Growing up in Clearwater, Florida, the large body of water to our west which I could see from the roof of my childhood home was known to us locals simply as “the Gulf”. In 2007, according to my Dad’s wishes that his ashes be “scattered in the Gulf”, I did so — so he is now a part of it. I believe I’m entitled to an opinion on changing the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America’.
Let’s begin with some basic geography which — based on some of the comments I’ve read and heard about the renaming — apparently is no longer taught in our public schools.
Here’s a map to help,
Notice the entire Gulf is surrounded by nations – including Mexico – that are all part of the North American Continent.
Mexico and the United States each have approximately 1700 miles of Gulf coastline. If you then include the coastlines of all the other nations around the Gulf, there is more of it not touching Mexico than that does. So there is clearly no geographical reason that it should be named for Mexico rather than for the surrounding Continent.
So how did the Gulf get named Mexico? Here’s what the Encyclopedia Britannica says about the origin of the name,
“The name ‘Gulf of Mexico’ has been applied to the body of water since at least the late 16th century. English geographer Richard Hakluyt referred to the “Gulfe of Mexico” in The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation (1589). That same year, Italian cartographer Baptista Boazio produced a map of Sir Francis Drake’s 1585–86 naval campaign against Spanish colonial holdings in the Americas. Boazio depicted Drake’s fleet skirting the edge of the “Baye of Mexico.” Other names, including the “Gulf of New Spain” and the “Florida Sea,” appeared on maps and in publications over subsequent centuries.”
As you can see, there is historical evidence that the name could be changed to the “Florida Sea”. However much that appeals to my native-Floridian ego, Gulf of America more accurately reflects its geographical orientation on planet Earth.
To judge from the “rending of garments” by those opposed to the renaming, you’d think changing the name of a geographic location is an unprecedented sacrilege. That attitude merely further reflects lack of education. Locations have been renamed throughout history.
For example … right here in my own present home county, the beach city of Cape Canaveral was changed to Cape Kennedy in 1963 in tribute to the dead President – through an Executive Order by President Lyndon Johnson, who didn’t bother to ask the opinion the folks living there.
“After the official announcement of the change of name, the U.S Board on Geographic Names approved the new name, Cape Kennedy. Despite the approval, the new name did not get much popularity. Cape Canaveral name remained more popular than Cape Kennedy. When the Florida legislature made a decision to revert to the old name [1973], a letter was sent to the Kennedy family informing them of the likely changes. The family agreed to the idea of name change and supported the move.”
Cape Canaveral still remains the name of the beach-side City to the south of the geographical landmass on which the Kennedy Space Center is located.
I lived in Thailand for a year, and still retain a small part of the language. That nation had become “Thai” land in 1939 – after having been known as “Siam” since a Portugese explorer named it that in the 1600’s. Siam is derived from the Sanskrit word syam .
The name was changed to Thailand, by its own government, to reflect the cultural heritage of the Tai-speaking people who migrated to that region 1000 years earlier.
As for the native populations of North America, I refer you to the Apache war chief Geronimo. His wife and children were murdered by Mexican soldiers. Thereafter he declared his preference for “Americans” over Mexicans.
After he and other members of his tribe attended the 1904 Worlds Fair in St Louis, as part of an exhibit of their culture, Geronimo said, “During all the time I was at the fair no one tried to harm me in any way. Had this been among the Mexicans I am sure I should have been compelled to defend myself often.” You can read his autobiography here.
So, though I’ve heard no comments by Native Americans about the change of the name of the Gulf, based on Geronimo’s attitude I cannot presume they oppose it. My neighbor, a legal immigrant from Mexico, told me the name-change means nothing to him… now that he is a US citizen.
I’ve tried to imagine what my Dad, who is now part of the Gulf, would think of the name change. He was a pretty patriotic guy, as were most of the members of the WWII veteran generation, so my speculation is that he’d support the change. But also knowing his sense of humor, he’d probably be laughing his ass off at those who are getting the vapors over it.
One thing I’m certain of. The root of the most vocal opposition is likely from those with a dislike of anything President Trump does. I firmly believe that if he cured cancer, those who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome would find some way to complain about it.
I think Trump changed the name just to troll TDS sufferers. And they’ve taken the bait…
But … the next time I’m on the coast of the Gulf of America I’ll see if it has changed color, or temperature. I’ll go to where I scattered Dad’s ashes on the outgoing tide, and see if they have floated back on shore. If not… I’ll assume he’s OK with the name change.