================================================ Subject: Re: Multi-lingual signs... Multilanguages From: "Keith P. Mears" To: Date: Mon 6 Aug 2001 21:44:07 -0500 ================================================ Ahhhh, a brief history lesson! BTW, history was my favorite subject in school, with English a VERY close second. 1. Columbus WAS Italian, but he sailed for Queen Isabella of SPAIN. 2. I believe you're referring to the battle in which the Spanish Armada was defeated by the Royal Navy, which actually had little (if ANY) impact on the "settlement" of America. Your teacher was exaggerating the importance of this battle in THIS context, though it was EXTREMELY important in the continued expansion of the British Empire. Remember, Spain's primary interest was in locating the mythical "Fountain of Youth", while Britain (sorry, Ross, but this is history here) was actively seeking to expand it's Empire. 3. If I remember correctly, Vespucci was Portuguese. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gina Kovach" To: Sent: Monday, August 06, 2001 4:26 PM Subject: Re: Multi-lingual signs... Multilanguages > A handful of points to make: > > 1) I believe Christopher Columbus was Italian, but I'm not sure. > > 2) Back in 8th grade I remember learning about some battle between the > British and Spanish Navies sometime in the 1700's (probably closer to > 1700 than 1800, as by 1800 we were already a country), which was > essentially the "turning point" when it came to who controlled the > settlers here. Britain won the battle, and won control. I don't remember > the name of the battle or anything, but I remember my teacher saying that > if Spain had won we could possibly all be speaking Spanish instead of > English here in the United States. > > 3) America was named for Amerigo Vespucci (spelling???) who I believe was > an Italian explorer. To unsubscribe or change your preferences for the Creed-Discuss list, visit: http://www.winduplist.com/ls/discuss/form.asp