The
most common question, though, concerned the date etched into the rock’s
surface. Why did it say 1620, visitors
wondered, rather than 1492? Wasn’t that
when Columbus arrived?
“Or they ask, ‘Is this where the three ships landed?’” Claire said. “They mean the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. People think Columbus dropped off the
Pilgrims and sailed home.”
Claire had to patiently explain that Columbus’s landing and the
Pilgrims’ arrival occurred a thousand miles and 128 years apart. “Americans learn about 1492 and 1620 as kids
and that’s all they remember as adults,” she said. “The rest of the story is blank.”
(from A Voyage
Long And Strange by Tony Horwitz)
9*/10. The complete review is here.
.
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