The Great Khan in the Americas, and the Black Friars

SUMMARYThe Great Khan in the Americas, and the Black Friars

RECORDColumbus sailed in 1492 carrying letters from Ferdinand and Isabella addressed to the Grand Khan, expecting to reach the Khan's lands in Asia ("the Indies"); in Cuba (Nov 1492) he heard the Taíno name Cubanacán (the island's interior) and took it for "el Gran Can," the Great Khan, then sent envoys (Luis de Torres, Rodrigo de Jerez) inland to find him (his journal). European maps of the age used "Asia Major" and "India Superior," and placed Prester John's kingdom in "India," later Ethiopia; Columbus's belief he'd reached the Indies is why the land's people were named "Indians." The Dominicans are the "Black Friars" (black cloaks); London's Blackfriars is named for their priory (1276-1538); the Black Friar pub, 174 Queen Victoria St, built on the priory site (Arts and Crafts interior c. 1905), is covered in bronze friar reliefs. NAME ECHO (Pattern, lens): Ameri-khan, Domini-khan, Jamai-khan, Mexi-khan; Cuba / the Cube. Recorded roots differ (the "-an" ending is Latin -anus; Jamaica from Taíno Xaymaca; Mexico from Mēxihco), but the Khan was what Columbus came looking for and what he named the land after hearing

LENSOurstory, not history. The hounds of the Lord led the Inquisition of the Americas, and the conquest was framed from day one as a hunt for the Great Khan's kingdom (Pattern).