[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.82,0:00:09.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many people in the United States\Nand Latin America
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.77,0:00:14.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have grown up celebrating the anniversary\Nof Christopher Columbus's voyage,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.54,0:00:18.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but was he an intrepid explorer\Nwho brought two worlds together
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.34,0:00:22.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a ruthless exploiter who brought\Ncolonialism and slavery?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.61,0:00:26.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And did he even discover America at all?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.25,0:00:32.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's time to put Columbus on the stand\Nin History vs. Christopher Columbus.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.47,0:00:34.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Order, order in the court.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.12,0:00:36.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wait, am I even supposed to \Nbe at work today?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.61,0:00:37.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,{\i1}Cough{\i0}
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.99,0:00:39.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Yes, your Honor.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.38,0:00:43.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From 1792, Columbus Day was celebrated\Nin many parts of the United States
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.91,0:00:47.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on October 12th,\Nthe actual anniversary date.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.24,0:00:51.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But although it was declared\Nan official holiday in 1934,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.17,0:00:54.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,individual states aren't required\Nto observe it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.78,0:00:57.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only 23 states close public services,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.39,0:01:01.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more states are moving away\Nfrom it completely."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.14,0:01:02.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,{\i1}Cough{\i0}
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.08,0:01:03.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What a pity.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.33,0:01:06.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the 70s, we even moved it to the\Nsecond Monday in October
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.23,0:01:08.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so people could get a nice \Nthree-day weekend,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.88,0:01:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I guess you folks\Njust hate celebrations."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.01,0:01:14.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Uh, what are we celebrating again?"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.21,0:01:17.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Come on, Your Honor, \Nwe all learned it in school.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.10,0:01:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Christopher Columbus convinced the King\Nof Spain to send him on a mission
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.64,0:01:23.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to find a better trade route to India,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.15,0:01:27.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not by going East over land\Nbut sailing West around the globe.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.54,0:01:31.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everyone said it was crazy because they\Nstill thought the world was flat,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.27,0:01:32.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he knew better.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.97,0:01:36.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when in 1492 he\Nsailed the ocean blue,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.31,0:01:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he found something better\Nthan India:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.42,0:01:40.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a whole new continent."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.59,0:01:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What rubbish.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.20,0:01:46.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First of all, educated people knew\Nthe world was round since Aristotle.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.79,0:01:49.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Secondly, Columbus didn't \Ndiscover anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.81,0:01:52.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were already people living here\Nfor millennia.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.87,0:01:55.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he wasn't even \Nthe first European to visit.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.27,0:01:59.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Norse had settled Newfoundland\Nalmost 500 years before."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.56,0:02:02.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You don't say, so how come we're not\Nall wearing those cow helmets?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.74,0:02:05.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Actually, they didn't really \Nwear those either."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.38,0:02:06.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,{\i1}Cough{\i0}
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.98,0:02:09.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Who cares what some Vikings did\Nway back when?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.82,0:02:13.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those settlements didn't last,\Nbut Columbus's did.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.27,0:02:16.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the news he brought back to Europe\Nspread far and wide,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.41,0:02:20.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inspiring all the explorers and settlers\Nwho came after.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.44,0:02:23.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Without him, none of us \Nwould be here today."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.54,0:02:29.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"And because of him, millions of\NNative Americans aren't here today.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.07,0:02:31.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do you know what Columbus did\Nin the colonies he founded?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.84,0:02:34.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He took the very first \Nnatives he met prisoner
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.82,0:02:40.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and wrote in his journal about how easily\Nhe could conquer and enslave all of them."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.57,0:02:44.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oh, come on. Everyone was fighting each\Nother back then.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.51,0:02:46.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Didn't the natives even tell Columbus
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.45,0:02:50.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about other tribes raiding\Nand taking captives?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.06,0:02:52.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Yes, but tribal warfare \Nwas sporadic and limited.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.84,0:02:56.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It certainly didn't wipe out 90%\Nof the population."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.24,0:02:59.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hmm. Why is celebrating this Columbus\Nso important to you, anyway?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.95,0:03:03.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Your Honor, Columbus's voyage \Nwas an inspiration
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.04,0:03:08.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to struggling people all across Europe,\Nsymbolizing freedom and new beginnings.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.29,0:03:11.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And his discovery gave our grandparents\Nand great-grandparents
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.45,0:03:15.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the chance to come here and build better\Nlives for their children.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.97,0:03:19.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Don't we deserve a hero to remind\Neveryone that our country
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.35,0:03:22.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was build on the struggles of immigrants?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.92,0:03:24.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"And what about the struggles \Nof Native Americans
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.100,0:03:28.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who were nearly wiped out \Nand forced into reservations
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.37,0:03:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and whose descendants still suffer from\Npoverty and discrimination?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.68,0:03:36.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How can you make a hero out of a man\Nwho caused so much suffering?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.52,0:03:41.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"That's history. You can't judge a guy\Nin the 15th century by modern standards.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.29,0:03:43.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People back then even thought spreading
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.08,0:03:47.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Christianity and civilization \Nacross the world was a moral duty."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.39,0:03:50.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Actually, he was pretty bad,\Neven by old standards.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.26,0:03:53.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While governing Hispaniola, he tortured\Nand mutilated
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.43,0:03:56.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,natives who didn't bring him enough gold
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.33,0:03:59.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sold girls as young as nine into \Nsexual slavery,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.90,0:04:02.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he was brutal even to the other \Ncolonists he ruled,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.95,0:04:07.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the point that he was removed \Nfrom power and thrown in jail.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.06,0:04:09.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the missionary, \NBartolomé de las Casas,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.31,0:04:11.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,visited the island, he wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.10,0:04:16.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'From 1494 to 1508,\Nover 3,000,000 people had perished
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.84,0:04:23.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from war, slavery and the mines. Who in \Nfuture generations will believe this?'"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.45,0:04:26.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, I'm not sure I believe \Nthose numbers."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.09,0:04:29.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Say, aren't there other ways the holiday\Nis celebrated?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.40,0:04:31.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"In some Latin American countries,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.28,0:04:35.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the celebrate the same date under\Ndifferent names, such as Día de la Raza.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.73,0:04:39.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In these places, it's more a celebration\Nof the native and mixed cultures
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.44,0:04:41.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that survived through the colonial period.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.95,0:04:44.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some places in the U.S. have also\Nrenamed the holiday,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.58,0:04:47.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as Native American Day\Nor Indigenous People's Day
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.72,0:04:50.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and changed the celebrations accordingly."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.75,0:04:53.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"So, why not just change the name\Nif it's such a problem?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.44,0:04:55.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Because it's tradition.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.51,0:04:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ordinary people need their heroes\Nand their founding myths.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.00,0:05:02.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Can't we just keep celebrating\Nthe waywe've been doing for a century,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.55,0:05:05.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without having to delve into all this\Nserious research?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.57,0:05:08.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not like anyone is actually \Ncelebrating genocide."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.91,0:05:12.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Traditions change, and the way \Nwe choose to keep them alive
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.35,0:05:14.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,says a lot about our values."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.86,0:05:21.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, it looks like giving tired judges a\Nday off isn't one of those values, anyway."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.79,0:05:24.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Traditions and holidays \Nare important to all cultures,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.65,0:05:28.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but a hero in one era\Nmay become a villain in the next
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.52,0:05:32.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as our historical knowledge expands\Nand our values evolve.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.53,0:05:35.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And deciding what these \Ntraditions should mean today
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.36,0:05:39.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a major part \Nof putting history on trial.