“What’s in a name?” said Romeo and the world swooned. Keeping aside the poetic legacy and literary accomplishment, a lot is in the name, my dear Romeo. To name is to assign an identity. And brighter minds and sharper pens than mine have written on identity. What I can say is that nomenclature is an effective tool to exercise power, which is subtle and often imperceptible. Nevertheless, it can insidiously form and reshape human perceptions.
To highlight the significant power that names, and by extension, words, carry, let’s examine a word used with reckless abandon in most discussions about the American continents: ‘discovery’. Specifically in the context of the “Discovery” of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, lies an understated but important understanding of how power is exercised through words and phrases.
Discovery: It is often used while talking about European exploration in the 15th & 16th centuries, and not only in the American continents but also in Africa and on many occasions in Asian countries as well. Such is the glorification of these explorations that the two aforementioned centuries are often referred to as “the age of discovery”. Now let us turn our attention to Columbus, often lauded for “discovering” America in 1492, a crowning achievement for the West, one that immortalized his name for posterity. There’s no doubt that the journey and explorations conducted by Columbus altered the very fabric of the global society. The United States of America celebrates “Discovery Day” every year on Oct 12th to commemorate his arrival. But did he truly ‘discover’America?
Let us address this on two levels. Firstly, the reason for labelling Columbus as the individual who ‘discovered’ America is simple enough: he was the first European to set foot on the Continent. But archaeological finds in Newfoundland, Canada provide conclusive proof that the Vikings of the Nordic countries had arrived in the Americas around 500 years before Columbus set sail. The distinction of being the first European to set foot in the Americas is now attributed to Leif Erikson, a Viking explorer. According to the Sagas of the Icelanders, Erikson established a Norse settlement in Vinland, which is now interpreted as coastal North America. Speculation is rife that the settlement made by Leif and his crew corresponds to the remains of a Norse settlement unearthed at Newfoundland, Canada called L’Anse aux Meadows, which was occupied over 1,000 years ago (carbon dating estimates 990–1050 CE). So Columbus may have been half a millennium late to his celebrated ‘discovery’.
More importantly, the term ‘discovery’ inherently entails an absence–of settlements, culture, civilization, people and thus, history. The Americas are perceived as barren lands, devoid of identity before the arrival of Columbus. Columbus is perceived to have ushered in civilization; his voyage to America marks the commencement of “history” in the ‘New World’. And that is a grave injustice. Populations and settlements in America date back to at least around 15000 years, with the Clovis people being among the earliest settlers, crossing the Bering land bridge and walking into the continent from Asia. Even during the arrival of Columbus and the subsequent Spanish conquistadors, the continent was extensively populated and housed three great and fabled civilizations: the Incas, the Mayas and the Aztecs; that were conquered by the Spanish empire. Cities with monumental architectures were built; and rich, vibrant cultures were present alongside a structured political and administrative system. Apart from these civilizations were a multitude of indigenous cultures scattered across the continent, most of which were wiped out with the arrival of the colonisers. When we talk about Columbus discovering the Americas, we are effectively erasing the history, experiences, achievements, and identity of all the inhabitants who had made America their home before his arrival. Columbus explored America and paved the way for its subsequent colonization by Europe. This act, characterised as a glorious ‘discovery’, has relegated the rich culture and heritage of indigenous peoples to near oblivion. Naming allows remembrance, without which so much of humanity (tangible and intangible) simply fades away.