Backstory 1492 COLUMBUS IN AMERICAN MEMORY (45 mins)

Columbus Day is here again – bringing both celebrations and denunciations of the man whose name the holiday bears. And it’s not just the holiday: Christopher Columbus’ name has been worked into numerous cities across the United States, the names of ships and universities – even a space shuttle. And from an early age, schoolchildren learn about the voyages of the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María and the man who “discovered” the American continent. But many Americans have also questioned Columbus’ legacy – should we venerate a man who symbolizes European colonization, and began the decimation of native American populations that would continue for centuries?

NPR In '1493,' Columbus Shaped A World To Be  (37 mins) 

"In fourteen-hundred-and-ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," goes the old elementary school rhyme. But it was Columbus' activities in the years that followed, says writer Charles C. Mann, that really created the New World. When Columbus crossed the Atlantic in 1492, his journey prompted the exchange of not only information but also food, animals, insects, plants and viruses between the continents.

NPR Different Feelings On Columbus Around The World (6 mins)

Americans tend to think that in 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, he claimed this land for Spain, and simply went home. But Columbus played a huge role in the history of the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Columbus Day is one of celebration and protest in Latin America. Host Michel Martin speaks with author Timothy Kubal about how the holiday has turned from a day praising Columbus as the colonizer to the Day of Indigenous Resistance.