The Most Significant People of the Second Millenium, Part 2

In my last post I told you about the assignment I gave my students to list the 10 most significant people of the Second Millennium. 

I promised I would share my list and the justification for all of those included.  So here goes with my number one pick:  Christopher Columbus!

The tricky part is the justification.  How did this Italian Navigator working for the King and Queen of Spain get chosen as the number 1 person of the Second Millennium?

Well, I did not choose Columbus because he believed the world was round.  [Most educated people of 1492 Europe believed that.]  This myth, along with a few others you heard in elementary school, almost made me reject, rather than choose Columbus. 

It all comes down to that key word of “significant.”  Columbus was looking for Asia and accidentally found continents that most of Europe did not know exist.  [The Vikings had made it to North America, but had kept their discovery to themselves.]  That is the real significance of 1492.  Not that Columbus “sailed the ocean blue” rather it is what he did about it. 

Columbus was a vain and greedy man who lived in a culture that was vain and greedy as he was.  This is exactly why he is so significant.  He wanted the fame, the glory, and the money.  Because of this he actively promoted his find.  [Although he still thought it was Asia.]  He convinced one of the Super Powers of 1492, Spain, to bankroll 4 expeditions that provided mainstream Europe with a taste of what was “out there.”  He started the largest migration of people in human history and the greatest exchange of plants, animals, and diseases.  This exchange that began with the gifts brought back to Ferdinand and Isabella from the first voyage still continues today.

The massive shift in human population triggered by Columbus is truly unique in human history.  It began with a large influx of Europeans and then grew even larger when those Europeans, looking for a source of labor, began to forcibly import Africans.  This wave of humans and the diseases they unwittingly brought with them decimated the native population.  The make up of all the modern countries of North and South America reflect this massive human migration.

At least as important as the movement of people is the exchange of animals, plants, and diseases between the “Old World” and the “New World.”  The domesticated cattle and horses of the Americas are Old World species and the tomatoes and potatoes that have become so much a part of modern European cuisine are New World plants.  Can you imagine Italian Food without tomato sauce? 

These “accidental” results of the voyage of 1492 are the real reason Columbus is so important.  He started a process that grew much bigger than himself. 

I know that eventually North and South America would have met, but would any other encounter at any other time have resulted in such a complete transformation of the entire planet?  We will never know.  What we do know is that the encounter was made by an Italian son of a weaver working for the King and Queen of Spain.

That is my justification.  What do you think?