The Columbiad

Joel Barlow's monumental epic, *The Columbiad*, catapults us into the imprisoned mind of Christopher Columbus, a figure consumed by despondency and a sense of unrewarded greatness. There, he is visited by Hesper, the guardian genius of the Americas, who grants him a sweeping panoramic vision. From the continent's pristine landscapes and indigenous civilizations—the Aztec and Inca empires gleaming briefly—Columbus witnesses the relentless march of European settlement, the tumultuous birth of British colonies, and ultimately, the forging of the United States through the crucible of the Revolutionary War. It's a grand, often idealized, historical pageant through the lens of early American exceptionalism.