Cristoforo Colombo or Cristóbal Colón (anglicized to Christopher Columbus) was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer.
Background[]
Colombo was born in the Republic of Genoa (today part of Italy). Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. At the time, most the world believed that there was no other continent on the other side of the Ocean and that to sail there was a death-wish, however due to a mathematical error Columbus believed that the Earth was pear-shaped and that he could navigate a way to India.
While otherwise, Colon's mathematical error would have resulted in the death of his crew, by sheer luck, Columbus' vessels happened upon the Caribbean which Cristoforo declared as, "India". Colombo proceeded to ransack, pillage and raid the Caribbean while murdering, assaulting and enslaving countless indigenous peoples and destroying their cultures. The explorer and his men also spread several viruses which they were infected with from the densely populated cities of Europe which the Indigenous were not immune to, resulting in more death by illness.
When Columbus returned to Europe, he aided in establishing the Transatlantic Slave Trade and further colonization of the, "New World". The accounts of Colon's adventures were subsequently used as colonial propaganda, most prominently in what became the United States of America despite Colon having never stepped foot on the land which became the country. Many accounts of Colon were subsequently manipulated, exaggerated and outright fabricated for this purpose with popular myths including him having discovered the U.S.A., having been the first European to believe Earth was round (it was common knowledge), and that he, "Discovered" the Americas (Indigenous peoples had been living there for thousands of years after having immigrated via land-bridge in prehistory and the first Europeans on the continent were the vikings c. 1000 AD).
Appearances[]
Romanticized and historically revised versions of Colon based on his propaganda depictions are very common in Disney materials.
Film[]
Although he never existed during the times of movies, his name was used in some Disney movies, like Columbus Avenue in New York City which was named after him in Oliver & Company. He even made an animated appearance in the Disney 1948 movie So Dear to My Heart, when he was singing "Stick-to-it-ivity" during the part where the Wise Old Owl teaches Danny the importance of having confidence where a portrait of Columbus comes to life and sings about the importance of feeling confident.
Television and shorts[]
He also made a brief appearance with Leif Erikson in the Academy Award winning short, It's Tough to Be a Bird. The apocryphal tale of him discovering that the world wasn't flat would have also been the subject of a 1992 theatrical short called Mickey Columbus, which would have placed Mickey Mouse in the role of Columbus, until it was shelved both to help the studio focus on full-length animated features and in fear of potentially producing offensive Native American stereotypes like in Peter Pan. His name and that of his three historical ships: the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta along with a fictitious 4th one called the "Snookie" was mentioned by Daisy in the Quack Pack episode; "Pride Goeth Before the Fall Guy". Ohio's capital and largest city were also named after Christopher Columbus. A drawing of him has also seen in the Timon & Pumbaa episode; "Hakuna Matata U.". He has been mentioned in the Wizards of Waverly Place episode "Retest".
Printed materials[]
The Donald Duck comic story The Lost Charts of Columbus (1995), Topolino presenta: Cristoforo Colombo (1983), the Mickey Mouse comic story Topolino presenta: Cristoforo Colombo (1983) and the Goofy comic story Christophorus Goofy Columbus (1977), where Goofy appeared as Christopher Columbus himself, are based on Christopher Columbus.
Disney Parks[]
A portrait of Christopher Columbus can be found within Fortress Explorations at Tokyo DisneySea within Explorers Hall, which serves to honor historical figures considered as Honorary Members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.
Gallery[]
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