Wrong way Columbus

In Fourteen Hundred Ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue;
He reached America in ‘98 – that’s right, he got there six years late.
When it comes to perceptions about Christopher Columbus, the so-called facts about the man are about as off-course as his voyages. For example, most of us believe the difficulties Columbus had convincing an empire to fund his expedition were because the people thought the Earth was flat and the ships would be doomed.
They may have feared for their ships, but considered the Earth a sphere. Columbus calculated he could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe, but greatly underestimated the time it would take. His detractors were not afraid he would fall off the face of a flat earth, but that his crew would have to sail for such a long time they would run out of provisions necessary to sustain life before reaching the goal.
In 1485, Columbus offered King John II of Portugal the first opportunity to sponsor the voyage. In 1486, he presented the opportunity to Spain’s Queen Isabella, who referred it to a committee where it languished for three years.
Columbus was given a second opportunity to convince the King of Portugal in 1488 but again fell short. Henry VII of England nibbled at the bait and invited Columbus to present the plan to him, but before Columbus could respond Spain accepted the proposal in 1489.
In spite of receiving Ferdinand and Isabella’s support, Columbus languished another three years in Spain, perhaps waiting on the Royal Provisions Committee. Juan de la Cosa jumped at the chance to contribute the three ships to the expedition (Ferdinand and Isabella had a knack for convincing citizens to cooperate).
Columbus set sail on Aug. 3, 1492, and land was sighted on Oct. 12. Columbus landed on an island in what is now the Bahamas, and went on to explore the coastal areas of Hispaniola and Cuba, where he ran the Santa Maria aground on Christmas Day. With space on the two remaining vessels accounted for, Columbus left 39 of his crew behind prior to returning to Spain on March 15, 1493.
Columbus reported to the royal court he had successfully reached Asia and an island off the coast of China with rivers filled with gold. Needless to say his creative report resulted in a great deal of excitement and the funding of three more expeditions.
On the third in 1498, Columbus finally reached the mainland of the Americas. He did not discover America, of course, but remember – he was creative.
Perhaps we honor Columbus for the wrong things when proclaiming a federal holiday in his name, but according to my taste buds he should still be so honored.
You see, Columbus returned to Spain with peanuts and pecans, cocoa and chocolate, turkey and tomatoes, popcorn and potatoes, blueberries and bell peppers – these, and many other foods that quickly became staples of the European diet

(Denny Banister, of Jefferson City, is the assistant director of public affairs for the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.)