Did Columbus Really Begin the African Slave Trade?

Each year, we celebrate the founding of America on Columbus day. In recent years, Columbus has come under attack for his alleged association with slavery. Should we continue to honor Columbus with a national holiday? Did Columbus actually begin the African slave trade? To understand the answers to these questions, a little background on the subject becomes necessary.

In 1441, Portuguese explorer Antao Goncalves traveled along the West African coast and became the first European by his account to purchase black slaves from Arabic merchants. In 1444, Goncalves shipped the first large group of 235 African slaves back to Lagos Portugal. By the 1470's, African slavery had spread to neighboring Spain - a country like many other European countries where despite protests; slavery existed in various forms throughout its history.

Upon the discovery of the New World, Christopher Columbus in an act of retribution allegedly captured and enslaved 500 perceived hostile "Indians" and transported them back to Spain - somewhere around 200 of which perished along the way. Believed to be more resistant to European diseases and knowledgeable of agricultural practices, Columbus presumably initiated the African slave trade to the New World though some dispute this claim. Regardless of who actually brought the first African slaves to the Americas, the practice actually began in Europe over a half a century before by Portuguese explorer Antao Goncalves. Moreover, Columbus never actually stepped foot into what would later become the United States. The first actual black slaves to the U.S. came later when the Spanish colonized Florida.

Also important to note, at one time or another, slavery existed almost everywhere and African slavery was only one form it took. The Mesopotamians, Sumerians and Mayans all had slaves, the Romans had and sold slaves indiscriminately regardless of skin color, race or religion, the Russians had similar practices, the Moors enslaved an estimated 1.2 million white Europeans but also took black slaves, the Chinese, Japanese and Mongols practiced similar atrocities as did the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, Ottomans, Native Americans, Vikings and even Africans among themselves. The practice of slavery may have been more prevalent in antiquity but it was still all too common in many areas throughout the ages and has never really gone away.

Why is this important? In an age where racial tensions have once again been rising, it is quite dangerous to call attention to egregious injustices of the past without knowing all the facts. Blaming everything on a certain demographic may be politically expedient at times but it is hard to find any civilization or culture with a long history that doesn't have some tradition of practicing slavery. This of course does not excuse the incalculable misery put forth and abhorrent behavior of those complicit in this practice but it does put things more in perspective. Unless we are willing to accept that this is not just a black and white issue and that there is plenty of blame to go around, the lessons of the past will go unheeded and we will continue to become further polarized. Rarely has such a split ever ended well for a nation. Failing to show the big picture only fans the flames of hatred more, provokes violence and denies African American children the dignity of knowing their ancestors were not alone in being persecuted.

As for Columbus, you can honor him or not honor him. That is your choice as an American. He was a flawed person like many others of his time. Just know that he was not alone in the mistakes he made. Technically, he may not have even discovered America if the anthropological evidence is correct but he survived the round trip and was the first to popularize that discovery for better or worse. Is this enough to merit a national holiday? That is for the country and future historians to decide but I myself will continue to celebrate both Columbus Day and Martin Luther King Day regardless as attacking traditions only serves to divide us more and we are not a nation unless we can stand united.