1492 and All That: Political Manipulations of History

by Robert Royal

Book Overview

The 500th anniversary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus spurred a host of politically motivated groups and organizations to attempt to recast the history of the Americas. Most of these... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0896331741
• ISBN13: 9780896331747
• Release Date: August 1992
• Publisher: University Press of America
• Length: 203 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Columbus returns to a well rounded Earth

All of history is revisionist history. History, or rather our interpretation of it, is constantly revised with the passage of time as we wrestle with the realities of it. In his relatively short book "1492 And All That" (it is only 170 pages long), Robert Royal grapples with the latest revision of the Columbian legacy. Without apologizing for the sins of Columbus and European culture on the American continent, Royal's scholarly approach brings back to his readers sanity in the discussion of the legacies left by both Columbus and the Native peoples he found here. As a teacher of U.S. history I found this an extremely balanced view of the facts which he well documents throughout his book. I had read James Loewen's book, "Lies My Teacher Told Me", and some of Kirkpatrick Sale's "The Conquest of Paradise" before I found this book. Sale seems to condemn all European culture while praising all things non-European, especially Native American cultures. Loewen's main purpose is to argue for a more balanced look at the study of U.S. history, but in the process, whether intentionally or not, leaves his readers with the same impression of European and non-European cultures as does Sale. While it is best to agree with Loewen's contention that we must be brutally honest when examining our history, even when it offends the traditional portrait of our heroes, we should also be skeptical that any one race or culture offers superior purity of values while another is purely contemptible. What Royal does in his book is challenge the reader to examine the whole of the evidence about Columbus and the pre-Columbian native cultures. In examining the evidence, Royal contends, we find that Columbus was not a saint and that some of his actions inexcusable; but neither was he the incarnation of evil, nor can he be held accountable for all the troubles and tragedies of the last 500 years of American history. However, this book is only partly concerned with the person of Columbus. As Loewen asks us to critically and honestly scrutinize our European roots, Royal asks for the same honest view of our Native American heritage. Royal correctly advises the reader to evaluate the motives of those who elevate the cultures of our Native peoples to idealistic heights, especially when much of our knowledge of those cultures is suspect. Some of what we glorify in our Native cultures, Royal argues, is a misrepresentation of the values and beliefs actually held by those cultures. They are merely, he contends, remoldings of ancient Native beliefs in order to fit a modern agenda. His contentions are supported with detailed examples of pre-Columbian Native customs and behaviors. Proverbs 18:17 says, "The first to plead his case seems just, until another comes and examines him. If you have read James Loewen or Kirkpatrick Sale, or any of the more recent European-bashing accounts of the Columbian legacy, then you need to balance