The Children of Columbus: Other New Worlds - Online

Presented by Jerise Fogel

This is a paid Adult School class. When registering, you will be taken to the Adult School website.

Christopher Columbus had, in addition to his legitimate son Diego, a son born out of wedlock named Hernando who became really the founder of modern library science in the New World. He spent most of his life organizing the largest contemporary collection of books and pamphlets, and developed an accurate and efficient organizational system for it.

Also, while in the Americas, Christopher Columbus formally adopted a Native American son, who went on to take up social status and influence after traveling to Spain.

Neither of these remarkable children have been given attention: together they seem to embody a certain incipient pushback against the cruelty, enslavement and wanton violence that Christopher Columbus' incursion into the Caribbean represents. This pushback turned eventually into an anti-slavery, anti-imperialist movement during the Enlightenment period that followed.  Instructor: Jerise Fogel

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