Tuesday, October 16 -- Morris County
Madison Historical Society Discusses “Who Really Discovered America”
On Tuesday, October 16, Dr. Salvatore Prisco will discuss “Who Really Discovered America – The True Significance of Columbus’s Voyages and their Relationship to Other, Preceding Voyages to the New World.” Dr. Prisco’s presentation will take place in the Chase Room of the Madison Public Library beginning at 7:15 PM. Light refreshments will be available from 7:00. The presentation is open to the public, and there is no admission charge.
As the meeting will take place only shortly after the Columbus Day holiday, it seems a good time to reexamine Columbus’s discoveries within the context of earlier voyages to the New World and the impact his discoveries have had on the world’s history,” stated Society Vice President and Programs Chairman David Luber.
“As we all know Christopher Columbus and his fleet of three ships sailed westward from Spain to search for a sea route to Asia in August of 1492. Landing in the Bahamas he never found his sea route to Asia – that would have to wait another 28 years for Ferdinand Magellan. But in doing so, he launched the European discovery of the Americas.”
Dr. Prisco observes, “There were at least seven documented visitations to the Western Hemisphere before Columbus. In fact, he was the last to ‘discover America,’ but it was his discovery that was the most significant for modern history. In my talk, we will assess the fascinating migrations before Columbus, and the role he played in changing the world forever – both for good and for ill.”
Dr. Salvatore Prisco has been a tenured faculty member at the University of Alabama and at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he taught for 36 years. At Stevens, he also served as Chair of the Humanities Department and Director of the Division of Humanities and Social Science. He retired in 2011.
Dr. Prisco is the author of John Barrett, Progressive Era Diplomat: A Study of a Commercial Expansionist, 1887-1920, An Introduction to Psychohistory: Theories and Case Studies, and The Essentials of United States History 1877-1812
