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About 2 km west of Maspalomas, on the south coast of Gran Canaria, in the middle of a very busy gyratory traffic, there is a very high column commemorating Christopher Columbus's last Atlantic crossing, which started from there.
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The column |
Arrrival Click on the photos to enlarge them. Photos: Laurens van der Zee, 2011 |
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Comment
Gran Canaria was a strategic point for the European discoverers who tried to find a feasable way to go to India westwards, because it was the last possibility of catching water, the distance seemed to be the smallest one, and there were (and still are) the continuous trade winds (or trades) that steadily blew (and still blow) from east to west between Africa (the Canary Islands) and America and made the sailing vessels cross the Atlantic Ocean more quickly.
As shown by the Maspalomas inscription, Columbus (1451 – 1506) was convinced that sailing from Europe westwards he had discovered the extreme eastern parts of India. Since he did not know there was an unknown continent (the one we call America now) between Europe and Asia, it is normal that he thought America was India. But why West Indies? Logically those islands should have been called East Indies! Who made the mistake?
America did not get its name from Columbus (only one South American country - Columbia - did so). The latinized and feminized first name of Amerigo Vespucci (1454 – 1512), who mapped important parts of America, is probably the origin of America's geographic name. But nobody really knows.
According to an increasing number of specialists of history, the Vikings discovered North America several centuries before Columbus. But - as Wikipedia explains - "Vikings under Leif Eriksson, heir to Erik the Red, reached North America, and set up a short-lived settlement in present-day L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada." This means that they discovered only a very small part of the east coast of North America, saw almost nothing of the inland, and definitely left very soon.
But even the Vikings were not the first discoverers of America. According to Wikipedia, there were lots of peoples that settled in North America many centuries before the Vikings arrived.
Why then do we continue to celebrate Christopher Columbus as the great discoverer of America? For the simple reason that his discovery has been the first and only one having a real impact on the modern Europeans' lives. And a fatal impact on the lives of millions of native people, due to European diseases, cultural and religious violation, destruction of the traditional communities, expropriations, annihilation of vital resources, slavery, or simply slaughtering. But for the Europeans it has been a success story...
See also our page that deals with the second Columbus memorial in Maspalomas. Its title is Christopher Columbus Rocks.
Additional Information And Comment
Our page had already been published when Laurens van der Zee gave me the address of some COLUMBUS MONUMENTS PAGES among which there were very informative pages on the Maspalomas and the Barcelona monument. For details, see Copy of the Columbus statue of Barcelona and Monumento a Colón respectively. For a rough overview, let's summarize and discuss the information René & Peter van der Krogt gives about the Maspalomas monument:
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Van der Krogt (before December 2012): The Maspalomas Columbus column was sculpted by Rafael Atché i Ferré in 2006. My comment: This is not possible because this Catalan sculptor lived from 1854 to 1923. Thus he had been dead for 83 years before the column was inaugurated. For details see Wikipedia. This means that for the moment we don't know who made the Mapalomas column. If you have some knowledge of this, please tell us! Thanks a lot in advance! Van der Krogt's answer: On December 3, 2012, Peter van der Krogt wrote in a mail addressed to me that the Maspalomas column being a mere copy of the Barcelona one, Rafael Atché i Ferré is generally assumed as its author though obviously he cannot have sculpted the copy himself. Van der Krogt promised to make his related text clearer. My comment: If you compare the Barcelona and Maspalomas columns, you will see that the author of the latter was surely inspired by the first but in Barcelona, Columbus's right arm is pointing out and in Maspalomas it is his left arm. Why that? By whom? There is still an open question. If you have some additional information on this issue, please tell us! Thanks a lot in advance! |
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Van der Krogt: The Maspalomas column is a copy of the same monument in Barcelona. My comment: In my opinion this is not really true. Remember my above remark on the interchanged arm positions of the two sculptures and consider their general styles. If we were speaking of literature here, I would say the Maspalomas work contains an allusion or a quotation of the Barcelona one, nothing more. Indeed, both monuments consist of a very high column standing on a larger foundation and supporting a tall statue of Columbus who is gazing at the horizon and pointing his outstretched arm and forefinger in the same direction. That is why the Maspalomas monument resembles the Barcelona monument from afar. But that's all. Coming nearer you will see that the Barcelona monument is richly sculpted in typical 19th century style whereas the Maspalomas monument is only a very simplified, cost-effective, modern imitation of the Barcelona monument. Still living, Rafael Atché i Ferré would not appreciate to be considered as the author of such a poor work. Compare the enormously rich decoration of the Barcelona column, meticulously described on Monumento a Colón (Columbus Monument) page! |
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Van der Krogt: The second side of the column's foundation countains an English translation of the Spanish inscription. My comment: This translation is rather similar to mine (see above). |
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Van der Krogt: The third side, beside some decorative elements (an indigene mask, some cactusses, and an anchor), only contains the years MDII (1502) and MMVI (2006). My comment: The first date is that of Columbus's journey whereas the second one seems to be that of the inauguratuíon of the monument. That's right but contrary to what is indicated on the top of Van der Krogt's page, the Catalan sculptor Rafael Atché i Ferré was unable to take part in the creation and inauguration of the Maspalomas column on account of his death, 83 years earlier. |
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Van der Krogt: The fourth side shows some sculpted sailing vessels (Columbus's fleet) and the inscription "Mare incognita" (unknown sea). My comment: This text is neither Spanish nor Catalan nor Italian nor Portuguese. I guess it's meant to be Latin. But in correct Latin, it should be "Mare incognitum". As there is the well-known expression "Terra incognita" (Unknown land), very frequent on old atlasses, I'm afraid the Maspalomas inscription is the work of somebody who wanted to make an ingenious allusion to "Terra incognita" but didn't know enough Latin grammar. Perhaps the sculptor (or his boss) was French because in French language, the sea (la mer) is feminine. If you have further knowledge of this, please tell us! Thanks a lot in advance! |
Internet
Please be aware of our legal reservation concerning any Internet reference.
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Address / Owner |
Content / Topics |
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Official touristic site of the Spanish tourist office. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on Spain. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the town of Maspalomas. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the explorer, colonizer, and navigator Christopher Columbus, who discovered America for the Europeans. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Short encyclopaedic article on the Caribbean islands often called West Indies since Christopher Columbus's discovery. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer whose first name is probably the origin of America' geographic name. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the Vikings, those "the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century." |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the "First Nations" that settled in North America, with further links. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on those winds that steadily blow from east to west between Africa (the Canary Islands) and America. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the history of slavery. |
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Copia de la estatua de Colón en Barcelona (Copy of the Columbus statue of Barcelona) On the Website of René & Peter van der Krogt. |
Photos and information on the Columbus column in Maspalomas. |
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Monumento a Colón (Columbus Monument) on the Website of René & Peter van der Krogt. |
Photos and very detailed information on the Columbus column in Barcelona. |
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On the Website of René & Peter van der Krogt. |
Photos and information on all of the Columbus monuments throughout the world. |
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In the Spanish Wikipedia. |
Short encyclopaedic article on the Catalan sculptor who created the Maspalomas Columbus column. |
Books
Using the following links to amazon you can find the books you are interested in. On the amazon sites you can retrieve books entering words, titles, authors, or ASIN / ISBN numbers in the related search fields. You will never be obliged to purchase anything if you do not want to.
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Amazon Sites |
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Simply use the search field of one of the national amazon sites after clicking on one of the following links. |
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(for Canada) |
(for the USA) |
(for Germany,
Liechtenstein, |
(for Austria) |
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(for the United Kingdom) |
(for Spain) |
(for France) |
(for Italy) |
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Please note the delivery conditions of the different sites. In most cases it is more convenient to use the site that is located in the same country as the shipping address. |
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For our presentation of Spanish books, see Spanish Literature (German).
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Holidays in Maspalomas? Excellent idea! But where to stay? |
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Whether you are looking for a room, an apartment, a hotel, a guest house,
or any other accommodation, |
Arrival by Public Transport
For the arrival in Maspalomas, see Inscriptions of Maspalomas.
As far as I know, there is no public transport available. But if you arrive in Maspalomas in car, just continue 2 more kilometers westwards from the center of the town. From the center of Maspalomas you can equally walk the rest of the distance along the coast to reach the Columbus column.
Indications concerning the arrival correspond to our personal knowledge or even experience, but we cannot assume any responsibility for their rightness. When you are reading this page, things may have changed in reality.
Thanks a lot to Laurens van der Zee, who made the photos and gave important information on the local environment of the column. On the photo you see two sides of the column, one with the inscription, the other only with decorative elements. Due to heavy traffic on the roundabout, Laurens could not see and photograph the two other sides of the column. So, at first, we did not know whether there was some other inscription or a translation of the same inscription there. But in the meantime, Laurens has found a website displaying the other sides of the column and giving information on the origin of the column. For details, see the More Information paragraph of my comment.
Hans-Rudolf Hower, 2012
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Last updated: April 4, 2016
