History vs. Christopher Columbus - Alex Gendler

歷史 vs. 克里斯多福‧哥倫布 - 亞利士‧詹德勒

譯者: Harry Chen 審譯者: Peipei Xiang

Many people in the United States and Latin America

許多在美國和拉丁美洲的人，

have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage,

從小就慶祝克里斯多福‧哥倫布 航行紀念日，

but was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together

不過他真的是一個打通兩個世界 的英勇探險家嗎?

or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery?

還是只是一個帶來殖民主義以及奴隸制度 的殘暴的剝削者呢?

And did he even discover America at all?

甚至他真的發現了北美洲嗎?

It's time to put Columbus on the stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus.

是時候把哥倫布放在審判台上 與歷史對簿公堂了。

"Order, order in the court.

「肅靜！肅靜！

等等，我今天應該是要上班的嗎?」

Wait, am I even supposed to be at work today?"

Cough

（咳嗽聲）

"Yes, your Honor.

「沒錯，法官大人

From 1792, Columbus Day was celebrated in many parts of the United States

從1972年開始， 美國許多地方都慶祝哥倫布紀念日，

on October 12th, the actual anniversary date.

確切地說，是10月12日。

But although it was declared an official holiday in 1934,

不過雖然它在1934年 被宣布為官方假日，

individual states aren't required to observe it.

各州並未被要求遵守，

Only 23 states close public services,

只有23個州暫停民眾服務，

and more states are moving away from it completely."

並且越來越多的州開始徹底取消這個節日。」

Cough

（咳嗽聲）

"What a pity.

「多可惜呀! 在70年代我們甚至 把它改到了十月的第二個星期一，

In the 70s, we even moved it to the second Monday in October

so people could get a nice three-day weekend,

如此一來大家可以獲得一個美好的三天週末，

but I guess you folks just hate celebrations."

我猜你們這些人就是討厭慶祝吧。」

"Uh, what are we celebrating again?"

「什麼？我們是要慶祝什麼?」

"Come on, Your Honor, we all learned it in school.

「得了，法官大人。我們都在學校聽過，

Christopher Columbus convinced the King of Spain to send him on a mission

克里斯多福‧哥倫布說服西班牙 國王派給他一個任務，

to find a better trade route to India,

找出一條到印度的更棒的貿易路線，

not by going East over land but sailing West around the globe.

不是經過陸地往東行進， 而是繞著地球往西航行，

Everyone said it was crazy because they still thought the world was flat,

大家都說那太荒謬了， 因為他們始終認為地球是平的，

but he knew better.

不過他比較懂啦!

And when in 1492 he sailed the ocean blue,

當1942年他航越了大海，

he found something better than India:

他發現了比印度還棒的地方：

a whole new continent."

整塊全新的大陸。」

"What rubbish.

「這是什麼瞎話?

First of all, educated people knew the world was round since Aristotle.

首先，大概從亞里斯多德開始， 受過教育的人都知道地球是圓的，

Secondly, Columbus didn't discover anything.

其次，哥倫布根本沒發現任何東西，

There were already people living here for millennia.

人們已經在那裡生活了數千年了。

And he wasn't even the first European to visit.

而且他甚至不是第一個到的歐洲人，

The Norse had settled Newfoundland almost 500 years before."

北歐海盜（維京人）差不多早500年前就 在紐芬蘭島定居了。」

"You don't say, so how come we're not all wearing those cow helmets?"

「不會吧！那我們怎麼沒有全都 戴著那些牛角帽子呢?」

"Actually, they didn't really wear those either."

「實際上他們本來也沒怎麼戴那些東西。」

Cough

（咳嗽聲）

"Who cares what some Vikings did way back when?

「誰管那少數的維京人在 那麼早之前做了些什麼?

Those settlements didn't last, but Columbus's did.

那些房舍並沒有存留下來， 但是哥倫布的卻是有留下來的，

And the news he brought back to Europe spread far and wide,

而且他帶回歐洲的消息流傳四方，

inspiring all the explorers and settlers who came after.

鼓舞了所有隨後的探險家和屯墾者，

Without him, none of us would be here today."

沒有他就沒有今天的我們。」

"And because of him, millions of Native Americans aren't here today.

「也是因為他，好幾百萬的 美洲原住民今天不在這裡，

Do you know what Columbus did in the colonies he founded?

你知道哥倫布對他所發現的 殖民地做了些什麼嗎?

He took the very first natives he met prisoner

他把最先遇見的 原住民都變成了囚犯，

and wrote in his journal about how easily he could conquer and enslave all of them."

而且在他的航海日誌裡寫到：他可以 如何輕易地征服以及奴役他們。」

"Oh, come on. Everyone was fighting each other back then.

「喔！拜託！以前那段日子 大家也都相互打來打去，

Didn't the natives even tell Columbus

原住民們不是還告訴了哥倫布有關

about other tribes raiding and taking captives?"

其他部落的掠劫以及扣押人質情況嗎?」

「是沒錯，不過部落間的戰事 是零星而且有限的，

"Yes, but tribal warfare was sporadic and limited.

It certainly didn't wipe out 90% of the population."

肯定沒有滅掉90%的人口。」

"Hmm. Why is celebrating this Columbus so important to you, anyway?"

「為什麼慶祝這個哥倫布日 對你們是這般重要呢?」

"Your Honor, Columbus's voyage was an inspiration

「法官大人，哥倫布的航程對 在歐洲日子艱困的人來說是一種鼓勵，

to struggling people all across Europe, symbolizing freedom and new beginnings.

象徵著自由以及全新的開始，

And his discovery gave our grandparents and great-grandparents

而且他的發現讓我們的祖父母、 曾祖父母有機會來到這邊，

the chance to come here and build better lives for their children.

以及為他們的小孩創造更好的生活，

Don't we deserve a hero to remind everyone that our country

難道我們不該有個英雄來提醒每個人

我們的國家是建立於 移民者們的艱苦打拼之上嗎?」

was build on the struggles of immigrants?"

"And what about the struggles of Native Americans

「那麼美洲原住民的艱苦又如何呢?

who were nearly wiped out and forced into reservations

他們幾乎是被消滅殆盡、 被迫進入了保留區，

and whose descendants still suffer from poverty and discrimination?

他們的後代仍然深受貧窮以及歧視之苦，

How can you make a hero out of a man who caused so much suffering?"

你怎麼可以用造成了這麼多苦難 的人來當英雄呢?」

"That's history. You can't judge a guy in the 15th century by modern standards.

「那就是歷史，你不能用現代的 標準來衡量一個15世紀的傢伙，

People back then even thought spreading

那時候的人甚至認為

向全世界傳佈基督教和文明 是個天賦的責任。」

Christianity and civilization across the world was a moral duty."

"Actually, he was pretty bad, even by old standards.

「事實上就算是用舊的標準來看， 他也是個非常惡劣的人，

While governing Hispaniola, he tortured and mutilated

當他掌管伊斯帕尼奧拉島的時候，

他折磨和殘害那些沒有帶給他 足夠黃金的原住民、

natives who didn't bring him enough gold

and sold girls as young as nine into sexual slavery,

販賣小至9歲大的女孩成為性奴隸、

and he was brutal even to the other colonists he ruled,

甚至對他所管轄的 殖民地開墾者他也是殘忍的，

to the point that he was removed from power and thrown in jail.

殘忍到他最終被解除職務關進了監牢。

當傳教士巴托洛梅·德拉斯·卡薩斯

When the missionary, Bartolomé de las Casas,

visited the island, he wrote,

來到那個島上，他寫道：

'From 1494 to 1508, over 3,000,000 people had perished

「從1494年到1508年，

超過300萬人因為戰爭、 奴役和開礦丟了性命，

from war, slavery and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this?'"

後人誰會相信有這些事呢?」

"Well, I'm not sure I believe those numbers."

「我不太敢相信這些數字。」

"Say, aren't there other ways the holiday is celebrated?"

「哎呀！難道沒有其他 慶祝這個節日的方式嗎？」

"In some Latin American countries,

「在一些拉丁美洲國家，

they celebrate the same date under different names, such as Día de la Raza.

他們用不同的名字慶祝同一個日子， 像是「種族文化日」；

In these places, it's more a celebration of the native and mixed cultures

在這些地方，更多的是慶祝 殖民後存留下來的本土的和交融文化。

that survived through the colonial period.

Some places in the U.S. have also renamed the holiday,

美國一些地方也把節日改名字了，

as Native American Day or Indigenous People's Day

像是「美洲原住民日」或「原住民日」，

and changed the celebrations accordingly."

相應的也改變了慶祝方式。」

"So, why not just change the name if it's such a problem?"

「如果是這樣的話，改名字不就好了嗎？」

"Because it's tradition.

「因為這是傳統，

Ordinary people need their heroes and their founding myths.

一般人需要英雄偶像 還有英雄們建立的神話，

Can't we just keep celebrating the way we've been doing for a century,

難道我們就不能延續我們已經 奉行了一個世紀的慶祝方式，

without having to delve into all this serious research?

而不要去探究這些嚴肅的調查嗎？

It's not like anyone is actually celebrating genocide."

又不是大家真的在慶祝大屠殺似的。」

"Traditions change, and the way we choose to keep them alive

「傳統不是一成不變的， 我們讓傳統延續下去的方式

says a lot about our values."

表達了我們很多的價值觀。」

"Well, it looks like giving tired judges a day off isn't one of those values, anyway."

「不管怎樣，看起來給疲累的法官一天假 並不是其中的一種價值觀！」

Traditions and holidays are important to all cultures,

傳統以及節日對所有的 文化來說都很重要，

but a hero in one era may become a villain in the next

但是隨著我們歷史知識的增長 以及我們價值觀的變化，

as our historical knowledge expands and our values evolve.

一個時代的英雄偶像可能會 變成下一個時代的惡棍，

And deciding what these traditions should mean today

決定這些傳統在今天的意義

is a major part of putting history on trial.

是把歷史放上來做公斷的一個主要目的。