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Christopher Columbus Monument in Seville
Today, October 13, we happily celebrate Columbus Day in the United States, but some also denounce him as a villain. By coincidence, we recently visited the magnificent Cathedral of Seville, Spain where we were amazed to find this elaborate and grand monument to Christopher Columbus with his remains in the casket. I somehow believed that Christopher Columbus had died in disgrace with Isabella and Ferdinand the monarchs of Spain. In fact, Columbus is celebrated as a hero in Spain. Long story short, Columbus was indeed astonishingly courageous to set out on a journey to the unknown. He did discover the New World for Spain, and as a result brought back untold riches. He was also cruel and greedy, especially to the Taíno natives on the islands, who were enslaved and wiped out. Another bizarre part of Columbus’s story is that his remains have been interred and reburied in five different places. Today Dominicans still claim that the Spanish have the wrong set of bones, which they took out of the cathedral in 1795 and sent back to Spain to be interred in Seville. So which city has the real Columbus? And should we celebrate Columbus as a great man? To decide for yourself you might want to visit these links:
Columbus in American Memory
Where are the Remains of Christopher Columbus?
Seville Cathedral
Interior of the Seville Cathedral
Stay posted for the next travel blog about Seville.
For a travel guide on the Caribbean go to: The Passionate Traveler: The Eastern Caribbean
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