago my wife and I were in Spain and we...A few years ago my wife and I were in Spain and we visited Cadiz, the port from which Columbus sailed to America on his second and fourth voyages. No statue or marker like there is in Barcelona, which he apparently spent some time in but never sailed from. Cadiz is a small unassuming city, remembered by Mark Twain fans because here is where his "Innocent Abroads" first made landfall in James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.com