The Significance of Columbus Day

Everyone knows that in "1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue." Growing up you may have even thought it was great to celebrate that because it was a day off of school. But, what is the actual significance of Columbus Day and should it remain a nationally recognized holiday?

Christopher Columbus is still thought of in many school history books as the founder of the American land. But, a little in depth research will show you that Columbus was actually looking for that route to Asia. Accident or fate, Columbus was not looking for a new land - he stumbled upon it.

So, who is Christopher Columbus and should we celebrate him at all? Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in the year of 1451. His father was a weaver. Columbus set out on the sea for the first time at the age of 14 in 1465. Columbus, knowing the earth was round, was determined to find a trade route to Asia by sea and had even lived in Portugal and then Spain to try and get some support for his mission. While in Portugal, Columbus married a noble woman. They had a son, Diego. After Christopher's wife died, he went to Spain with his son.

Even though there were no complete maps at the time and Europeans knew little nothing about the Western world, when others said no to Christopher's mission, the Catholic monarchs said yes and off he went. They had waited for a while before giving him the grant to go ahead, for they had been waiting for Spain to be rid of the moors, which occurred in 1492. Before the moors had left the monarchs had turned Columbus down. This time they did not only grant him financial support for the mission, but Columbus took with him the promise of special titles, benefits and privileges, along with a partial ownership of plunder should he find any land. In return, Columbus promised to lead an expedition into the land of China and spread the Gospel of Christ. He told the monarchs he would bring back the riches of Asia and asked for, and got, the title of Admiral of the Ocean Seas.