They Came Before Columbus By Ivan Van Sertima Analysis

In the book They Came Before Columbus written by Ivan Van Sertima, chapter twelve, “Mystery of Mu-lan-pi”, there is a reoccurring theme of disproving the notion that Columbus brought over many different things and products from his expeditions to American to the Eastern parts of the world when in reality there is factual evidence that Africans made contact with America far before Columbus did. The author of this book, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, has his undergraduates degree in African languages and literature from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Van Sertima also worked as a journalist in Great Britain and did broadcasted to the Caribbean and Africa. With and extensive knowledge and work experience in African American Studies it is clear why he chose to wrote this book. The idea that Columbus was the first to bring things like maize from America is widely believed to be true but Van Setima saw that this was false and published They Came Before Columbus to show the facts and evidence that Columbus was not the first person to accomplish this. After writing this book Van Sertima went on to complete a master’s degree in African Studies at Rutgers University and even became a professor of African Studies at the same university. In this essay I will be going deeper into the theme and its relationship to African American history and discussing three other articles that can be related back to chapter twelve of They Came Before Columbus.

Christopher Columbus contribute to the mutual discovery of peoples and cultures between the American and European continent. Columbus it was the first to travel crossing the Atlantic and this assumption is very important for histographers.

At Christopher Columbus Middle School, the students who were moving on to Clifton High School were given a spectacular farewell bash in the form of a circus-themed dance.

The passage from They Came Before Columbus is important to use because it makes us think about how certain species of plants, that are not indigenous to a region, were grown or brought there. Finding new types of plants that are closely related to the ones in our own environment means that there were trade routes between nations long before Columbus and, may also explain how we colonized other continents as well, finding new types of herbs to help aide in sickness and other human ailments. The significance it has to botany is that it can tell where a certain plant originated. It can also explain a lot about the environment, for instance, a plant may have went extinct in the Americas and to rebuild that plant they had to transfer it somewhere

In the book 1491 “New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus” by American author and science writer Charles C. Mann about the pre-Columbian Americas. Consists of a groundbreaking study that radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans in 1492. The book presents recent research findings in different fields that suggest human populations in the Western Hemisphere were more numerous, had arrived earlier, were more sophisticated culturally, and controlled and shaped the natural landscape to a greater extent than scholars had previously thought. The book itself is a very readable account of the history of the American people before the lands were 'discovered' by Europeans in 1492 and gives a lot to think about as you are reading it. In the book Mann reveals how a new generation of researchers equipped with novel scientific techniques came up with new unheard set of conclusions never heard before. The book does a great job explaining everything with great details but it also raises many questions.

The discovery of the Americas, has been thoroughly investigated, studied, and debated by historians ever since Christopher Columbus happened upon Cuba in 1492. Columbus has been described as a “resilient, courageous, and confident” explorer that discovered the New World of the Americas. Some historians question whether Columbus, and European conquistadors, like Cortes, conquered the new world ethically and if the destruction of indigenous races to further advance Spain’s territories and influence was morally just. Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States (2003), has a bias that North America was explored and invaded primarily to gain monetary riches. This aligns with his belief in a struggle of social classes. In this

We live in a world where we are surrounded by different people who come from very different backgrounds. We live in the United States, where it is filled with a very diverse community. We bump into people who are from a different race, religion, and culture. We should not be ashamed of this, but rather we should embrace who we are. Unfortunately, here in the United States, not everyone thinks that way. As children we tend to believe everything people tells us, especially when it comes from a teacher, which they are suppose to teach us and make us aware. As children, we were taught that the white men always save the day and they were our heroes. This is called Eurocentric, focusing on just Europeans and their culture and their history. But what happens to the rest of the history, the history of the people before the Europeans arrived to America?

Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World, creating the search for profits determining the direction of Spanish exploration. In 1504, Hernando Cortes had sailed the Atlantic Ocean with 600 men, ten cannons, weapons and horses. They had come to fight and conquer “To justify their own imperialism, the rival Europeans elaborated upon some very real Spanish atrocities to craft the notorious persistent “Black Legend”: that the Spanish were uniquely cruel and far more brutal and destructive than other Europeans in their treatment of the Indians. (American Colonies p.51)

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” If one has ever taken a US history class throughout their education, this would be a well-known beginning to a poem relating to Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World. When people think of the New World and who founded the Americas, they automatically attribute it to Christopher Columbus, which wouldn’t be incorrect. However, one does not realize the amount of factors that played in the finding and settlement of the Americas. There were a plethora of key developments that took place, whether good or bad that had influenced the success of America’s settlement. Navigation and trade, germs, European rivalries and great powers, Native people, crops, and slavery all became imperative

Many children in school have been taught that Christopher Columbus found America and that he was a hero when in reality he was a savage. There have been many important people in our history from scientists, mathematicians, and explorers and Christopher Columbus was one of them. He has always been known as one of the first and greatest explorers that discovered North America even though he never set foot on the North America continent. He rose from a small family to have great prestige and wealth.

As a child who immigrated from Vietnam to United State at the age of ten, I’ve learn America was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Children weren’t taught about the history of the people who lived on the land before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. The history of America was narrated by the view of white supremacy who used genocide to colonize the land.

According to Howard Zinn, his main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States was to give a detailed and more accurate account of the history of America. He wanted to give the history from the victim/native’s point of view. Instead of covering up the stories of the different people that weren’t included in our history lessons, he wants them to be able to be recognized as more than just the people that were eliminated by foreigners.

This paper is going to talk about Colonization as it says in the title. We will talk about Christopher Columbus and what he did when he “Found” the Americas first. How the Native American and the Africans how they reacted when they were to be slaves or about to be conquered. Then talk about the European, African, and American Slaves Triangle and what happened during that time. And what has happened in the future and what is happening now.

Europeans discovered the Americas or the new world unintendedly. ” Christopher Columbus did not intend to “discover” America when he went looking for Asia, his voyages convinced Europeans that there were still new territories to exploit and people to convert to Christianity” (Tignor, page 441). The discovery of the New World changed European world and the impacts have influenced not only their mental thinking but also their religion, economy, global competition, and politics.

Before reading this article, I had never even heard of the Cahokia civilization. I didn’t realize that there was a huge city that existed years before Columbus came to America. I was surprised that for being so old, the city was so technologically advanced and smart. In the article, it states, “Besides building more than 100 neatly proportioned mounds, they constructed a circle of tall poles -- archaeologists call it ''Woodhenge'' -- that aligned with the sun at equinox and solstice.” (Lewis Lord pg.1) It was shocking that a civilization that old could be so intelligent.