Required Reading for Italian-Americans...

Sicilian Culture: News & Views

Columbus: New Sons of Italy Study

WASHINGTON, October 7, 2002 - The significance of Christopher Columbus and his explorations are documented in a new study released today by the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), the nation's oldest and largest organization for men and women of Italian heritage.

OSIA's Columbus: Fact vs. Fiction presents a series of documented facts on the life of Columbus, his explorations and their significance, as well as the history of Columbus Day in the United States.

Columbus: Fact and Fiction also examines the controversial charges about the explorer that have been levied in recent years, which accuse him of racism, genocide, and slave trading.

Using seminal sources, including Columbus's own journals, scholarly biographies and recent research, OSIA's Columbus: Fact vs. Fiction presents convincing evidence that:

* The Vinland Map, which allegedly proves that the Vikings arrived in North America in 1000 AD, is probably a forgery.

* Columbus never owned any slaves or brought any to the Western Hemisphere from Africa.

* Columbus did not consider the natives he encountered to be racially inferior. In fact, according to his own journals, he admired the gentle Tainos, whom he described as physically beautiful, generous, innocent and intelligent.

* The New World was not a disease-free "Garden of Eden" that the early European explorers contaminated. Tests on pre-Columbian mummies, recently discovered far from the first European colonies, reveal the native populations suffered from syphilis, tuberculosis, arthritis and periodontal disease. Few lived past the age of 40.

Columbus: Fact vs. Fiction is on the OSIA Web site at
www.osia.org/public/newsroom/Columbus_Report.pdf

For a printed copy, send a stamped (83 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Columbus Study, OSIA, 219 E St. NE, Washington, DC 20002.

© Copyright 1999-2002 (MCMXCIX) Cristaldi Communications Web Design, Hosting & Promotion - - October 11, 2002