![]() Variously called a discovery, an encounter, an invasion, or-perhaps most neutrally-a "contact" (the very problem of naming suggests some of the essential issues), the meaning and consequences of Columbus's voyages are under scrutiny in the popular media, as well as in scholarly writing. History itself-who should tell it, from what points of view, and for what purposes-has become a subject of heated public discussion. In this period of multicultural debate, there are fundamentally different and competing interpretations of a national past, which-as Native Americans, African Americans, and Latino people, among others, point out-includes slavery, genocide, and colonialism as well as more familiarly featured positive qualities. ![]() If Columbian centenaries in the past have symbolized moments of national self-identity, the news in 1992 is that national self-identity itself is a subject of dispute. ![]() In 1892, the Columbian Exposition was a spectacular celebration of national industrial progress Columbus himself stood as an exemplar of resourceful individualism. ![]() In 1792, Columbus's arrival in the Western hemisphere was first celebrated, with parades and oratory, as the symbolic founding event of a new nation. ![]()
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