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History cannot hide the legend of Columbus.

Www.thebeijingnews.com 2006-5-212:19: 48 Source: Beijing News.

Five hundred years ago, on May 20th, Christopher Columbus, the navigator and explorer, closed his eyes forever in Baladolid, Balado, Spain. This legendary navigator drew the end of his life. However, the voyage started by Columbus has just begun: the history of two continents and even the whole world has changed because of him; Five hundred years later, there is still no conclusion about the merits and demerits of Columbus and his mysterious identity.

This painting reproduces Columbus' encounter with friendly Indians on his first voyage, but the date cannot be confirmed.

Columbus Memorial Statue on Lide Square in Balado, Spain.

Columbus travel badge.

"Power of Attorney" from the King of Spain to Columbus.

Nina's recycling ship was the smallest ship in Columbus' first voyage.

History 1

In the Hollywood animated film Brave Huang Jincheng, DreamWorks depicts the first encounter between American Indians and western explorers in a romantic style. In the film, two Spanish swindlers who were bent on getting rich mistakenly discovered the legendary Huang Jinguo in Huang Jincheng and were regarded as gods by the local people. In the end, the two men gave up their treasures because of their kind nature, and helped the Indians block the waterway to Huang Jincheng, thus protecting this paradise from the trampling of western colonial iron hooves. Columbus can be seen more or less in the characters in the film, so who is he? Innocent and kind adventurer or cruel and tyrannical conqueror?

Looking for Huang Jincheng

During Columbus' fourth and final voyage to America, his letter to China lost all initial excitement and sense of achievement: "Whenever I think of Hispaniola and other islands I discovered, it always makes me cry. I have always believed that the example set by these islands can bring benefits to others; But on the contrary, because of excessive exploration, they are exhausted; Although it is not completely hopeless, the damage caused is too great and difficult to remedy. Let the person who caused all this remedy, if he can, if he really knows how to save. "

Obviously, Columbus himself realized that in the short period of 10 when he discovered the new continent, the plundering and over-exploitation of the colonists had caused irreparable mistakes, and it was not difficult to see his regret between the lines. But what does he mean by "harm"?

Looking back at what happened in 10, we may find the answer. On the second day after discovering the new continent, that is, on June19421kloc-0/3, Columbus first saw what he was looking for-the gold ornaments on Indians. He asked, "Where is the gold?" On the third day, Columbus began to plan how to rule the "Huang Jincheng" he discovered. He wrote in his diary: "As long as there is an army of 50 people, we can control all (Indians) and let them do anything."

In his letter to China, Columbus described the simplicity and beauty of the islands in the New World many times, but he was most concerned about gold. "When we got here, it was already 65438+ February, but we could still hear the nightingale singing, and thousands of other birds appeared in this season. You can see seven or eight kinds of palm trees here. The number of these beautiful trees is really hard to estimate. So are other plants and fruits. On the island, there are incredible pineapples, vast cultivated land, new varieties of bees and several fruits. Inland, there are many gold mines, and the reserves are so large that you can see them without calculation. Hispaniola is really an island full of surprises. "

In fact, Columbus' pursuit of gold even exceeded the material demand. A few years before his death, he wrote: "Gold is the most precious of all commodities. It not only represents wealth. People who own gold can not only meet the needs of the world, but also find ways to save their souls in purgatory and embark on the road to heaven. " Gold drove Columbus and his fleet to America four times, and it was their arrival that destroyed the carefree life of Indians and the splendid culture they created.

The scourge of greed

1493 On September 25th, Columbus started his second ambitious voyage with the support of the King of Spain. Compared with the first expedition, the scale of this expedition is not in the same breath. Three sailboats became 17, and the crew increased from 70 to more than 1500, including more than 200 "adventurers" with golden dreams, a cavalry regiment and six missionaries.

Obviously, this voyage was not to reach a peace agreement with the Indians, and Europeans seemed to play the role of conquerors. On the first voyage, most Indians Columbus met were very friendly and even worshipped them. But the greedy nature of European colonists soon frightened the locals. When Columbus landed on the island of Haiti again, they all fled.

A year ago, when Columbus came to Haiti, he met Guan Kanaga, a friendly Indian tribal chief. He promised them to build a fortress in Navidad, near the Indian tribe, and provide shelter.

So Columbus left 40 crew members stationed, but when he returned to Fort Navida at 1493, he found that the fort had been razed to the ground.

Chief Guannaga told Columbus that when his sailboat just left the island, the remaining 40 crew members began to fight with each other. They took nothing but Indian women and gold. Some people have occupied many local women as concubines, and some people have plundered the island. The fight finally developed into two sailors killing each other in the fight. Later, an expedition of 1 1 people went to the "gold mining area" at the other end of the island.

The Indian tribes that greeted them were obviously not as gentle as before. 1 1 All the sailors were killed. In this way, the first European colony was destroyed by the greed of the colonists.

In retaliation for the Indians, the missionary on the ship asked Columbus to execute the chief checkpoint Naga, but Columbus refused. Obviously, he doesn't want to lose his first or perhaps last friend in this new world. However, he didn't want to give up his golden dream. The fleet sailed to the other end of the island and built Isabella Castle near the gold mine. Columbus also named his stone house "Palace", looking forward to welcoming the Spanish royal family one day.

But two years later, Isabella Castle also ended its short life. Plague, famine and greed ruined it. Classical swine fever brought by colonists infected people,13 of Spaniards died, and countless Indians were killed by diseases brought by Europeans. After giving up Isabella Castle, the colonists built Santo Domingo into a new colonial stronghold in Spain. European adventurers' dream of making money has always been a threat to the colony itself.

After leaving Haiti, Columbus asked his younger brother to stay and rule the colony. He continued to search for Huang Jincheng in Cuba and Jamaica. 1494, Columbus sent a boat to transport the first batch of "trophies" of this expedition back to Spain, including all the gold and the first batch of slaves seized from the Indians. The second batch of ships carrying 550 slaves set sail at 1495, and only 350 people arrived in Spain alive.

The colonists soon discovered a faster way to get rich than the slave trade. Instead of panning for gold, they forced local people to work as free labor.

As for the local Indians, every Indian over the age of 14 has to pay a thimble-sized gold nugget to the Spanish colonists every three months, and those who fail to pay the tax will be cut off or executed. About 10 thousand Indians were slaughtered in this way. Others had to give up growing food in order to get enough gold, and a large number of people starved to death. Many Indians fled to the mountains and other islands, but in the end they could not escape the control of the colonists. Faced with no choice, many people chose to die, and a large number of Tylenol people collectively jumped off cliffs or committed suicide by taking poison. This peaceful and docile race finally perished. By the middle of16th century, the indigenous Indians on the island of Haiti were almost extinct.

Life story 2

Five hundred years after his death, his name is still famous in the world, but there are many versions about Columbus' true identity. He only used one sentence to avoid his origins: "Heroes don't ask for the source." (Vinede nada。 ) But this answer obviously can't satisfy future generations. For centuries, scholars all over the world have been tirelessly searching for the true identity of this legendary figure.

Columbus's silence and lack of historical materials make the pursuit of Columbus's figure vague. Every theory is supported by facts, but it also has obvious defects.

Where is he from?

To commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's death, a group of researchers from all over the world hope to find out Columbus's true identity through DNA testing: is he the son of a wool weaver in Genoa, Italy, or from Madrid, Spain, or Corsica, France?

Almost all encyclopedias record that Columbus was born in the Italian port city of Genoa in the autumn of 145 1. His father, Minik Columbus, is a textile worker and owns his own studio and bar in Genoa. However, because his birth certificate has been missing, his family background cannot be confirmed.

Lyon, a maritime historian, supports the traditional view that Columbus is Italian, which is mainly based on 60 documents recording Columbus' family. Lyon said: "I think there is no doubt that Columbus came from Genoa. Other statements are just local people boasting."

However, this widely accepted statement also has a fatal weakness-historians have never found any letters or diaries written by Columbus in Italian, and all the words written by Columbus, including notes, are in Spanish.

Where is he buried?

A team led by Spanish anthropologist Yue Se Antonio Lauret Acta is comparing the DNA of Columbus, his illegitimate child Fernando and hundreds of possible descendants of Columbus. I hope to establish a total gene map.

At first, Laurette just wanted to find the real burial place of Columbus' body, Seville, Spain, or the Dominican Republic across the Atlantic?

According to historical records, Columbus's body was hidden in Seville, Spain. But in 1877, a Dominican worker dug up a lead box engraved with Columbus' name behind an altar in Santo Domingo Cathedral, which contained some bones. Dominicans believe that this is Columbus' real body.

Laurette hopes to determine the burial place of Columbus by comparing the remains unearthed in the two places with Fernando's DNA.

In 2003, Laurette extracted DNA samples from Columbus' remains and compared them with those of Columbus' brother Diego and Columbus' illegitimate child Fernando. However, shortly after the project started, Laurette found that the remains from Seville could not extract enough DNA samples, and the Dominican government banned him from taking samples from the bones unearthed there. The Dominican Republic built a huge lighthouse cemetery to house Columbus' body. According to the government, Columbus's body never left there.

"We will get some results, but it may also be complicated," Laurette said. "We need to distinguish the DNA differences of Columbus descendants everywhere, which is not guaranteed. He hopes to announce this result on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' death.

He's of Jewish descent?

For scholars who have studied Columbus's identity for hundreds of years, this legend seems to deliberately make his life a mystery.

Eugene Lyon, a maritime historian, said, "Columbus never clarified his identity. I don't know if he did this on purpose, but he is really mysterious. " One of the reasons for Columbus' lack of information is that he deliberately concealed his family background and tried to prevent others from knowing him. It is possible that he was born into a Jewish family, because when he moved to Spain in 1485, the authorities were expelling all Jews in that country.

In Italian, Columbus is called CristoforoColombo, and this name can also prove that Columbus has Jewish descent. Colombo is a common Jewish name in northern Italy. Some people also suspect that it is no coincidence that Columbus chose to lead the fleet to sail from Spain on the morning of August 3, 492. Because a Spanish law came into effect on that day-all Jews were forbidden to live in Spain, and offenders would be put to death.

Columbus's silence and lack of historical materials make the pursuit of Columbus's figure vague. Every theory is supported by facts, but it also has obvious defects.

Gourmet article 3

If Columbus hadn't discovered America 500 years ago, the menu on the table of Europeans, Americans and even China today might be very different. Imagine: French western food without potatoes; Macaroni has no ketchup to flavor it; Insects or eggs will be put in the platter of Mexican food; Even China's Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine may lose their proudest spicy and delicious flavor! Almost ignored by later generations, Columbus's discovery of the new continent also triggered a gourmet revolution in Europe-more than 65,438+000 kinds of fruits and vegetables found in America were introduced to Europe one after another. This not only brought unprecedented food to people on two continents, but also changed the history of agriculture and food culture all over the world.

Faxian gourmet paradise

After more than 500 years, it may be difficult for modern people to imagine the taste and sensory pleasure brought by the American continent to the first European crew: from delicious staple foods that have never been tasted to dazzling fruits and vegetables. If we look back at the monotonous recipes in medieval Europe, it is not difficult to understand that America is not only a new continent, but also a gourmet paradise.

Like most Europeans in the15th century, Columbus' satisfaction with his daily diet may be described as "reluctantly accepting": a few pieces of brown bread made of rye and barley, a few pieces of soup made of thick leaves of cabbage, and a piece of rich cheese, which was the most common meal in Europe at that time.

The food on the table of a slightly richer family will not be rich, but it will taste more full. Seasoning brought from Asia gave Europeans a variety of taste stimuli, and in that era when there was no refrigerator, seasoning could also cover up the rotten smell of food.

In fact, one of the great purposes of Columbus's voyage was to bring back precious Indian spices. Although this wish was not realized in the end, he brought back a brand-new menu: potatoes, peanuts and green beans, which greatly enriched the staple food of Europeans. Vegetables and fruits are even more dazzling: pomegranates, mangoes, plums, tomatoes, herbs ... For the aristocrats in medieval Europe, novelty and splendor are the most important things for dining or banquet, such as a roasted peacock with feathers, or a pie made of pheasant and flour. In aristocratic banquets, the appearance of the main course is usually accompanied by warm trumpets. There is no doubt that the exotic fruits that Columbus brought from the strange world made Europeans ecstatic.

Rewrite recipes on two continents.

Before the arrival of Europeans, native American agriculture was quite developed, and potatoes, corn and tomatoes, which were originally weeds, were cultivated into different varieties.

In the chronicles of Aztecs in the16th century, Sophie Cole, a food historian, found that "the tomato seller can provide various varieties: large tomatoes, small tomatoes, sweet tomatoes, pointed tomatoes, snake-shaped tomatoes ... he even sells" North American wolf tomatoes "and sand tomatoes. Yellow tomatoes are very yellow, and red tomatoes have the rose color of the morning sun. " The Aztecs also have high requirements for the quality of tomatoes. The chronicle also records: "The tomatoes sold by unscrupulous sellers are either rotten or bruised, and eating them will make people have diarrhea."

Historians believe that the first tomatoes introduced to Europe may be yellow, because in Italian, tomatoes are "golden apples". Although this delicious food, which is both appetizing vegetables and juicy fruits, soon spread all over Europe, it is the most popular in Italy. Perhaps it is because of its addition that delicious pasta is world-famous.

The introduction of potato is regarded as a historic event in the history of European agriculture, but it was really accepted by Europeans several centuries later. It was not until the19th century that potatoes were gradually accepted by the French. At first, people thought it would lead to leprosy or even infertility, so at first it was only used to feed pigs. The great French writer victor hugo once called potatoes "poor truffles"

Potato's experience in Britain is also unfortunate. When adventurer Walter Laurie gave a potato to Queen Elizabeth I for the first time, the court chef who had never seen this rare plant cooked the stem and leaf of the potato by mistake, and all the diners ate it badly. Because of the "offence" to the royal family, potatoes were "banned" by the British Palace.

With the introduction of delicious food, there are various cooking methods. The Spaniards found that yucca, which looks like Chinese cabbage and carrots, can be eaten when cooked, although it is poisonous when eaten raw.

When Europeans welcomed the new recipes, the diet structure of Native Americans also changed because of outsiders. Before Columbus arrived, many aborigines seldom ate meat. For example, Mexicans usually drink a bowl of porridge for breakfast and season it with honey or red pepper. Chinese food in the hottest afternoon every day, the staple food is tortillas, a bowl of beans, plus seasoning made of tomatoes or peppers.

Sometimes, in order to "improve life", insect larvae and eggs are added to food.

Before Columbus arrived, the main meat in Chile was guinea pig meat, and the arrival of explorers brought them pork, beef, milk and cheese. Poultry and livestock such as chickens and sheep have also been introduced. In later expeditions, Columbus also brought European vegetable seeds, wheat and sugar cane to America.

Created Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine?

For people on two continents, new food not only means a change in recipes, but also changes the development direction of society and civilization.

Among many crops, the humble potato has brought the most far-reaching influence to European agriculture. After potato and corn are widely planted, European farmers can feed more people, thus promoting population growth.

Some people even infer that the cultivation of potatoes promoted the industrialization of Germany, and this chain reaction eventually triggered the First World War.

American crops also "migrated" to Africa, and those crops that could not stand the humid climate in Europe were introduced to African farms. Corn, mung bean and yucca enrich the variety of agricultural products. And African traditional cooking skills were later brought to the United States with slave ship.

With the spread of agricultural products and seasonings around the world, human diet is no longer "one world".

People all over the world use similar materials to make dishes with completely different tastes.

The combination of beef, corn and pepper will become taco in Mexico, corn beef porridge in Italy and a plate of spicy beef in China, which will enrich the food all over the world. Once a certain food is considered to represent the characteristics of a nation, its original place of origin becomes insignificant. For example, the raw material cocoa, the dessert chocolate that the French are proud of, was not introduced to France from America until the17th century. Pepper is the most important condiment in southern China cuisine, and its origin is also in the New World.

Columbus didn't bring back the Indian condiment he wanted, but found its substitute-pepper. Pepper was finally introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty, but in today's Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine, the seasoning function of pepper almost reached the extreme. It would be far-fetched for Sichuanese and Hunan people to attribute the "spicy" characteristics of dishes to Columbus 500 years ago. However, if there were no navigators exploring the new continent, our dining table would certainly not be as colorful as it is now.