My
letter to the Editor was
published by the U.S.News Magazine
Unfortunately the American people continues to be very ignorant concerning the geographical knowledge of the world.
Several times in the world geographical testing's, the American high schools students have scored miserable in comparison with the high school students of other nations. Certainly this is a discredit to the teachers of the American high schools.
It seems very dramatically that the destiny of the American people to learn the geography of the world is by being involved in wars when our American soldiers have to loose their lives!
More specifically, it irritates me, the poor knowledge that the Americans have in relation to Portugal.
Many millions do not know where Portugal is located, or think that Portugal is a province of Spain!
They do not know that Portugal is going to celebrate NINE CENTURIES of Independence, in the year of 2039. Spain only became a nation, as we know it today, in 1492!
It is not easy to have a letter to the Editor published by any major American newspaper or magazine, in U. S. A. There many thousands of letters that are sent to the Editors.
On the other hand the Portuguese-American do not write letters to the Editor, even if they see that the information published is wrong about Portugal or its history. I feel sorry for my fellow Portuguese-Americans!
Here is the letter that I sent to the U. S. News and World Report Magazine and which was published on October 29, 1990, concerning the Portuguese nationality of Cristofõm Colon, or Christopher Columbus, and certainly was read by many millions of Americans.
Columbus was 100 percent Portuguese! He was born in 1448, in Cuba, Alentejo, southern Portugal. He named the second island he found after his birthplace, Cuba.
During his four voyages to the Caribbean, he used more that 40 Portuguese toponyms, which still are in used today. If he was born in Genoa, how come he did not use even one Italian place name in the Antilles?
The name 'Columbus' means pigeon, but the great navigator was no pigeon! Manuel Luciano da Silva, M. D., Bristol, R. I.
Also see Columbus was 100% Portuguese! Based exclusively on original documents!
