World History

Diversity in the History of World Exploration

Did you know that one historical record indicates that the Phoenicians sailed completely around Africa in 1500 BCE, 2000 years before Europeans “discovered” the southern tip of Africa? Did you know that for two millennia, the greatest navigators in the world were the Polynesians who colonized the entire South Pacific before any other civilization had progressed much beyond navigation within sight of land? Did you know that while the Vikings settled briefly in North America, at the same time they were trading throughout Eastern Europe as far away as Constantinople and were a significant force in establishing the first Russian empire? Did you know that during the Ming Dynasty, more than 60 years before Columbus’s first voyage, the Chinese had the world’s largest and most advanced navy and explored as far as the eastern coast of Africa?

So, what’s my point in taking you through this bit of history? It’s this, the history we’ve been taught focuses only on European achievements as if the acts of exploration and discovery only matter if Europeans completed them. We talk about “The Great Age of Exploration” and ignore the fact that this was the last age of exploration, not the first and that many Asian civilizations had explored vast portion of the globe before us. If we’re going to internalize the true meaning of diversity, at work, or in the world, we need to start by relearning history and by making sure that our children learn it correctly the first time.

Given what has been taught for generations in American schools, it is unlikely that we would know any of these things. If you are like me, the history you were taught in elementary school began with Columbus “discovering” America, focusing first on the Great Age of Exploration by colonizing European powers. Despite recent efforts to update education practices to present a more balanced and multicultural version of this part of history and its effects on indigenous peoples, most history texts still have a European focus and rarely include much of history prior to Columbus. It’s as though the exploration of the world began in 1492.

The purpose of a diversity brown bag on the history of world exploration before Columbus is to demonstrate:

	As Americans, racism is subtly (Euro-centrism is) present from the earliest years of our education on world history
	The vocabulary we learn to use to describe world history reflects this type of bias. We say, “discover” when the continent was already populated, instead of saying “raid.” We say, “colonize” instead of “invade.” We say the Conquistadors “conquered” rather than saying “committed genocide” or “exterminated.” We say we “tamed” the “Wild West” rather than saying again “committed genocide” or “exterminated.”
	Who were the first slaves in the Americas? On his second voyage Columbus captured 500 Taino Indians for sale in Spain as slaves.
	To reverse the effects of this, we must become very conscious of how our attitudes reflect our perception of history. Do these same attitudes effect our perceptions in the workplace? Do we consider American culture to be prime? Do we consider our ideas “best” simply because they’re American?

Outline

Purse “discovery” demonstration

Summarize key points of talk

	History in primary education
	Vocabulary of history with examples

Who discovered America?

	Columbus?
	Leif Ericson?
	Siberians migrating

Who “discovered” South Africa? Ok, other than the Africans who lived there?

	Vasco de Gama in 1497?
	Bartolomeu Dias in 1488?
	Zheng He (1409-1422)?
	Phoenicians in 1500 BCE

Prior to Columbus, who were the world’s greatest navigators?

	Portuguese and Prince Henry the Navigator (mid-to-late 15^th century)?
	Chinese traders during Ming dynasty? (early 2^nd millennium through early 15^th century)
	Austronesians expanding into Pacific to become Polynesians

Who were the first slaves in the Americas?

	Africans captured by English and taken to West Indies for transfer to America during the 17^th century?
	Native Americans captured during early 17^th century colonization of East Coast?
	Indentured servants brought from poor European countries during 17^th century
	Taino Indians captured by Columbus on his second voyage for sale in Spain as slaves.

World history isn’t what it would seem from our education – many cultures contributed significantly to world history and exploration. Peel back the layers of the mythology that you’ve been taught to find the reality of our history.

Do these same attitudes effect our perceptions in the workplace? Do we consider American culture to be prime? Do we consider our ideas “best” simply because they’re American? Challenge your assumptions about what you think you know.