Christopher Columbus is depicted landing in the West Indies, on an island that the Indigenous people called Guanahani, which he named San Salvador, on October 12, 1492. He raises the royal banner, claiming the land for his Spanish patrons, and stands bareheaded, with his hat at his feet, in honor of the sacredness of the event. The captains of the Niña and Pinta follow, carrying the banner of Ferdinand and Isabella. The crew displays a range of emotions, some searching for gold in the sand. Indigenous people watch from behind a tree. John Vanderlyn (1775-1852) had studied with Gilbert Stuart and was the first American painter to be trained in Paris, where he worked on this canvas for ten years with the help of assistants.WIKIPEDIA
Roh Jeong-tae
The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
At approximately 2 a.m. local time on Oct. 12, 1492, Rodrigo de Triana, a lookout aboard the Pinta, shouted excitedly, "Land! Land!"
Seventy days had passed since Christopher Columbus departed the Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María. His expedition had reached the Americas.
At daybreak, Columbus went ashore by boat. Stepping onto the beach, he thanked God, planted the royal banner of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Spain and formally proclaimed the island Spanish territory before a royal official serving as witness.
But this was hardly an uninhabited "New World."
Indigenous inhabitants had gathered to watch the approaching boats and surrounded Columbus and his companions. They appeared peaceful and curious. Seeking their goodwill, Columbus distributed red caps, glass beads and other trinkets.
Then, before their eyes, he claimed their homeland for Spain. Disregarding its Indigenous name, Guanahani, he renamed the island San Salvador, meaning "Holy Savior," in gratitude for what he believed was divine deliverance.
Contrary to popular belief, educated Europeans already knew the Earth was round. Columbus, however, had grossly underestimated its circumference. That miscalculation encouraged him to undertake his hazardous westward voyage.
Nor was Columbus the first European to reach the Americas. Around the year 1000, Viking explorer Leif Erikson established a settlement on Newfoundland, in what is now northeastern Canada.
Six years after Columbus's landing, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached India by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498, demonstrating that Columbus had not reached India by his westward route.
Columbus refused to accept that conclusion. He remained convinced that the lands he had encountered belonged to the wealthy and prosperous Indies he had sought.
Appointed governor of the newly claimed territories, Columbus increasingly behaved as a ruthless conqueror and plunderer beginning with his second expedition. His later years ended in relative isolation and financial difficulties.
His voyages nevertheless transformed world history. They initiated sustained contact between continents, connecting societies that had previously developed largely apart and laying the foundations for an increasingly interconnected world.
Yet the consequences were profoundly unequal. What Europeans celebrated as discovery and exploration marked, for Indigenous peoples, the beginning of conquest, dispossession and exploitation.
The encounter changed not only maps and trade routes but also the lives of countless people whose lands were claimed without their consent. That fundamental contrast continues to shape historical judgments of Columbus.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
