The Irish standard., 1910-10-22
Discovery of America Was the Most
Epoch-Making Event Since
Birth of Christ
Great Discoverer Never Realized
That he Lead the Way to a
New Continent.
Died in Ignomy Because His Expe-
dition Was Considered
Flat Failure.

From an historical OratiOn delivered
by the late Prof. John Fiske in Bos-
ton in 1892, the following excerpts
are taken. The occasion was the
dedication of the Columbus statue in
that city. The speaker said:
We have met here this morning to
commemorate the anniversary of one
Iof the greatest events in the history
of the world. The first crossing of
the Atlantic ocean by Christopher Co.
lumbus was an achievement of which
Americans are not likely to under
rate in Importance, and which no one
with n due sense of the relations of
cause and effect in human affairs can
for moment fail to recognize as su-
premely important. When we duly
consider what America already means
to the world while the development
OF European civilization upon this
fresh soil is still in the earliest
stages; when we take sober thought
OF what the future must have in store
! il this early promise is even partially
fulfilled, we shall be inclined to pro.
nounco the voyage that led the way
/, to this new world as the most epoch
making event Of all that have occur.
red since the birth of Christ.
There is no doubt that toward the
end of the 10th century people from
Iceland founded colony in Green
land. or that ships from Greenland a
few years later made voyages along
the American coast chiefly for the
purpose Of cutting timber, and in all
probability came as far south as Mis-
sachusetts bay. Icelandic chronicles
have fortunately preserved the story
Of these interesting voyages, but Eu-
rope took no heed of them whatever.
and they lapsed into utter oblivion
until about the time of Henry Hud.
son, when the Arctic world began
again to be explored, and long after
the death of Columbus.
Now, why was this?
| What was the d1HerenCe between
the 18th century and the 18th, such
that in the latter case a visit to the
western shores of the Atlantic ocean
soon led to the revelation of a new
world,> while in the former case It did
not?
The difference between the two
ages were many, but the chief differ
ence with which we are concerned is
/ this: In the time of Columbus there
was propelling power at work which
in the earlier time was absent, and
that propellng power was furnished
by a great and unprecedented dis
turbance of trade between Europe
and Asia. That disturbance was
caused by the Ottoman Turks. There
is one other date in the 10Th century
almost as famous as 1892; that is, 1853.
that year Of mourning and humilia.
tion when the grandest city in Chris
tendon was captured by the robber
bands whose descendants have to this
, udy DceH dlIoWcu W uOIu IL. buC IOr
nearly a century before Constanti-
nople fell, the Turks had been strang-
ling trade on the eastern waters of
the Mediterranean. Their aggressions
closed up old routes of trade and
forced Europe to seek new routes;
and thus, I say, it was chiefly and
primarily the Turks that set in mo-
tion the current of events that carried
Columbus across the Atlantic. Ag-
gressions from Asia as formidable as
that Of the Ottoman had occurred
more than once before, but never had
they encountered and displaced any,
thing like so large volume of COM
merce; apd never had they been met
with so highly developed a spirit Of
commercial enterprise.
Historical 6Iunder. S
Here I must pause for a moment +
to remark upon gross historical,
blunder which vitiates most of the
talk and good deal of the popular
writing about Columbus 1t is evil
IDENTIFY supposed by many people that
the spherical shape of the earth was