In recent years, Christopher Columbus has a subject of controversy. A quick Google search will generate articles labeling the explorer a murderer, a tyrant, a conqueror, and enslaver. As part of his Rediscovering America series, Drew Mariani spoke to Dr. Susan Hanssen, associate professor of history at the University of Dallas about reclaiming the Italian explorer.
Hanssen sees the criticism of Columbus as part of the broader criticism of the American founding. “There has been a movement in the past 50 years…to paint the American project as something to blame for all the evils in the world,” she told Drew. “And a lot of that has been projected onto the figure of Christopher Columbus.”
Columbus’ Journey
On Hanssen’s view, Columbus’ exploration of the ‘New World’ should be seen “in the context of the Crusades.” At that time, she recounted, “the Spaniards had been pushing the Muslim forces out of Spain for hundreds of years…and at the same time, the Muslim forces under the Ottoman Turk empire had taken Constantinople.”
The mission of the Italian explorer, then, was at least twofold: find a new way to the East for spice trade and find gold to pay for soldiers. “It was really part of that effort of the defense of Christendom,” Hanssen said.
Columbus himself had an evangelical mission for the journey. “He thought he was going to be contributing to the conversion of Asia,” Hanssen told Drew.
According to Columbus’ diaries, Hanssen said, the explorer was a man of prayer, and all explorers on the ships would sing the Salve Regina as the sun went down. She also noted Columbus is an example of someone who, despite imperfection, served the “providential purposes of God.”
Papal Encyclical
On the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ journey (1892), Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical commemorating the Italian explorer. The Holy Father extolled Columbus’ exploration as “the highest and grandest which has ever seen accomplished by man,” and said spreading the Gospel “is known to have possessed his mind above all.”