In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America. This has been the case in most history books around the world, but the statement has begun to give many a bad aftertaste.
In connection with the Black lives matter movement gaining renewed visibility after George Floyd was strangled to death during a police intervention at the end of May, several statues in the public space have been questioned.
In 2020, as in 2017, statues of old Southern generals who fought to preserve slavery during the American Civil War have been removed and overturned.
BLM has raised the issue againBut strikingly many of the statues that fell in 2020 have depicted Christopher Columbus.
The image that Christopher Columbus "discovered" America by mistake when he thought he was on his way to India on behalf of Spain has long been perceived as one-sided. But the protests against racist injustices that have been going on against blacks in the United States have shed new light on Columbus, and not least the statues depicting the seafarer.
In addition to the invasion and seizure of land that Columbus' landing meant for America's existing population in the late 15th century, Columbus and his ships brought with them diseases that virtually wiped out entire cities.
On the island of Hispaniola (where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located), where Columbus first arrived, it is estimated that 95 percent of the population of about 250,000 people have died from infectious diseases brought by European ships.
Columbus DayThe protests against the Columbus cult are in themselves nothing new. In the so-called Red power movement, Native Americans have protested against the United States' craze for colonialism since the 1960s, writes the fact-checking site Snopes.
Since 1992, widespread protests have led to several states stopping celebrating "Columbus Day" in October. 13 states and several more cities are celebrating Indigenous Day instead.
Since the end of May, a dozen statues depicting Columbus have been demolished or removed. Watch the clip.