Cristopher Colombia in primary school curriculum

He was a significant explorer ….if you don’t like the Y1 curriculum (particularly not being taught about rape and slavery), you might want to teach that at home.

Jesus should we just stop teaching history altogether? Is there anything from the past that is ok?

An equivalent would be "the brave and civilising Romans came to Britain. Some of the savage local inhabitants led by a crazy woman (who was really angry for reasons no-one understand) had a short-lived brutish uprising against them but other than that it was all bathhouses and roads. And even the illiterate locals learned not to live in bogs".
That's not how the Romans in Britain are taught.

Learning about explorers in primary school is one of the precursors to learning about colonialism, slavery, racism and genocide later on.

I thought they'd determined he wasn't Italian. DNA test results revealed in October 2024 showed he was Spanish with Jewish ancestry.

BBC News - Columbus probably Spanish and Jewish, study says

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg2049ezpko

They were wiped out before the Romans and probably before the Celts. People seem to forget the Celts were immigrants/invaders.

YANBU. He was a "significant explorer" but he also brought with him slavery, rape and genocide. Glossing over these problematic aspects feels dishonest.

We also learnt about Boudicca when we learnt about the Romans in Britain. In fact I think we might have learnt about her first... That's an angle which approaches the topic from the "colonised populations" point of view.
Likewise the Norman invasion is very much taught from the starting point of Harold Godwin son/the English army dashing down to Hastings. And I think includes reference to the Harrowing of the North. Its not just from the "brave Norman invaders" view.
And everyone knows the Vikings burnt down monasteries. In fact, it's only more recently the vikings were also farmers angle has been brought in.

The difference is "Columbus was a great explorer" sounds like it is only looking at the explorers viewpoint and ignoring the awful things done (and what Columbus himself said). Although the actual teaching might well be more nuanced than that.

Well yeah! I mean they weren't wiped out by the Romans. Probably lots of us have a tiny bit of Celtic DNA in us. Some of us have Neanderthal DNA apparently.

Don't think the OP is requesting he be deleted from history, pero como dice, more nuanced and let's give all the points of view.

I especially like his statue in Barcelona, which is supposedly pointing to America but it:so in the wrong direction! 🤣

Are there indigenous people here though?

I also think some events are important to teach.., but if you genuinely can't give the real history without inappropriately sanitising it or giving age innappropriate details that are too traumatic it doesn't hurt to teach that history later. That isn't erasing historical events.

I dont think the Roman or Saxon or Norman etc etc invasions are taught in a very nuanced way/pointing out the bad sitch they brought for the indigenous people 🤷‍♀️

This thread is a fire hazard from all the straw men. OP never said she wanted Columbus deleted from history.

So in that vein shoukd we not teach about the king of England that condoned and supported slavery? Or the colonisation from Europeans?

I think rewriting history is precarious and teaching what Christopher Columbus did while also teaching he was a bad person is fine.

If a kid asks how did the Europeans colonise ‘the new world’ do you just skip this part?

Maybe you’d prefer for them to be taught about the stunning and brave drugs cartels currently causing havoc in Mexico instead?

He also wrote proudly about the 15 year old girl he kidnapped as a slave and how whilst at first she was unwilling after he whipped her she was as good as any whore

He wasn't just an innocent explorer who had no idea that in finding new areas he was bringing the evils of colonialism behind him.** He was a very unpleasant man and appeared to be doing the "exploring" more for monetary gain with the perk of being able to have sex with people who couldn't say no rather than some simple delight in finding fresh lands.Thats pretty much the sharp edge of colonialism.

Of course, those details aren't at all suitable for a child the age of OPs. But if they do teach him (and he was an important historical figure and explorer) they should do the bad sides in an age appropriate way. It can be done. Eg Horrible Histories were able to get across the idea Columbus was not a great guy without delving into child sexual slavery.

**You could arguably do that for a few people like Livingstone who were complicated because they seemed to really like Africa/African people/the cultures they came across but still contributed to some terrible things by helping to map out the land. Columbus however was just a dick.

Not really addressing the question but this is quite amusing

I would simply ask for the outline of what will be taught and whether it will be a balanced view. As an Irish woman living in the UK, I am looking forward to my daughter learning about Irish history in sixth form.

Depends how they teach it doesn’t it?

I’d be querying it and asking that they teach the full, nuanced, truthful version. At a level that’s age appropriate of course, but this doesn’t mean we need to whitewash it completely.

Ask for an overview of what’s being taught and don’t be afraid to question things.

I believe in teaching history to young children, but it needs to be taught factually.

We had a parent refuse her child any part of the christopher columbus play in yr 1 because of this history OP. If you feel strongly about it may be something you want to consider.

It's important to include him and his explorations as he linked the Old World with the New World. And it explains why nearly every country in Central and S America speaks Spanish. But it's equally important to teach the effects of the European 'discovery' of America, colonisation, the Christian missions and empire building.

American not the Americas. In Canada there is more significance put on Samuel de Champlain, John Cabot, jacques Cartier.

Very different country with very different history but happy to talk abiut the war of 1812.

Because Americans are taught he ‘discovered’ American. And Canadians don’t really care . Sounds like someone has already given a Mexican point of view.

So you want the history curriculum to delete him? How on earth do you explain how Europeans ended up in America? At least dcs in England learn about the history of different countries early on in school. Of course, it is essential to point out all the negative things that happened as a result of the Europeans ‘conquering’ the Americas.

I don't think there really is room for much nuance in key stage 1 and you certainly wouldn't want school pushing anything anyone can say is an "agenda" too much on children aged 5-7. You can fill the gaps in yourself at home with him? You'd be better placed to give that kind of information the sensitivity and nuance it needs rather than a teacher who isn't as informed and just delivers a topic.

I don't think any attention should really be paid too much to children's heritage when it comes to teaching the national curriculum in a classroom? It's too open to interpretation and up to the teacher and how they talk about it really too. Best to leave it imo. Children don't need the weight of the world upon their shoulders at 5-7. I really do think some people are way too eager to teach children "The Hard Truth" about everything too young. Some 5 qnd 6 year olds are still learning their phonics nvm a balanced take on colonialism.

BBC Bitesize do some great Web pages about this topic and others too