Cristopher Colombia in primary school curriculum

[Donotfitin]

So the school just sent the curriculum
for my DS year (Y1). They called him a “significant explorer”. I immediately queried it, because as a Latin American he’s seen as a very divisive figure who brought rape, disease, and genocide. In my country (Mexico) we’ve completely removed that date from
our calendar, and the statues, etc… have now been removed.

I‘m not against it, but I just want a nuanced approach. So AIBU?

But you can't pretend he didn't exist. Would you pretend slavery didn't happen either?

Best not teach about the Romans either then.

Great link here. Can find similar on bbc bite size. Looks like they should definitely highlight the bad effects on the lands he went to.

I remember my son learning about him in gcse history and there was definitely plenty of discussion about his impact and how the people there were treated.

On the other hand, we were in Seville cathedral recently where his tomb is, and the guide was very much This is our Glorious Heritage - absolutely no nuance there.

No, I’m not saying they should not teach about that time in history, just that it should be a nuanced one from all angles. Especially when it’s the heritage of one of their students.

I mean some Spaniards (obvious generalisation) think that they brought civilisation to us. Which is what you you experienced.

I bet you’re feeling really smug about getting this in on the first post. 👏

I think there is enough virtue signalling in schools already. Sanitising everything so nobody gets offended.
No wonder the country is in such a mess!!

We can't make things disappear because much of history is full of atrocious events far more brutal than CC! The whole point is to learn about and from it.

Here’s the transcript from the bbc bitesize ks1 history video on Christopher Columbus:
***

Today we know what the world looks like. We've taken pictures of it from space!
^^
We know there are many countries, some far away, and that there are lots of different people. But for thousands of years people didn’t know this.
It was only when explorers travelled to new places that they met each other.
^^
One of the most famous explorers was Christopher Columbus. He lived over 500 years ago.
Columbus wanted to travel to China and India, countries known as ‘The Indies’ which were full of wealth.

The Indies were in the east, but Columbus thought it would be quicker to go west, around the world.
It was a journey into the unknown and would cost a lot of money.

The King of Spain paid for three ships. The Pinta, the Niña and the Santa Maria.

In 1492, Columbus set sail. A few months later, the crew spotted land. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies. But he was wrong! He'd found a part of the world new to Europeans.

Columbus became famous as the man who discovered new lands called the Americas.
The King of Spain was happy, but the discovery was bad for people already living there.
**
Spain sent soldiers to take over these new lands. They took the people's treasures, like gold. Spain became very rich.
**
The locals were treated cruelly, some taken as slaves. Many died because of diseases brought from Spain.
**
Today people disagree about Columbus. Some say he was a brave hero. Others say his discovery caused misery for the people where he travelled.
One thing we can say for certain is that finding the continent of America was a huge event for Europeans, and that is down to Christopher Columbus.

He was a child rapist and slaver. You are absolutely not being unreasonable. The thing is, they can't talk about what he did with nuance with that age group, so he shouldn't be taught about to that age group.

Exactly. Humans are right bastards.

Have you read Fifth Sun? It tells the story from first person Nahuatl sources, instead of the usual Spanish, and debunks a lot of myths and assumptions.

To be fair the child sacrifices practiced by the indigenous people wasn't great either but we teach about them too. I hate sanitising history.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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

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 🤷‍♀️